Recycled CO2 method could lead to biofuel production

The researchers found that elements of the bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii could be expressed to convert CO2 to CO.

The intracellular environment of the bacterium was shown to favour the conversion of CO2 in a way that would be applicable to the development of large-scale production of carbon monoxide, the researchers said. 

A full account of the research has been published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

Yilin Hu, UCI assistant professor of molecular biology & biochemistry at the Ayala School of Biological Sciences who led the research, said: "Our observation that a bacterium can convert CO2 to CO opens up new avenues for [the] biotechnological adaptation of this reaction into a process that effectively recycles the greenhouse gas into the starting material for biofuel.”

Hu added that the new research could help combat global warming and energy storage.  

Elsewhere this month, the UK government announced support for two Indian entrepreneurs to help enable what is claimed to be the first major-scale carbon capture and usage in the world.