Technology Review: Capturing Carbon with Enzymes

Link: Technology Review: Capturing Carbon with Enzymes.

CO2 Solution (Quebec City, Canada) has used the enzyme carbonic anhydrase to extract CO2 from flue gases, creating bicarbonate which can then be stored underground or turned into a range of substances (e.g. baking soda, chalk, limestone).  A prototype has been tested at a municipal incinerator and an aluminum smelter since 2004 - 80% CO2 capture has been reported.  The CO2 does not need to be separated from other components of the flue gas, reducing the cost and simplifying the system.  The bioreactor could also be used to capture CO2 release from cement factories, creating limestone which is one of the raw materials of cement. 

Carbonic anhydrase is a critical component of  the metabolism of E. coli.  Sylvie Fradette led a team at the University of Laval  in the late 1990s to isolate, stabilize and reproduce the enzyme. 

Comments

[Janine Benyus]

This is something to watch.
Other companies/lab efforts include
http://carbozyme.us/
http://www.electrochem.org/dl/interface/spr/spr01/IF3-01-Pages26-30.pdf
Dr. Snezna Rogelj at New Mexico Tech