Electrobiocatalytic cascade for bulk reduction of CO2 to CO coupled to fermentative production of high value diamine monomers

Introduction

The access to platform chemicals made of CO2 and nitrogen sources as starting materials via sustainable processes requires radical innovations. Driven by the global need of existing and growing markets, combined technologies that make use of renewable energy and the greenhouse gas CO2, and the use of nature's catalysts such as enzymes and microbial cells through biotransformation steps are expected to have a game-changing impact.

Catalytic Processes

Such catalysts can operate at ambient conditions at high atom efficiency through environmentally and energetically friendly processes. In this context, ECOMO unites:

• Bioelectrocatalysis
• Biohybrid materials sciences
• Organic synthesis
• Technical microbiology
• Process engineering for CO gas fermentation to acetate and a subsequent production of diamines.

Fermentation Steps

The fermentation steps will be achieved by specifically engineered microbial strains using CO as both the carbon source and energy carrier. As core novelty, the CO will be produced in situ apart from the electrode in the bulk solution from CO2 through a mediated electron transfer to free-floating beads where CO-dehydrogenase is immobilized within the acetate-forming bacterial cell culture.

This will enable, for the first time, full compatibility between electrochemical and biocatalytic processes.

Synthetic Aim

The synthetic aim is to yield high value-added diamine monomers as building blocks for established classes of polymeric materials. ECOMO will establish new bio-based and biohybrid modules that will be directly compatible with the existing bioreactor infrastructure for the production of specialty chemicals directly from CO2.

Proof-of-Concept

By achieving the production of diamines as a proof-of-concept, ECOMO will foster further diversification to many other products made from CO2 and thus enhance the synthetic availability of needed building blocks for the chemical industry.

Timeliness

The decoupling from fossil-sourced energy and raw materials underpins the timeliness of ECOMO.