ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Syngas fermentation

Imagine you have some tasty snacks that you really like. But, your snacks aren't enough to keep you full and healthy. You need other foods too! That's where syngas fermentation comes in.

Syngas fermentation is a process that turns gases like carbon monoxide and hydrogen into valuable chemicals that can be used to make lots of things, like medicines, fuels, and plastics.

It's kind of like baking a cake. In baking a cake, you need different ingredients like flour, eggs, sugar, and milk. In syngas fermentation, there are tiny living things called bacteria that act like little chefs. They use the gases as their ingredients and create new things through a process called fermentation.

The bacteria use a special machine called a bioreactor, which is like a giant mixing bowl. They're given the gases they need to work with and some other ingredients, like vitamins and minerals to help them do their job.

Inside the bioreactor, they work their magic, mixing and stirring the gases and other ingredients until they create something new - like alcohol.

All of this helps to create important chemicals that can be used for a variety of things. So, just as your snacks and other foods work together to keep you healthy and happy, syngas fermentation helps create important things we need to live our lives.