Excess carbon dioxide can be transformed into polyester in a new method that uses electrolysis and microbial fermentation.
The process is carried out in two steps: First, the electrochemical conversion of gaseous carbon dioxide to formate, and then, in a separate reactor, the use of formate to “feed” the bacterium Cupriavidus necator, which produces the biodegradable, biocompatible polyester poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB).
“Over the last ten years, a lot of people have jumped into this area of studying how to convert CO2 into some value-added product. However, previously, people studied methods where CO2 is bubbled through liquid water,” says Hyunjoo Lee, a chemical engineer at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). However, because the solubility of dissolved CO2 in water is so low and raising the pressure in a CO2 electrolyzer to increase the solubility is very difficult, the amount of product generated by this process would be too low for industrial-scale applications.
Decarbonization efforts, as well as the increased prevalence of carbon capture and storage (CCS), are making the use of CO2 for chemical production a more attractive endeavor. Lee and her...
Would you like to access the complete CEP News Update?
No problem. You just have to complete the following steps.
You have completed 0 of 2 steps.
-
Log in
You must be logged in to view this content. Log in now.
-
AIChE Membership
You must be an AIChE member to view this article. Join now.
Copyright Permissions
Would you like to reuse content from CEP Magazine? It’s easy to request permission to reuse content. Simply click here to connect instantly to licensing services, where you can choose from a list of options regarding how you would like to reuse the desired content and complete the transaction.
