Carbon nanotechnology in nature

The role of carbon in nanoscale processes of human, animal, and industrial energy activity is considered.

Carbon nanoenergy is a branch of energy that uses carbon-based or carbon-related nanotechnology, including the use of carbon materials, coal mining and the ecology of this process, the use of coalbed methane as an energy resource, the extraction and transport of methane hydrate (methane hydrate), oil and gas production and the transport of hydrocarbons. The main areas of sustainable (including green) development in Russia include waste management, energy, construction, industry, transport and industrial equipment, water supply and sanitation, natural landscapes, rivers, reservoirs and biodiversity, agriculture, and sustainable infrastructure.

Human energy is the force that makes elementary particles, organs, and systems in our body interact with each other, and it is what collects and holds the elementary parts together. Human energy is the force that creates everything in our world, including buildings, vehicles, agricultural farms, and television devices. Therefore, energy for sustainable development also includes the provision of energy for the human body.

Carbon is a nanosized bioelement, a structural unit of all organic compounds involved in the construction of organisms and ensuring their vital activity – proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, vitamins, hormones. All living things that make up the biosphere are built from carbon compounds.

Carbon-containing compounds are carriers of life: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, vitamins, etc. Carbon is necessary for metabolic processes. During the life activity of organisms, there is an oxidative breakdown of organic compounds with the release of carbon dioxide CO₂ into the external environment. This gas, in solid compounds, dissolved in biological fluids and natural waters, participates in maintaining the optimal acidity of the environment for life: CO – carbon monoxide (II), carbon monoxide gas; H₂CO₃ – carbonic acid; CaCO₃ – calcium carbonate; C₆H₁₂O₆ – glucose; the equation for photosynthesis: 6·CO₂ + 6·H₂O ––> C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6·O₂.

It turns out that carbon is the most important element of life and energy production for all biodiversity. As noted in the Sustainable Development Strategy, energy is one of the most important conditions for sustainable development. Since all energy processes in biodiversity occur at the molecular level, they can be classified as nano-scale processes, which means that they are carbon-based nano-energy manifestations of the life of all biodiversity.

Carbon nanotechnology plays a huge role in industrial energy.

Alexander Khavkin graduated from the Gubkin Russian University of Oil and Gas in 1975 with a qualification as a Specialist. In 1983, he earned a PhD in Engineering. He received his Doctor of Engineering degree in 1987. He is a Professor at RUDN University. He was awarded the UNESCO Medal for Contributions to the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in 2010. Participant of international conferences in Australia, England, Brazil, Hungary, Guyana, Denmark, Egypt, Spain, China, Norway, Russia, Romania, Singapore, France, Japan. Published more than 650 scientific articles. First Vice-President of the Russian Nanotechnology Society since 2025.