This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: To limit further climate change, researchers are exploring technologies that can convert atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) into useful products. In collaboration with BOKU University in Vienna (Austria), researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have demonstrated that electrochemical and microbial processes can be combined to capture CO₂ and produce itaconic acid, a bio-based chemical used in industry.
According to the researchers, this new process demonstrates how CO₂ emissions can be converted into sustainable bio-based products, with the potential to produce a wider range of valuable chemicals by using different microorganisms. Itaconic acid is a bio-based organic acid used to manufacture biodegradable plastics, textiles, adhesives and resins. It is considered a promising sustainable alternative to petroleum-based chemicals.
Worldwide, around 70,000 t (77,000 short tons) of itaconic acid are produced annually, and production is increasing. "On an industrial scale, itaconic acid is produced biotechnologically from sugar using a fungus. We have now developed a process that uses CO₂ instead of sugar as a starting material so that we can put emissions to productive use," explains Falk Harnisch, an electrobiotechnologist at the UFZ and last author of the study.
The work is published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition. In collaboration with researchers from BOKU University in Vienna, the UFZ team has developed a method that combines electrochemical and microbial processes in a single bioreactor. But how exactly does this electrobioreactor work?
And how did the researchers come up with the idea of combining the use of CO₂ with the production of itaconic acid in the first place? A previous study by BOKU University showed that itaconic acid can be produced biotechnologically from methanol, a type of alcohol. Because microorganisms can metabolize a wide range of substances, the team led by Harnisch tested a chemically similar substance that can be produced relatively easily from CO₂.
"Electricity, ideally from renewable sources, can be used to convert CO₂ into formate, which is chemically related to methanol because both contain just one carbon atom. We therefore wanted to investigate whether the yeast could also use formate as an energy source for itaconic acid production," says Dr. Paniz Izadi, a researcher on Harnisch's UFZ team and first author of the study.
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