Modular Direct Air Capture and Bioelectrochemical Conversion of CO2

Patent Status

Patent Pending

Brief Description

Reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels is essential for mitigating climate change, yet capturing and converting CO2 from ambient air remains a significant technical hurdle. UC Berkeley researchers have invented a modular, integrated system that directly captures CO2 from the air and converts it into high-value products. The process utilizes specialized sorbents, such as functionalized metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) or covalent organic frameworks (COFs), to isolate CO2 from the atmosphere. In a two-step bioreactor sequence, autotrophic microorganisms first convert the purified CO2 into an organic intermediate, like acetate, using electrochemically generated hydrogen as an energy source. A second population of metabolically engineered microbes then utilizes this intermediate as a feedstock to synthesize specific value-added products, ranging from fuels and biopolymers to pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes.

Suggested uses

• Carbon-Negative Manufacturing: Enabling industrial supply chains to offset their footprint by producing essential chemicals directly from atmospheric carbon.

• Sustainable Fuel Production: Creating carbon-neutral liquid fuels for aviation or shipping using captured CO2 and renewable electricity.

• Biopolymer Synthesis: Generating biodegradable plastics and materials from air-derived carbon intermediates to reduce reliance on petroleum feedstocks.

• Pharmaceutical and Enzyme Manufacturing: Utilizing engineered microbial platforms to produce complex medical compounds or industrial catalysts in a modular, decentralized format.

• Long-Term Carbon Sequestration: Producing carbon-dense solid or liquid biomaterials that can be stored securely on centennial time-scales.

Advantages

• Atmospheric Versatility: Unlike systems that require concentrated flue gas, this technology can be deployed anywhere to capture CO2 directly from ambient air.

• Modular and Tailorable: The system can be customized for a wide variety of end-products by simply swapping the secondary microbial strain.

• Integrated Process: Combines capture and conversion into a single, streamlined platform, reducing the energy and logistical costs of CO2 transport.

• High Specificity: Leverages the precision of metabolic engineering to produce high-purity multi-carbon products with fewer side-reactions than traditional thermochemical methods.

• Renewable Energy Integration: Efficiently pairs with electrochemical hydrogen generation, making it an ideal candidate for storage of intermittent renewable power in chemical form.

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