Ethylene Made through Photosynthesis

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a polymer, is made of two abundant resources: salt and natural gas, which creates ethylene. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory are tweaking a strain of bacteria that will make ethylene in sunlight. If researchers are able to increase the yield, this may be an alternative to using oil and gas to make the raw material.