Chinese scientists realize the artificial synthesis of carbon dioxide to glucose and oil

Previously, Chinese scientists achieved de novo synthesis of carbon dioxide to starch for the first time in the world

The answer is yes!

On April 28, "Nature Catalysis" published a new research result in the form of a cover article

This achievement was jointly completed by Xia Chuan's research group of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Yu Tao's research group of Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Zeng Jie's research group of University of Science and Technology of China

Turn carbon dioxide into "vinegar"

Some people may ask, can artificial glucose and fat be eaten directly? Tasty?

In response, Zeng Jie responded: "After subsequent purification, it can be eaten

So how exactly does carbon dioxide turn into glucose and oil?

"First of all, we need to convert carbon dioxide into raw materials that can be used by microorganisms to facilitate microbial fermentation

As for which raw material to convert into, the researchers set their sights on acetic acid

"The direct electrolysis of carbon dioxide can obtain acetic acid, but the efficiency is not high, so we adopted a 'two-step' strategy - first to obtain carbon monoxide with high efficiency, and then from carbon monoxide to acetic acid

The researchers found that the efficiency of carbon monoxide to catalyze the synthesis of acetic acid by grain boundary copper formed by a pulsed electrochemical reduction process can be as high as 52%

However, the acetic acid produced by conventional electrocatalytic devices is mixed with many electrolyte salts and cannot be directly used for biological fermentation

Therefore, in order to "feed" the microorganisms, it is necessary not only to improve the conversion efficiency and ensure the quantity of "food", but also to obtain pure acetic acid without electrolyte salts to ensure the quality of "food"

"We used a new solid-state electrolyte reaction device to replace the electrolyte salt solution in the traditional electrocatalysis technology with a solid-state electrolyte, and directly obtained a pure acetic acid aqueous solution without further separation

Microorganisms "jealous" produce glucose

After obtaining acetic acid, the researchers tried to use the microorganism Saccharomyces cerevisiae to synthesize glucose

"Saccharomyces cerevisiae is mainly used in fermentation industries such as cheese, steamed bread, and winemaking.

"However, in the process, Saccharomyces cerevisiae itself also metabolizes part of the glucose, so the yield is not high

In this regard, the research team abolished the ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to metabolize glucose by knocking out three key enzymatic elements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that metabolize glucose

"We used this biological Saccharomyces cerevisiae to synthesize glucose at the gram level 'from scratch', which represents the high production level and development potential of this strategy

The researchers then knocked out two enzymatic elements suspected of metabolizing glucose, and inserted glucose phosphatase elements from Pantoea and Escherichia coli
.

Yu Tao said that the glucose phosphatase elements of Pantoea and Escherichia coli can "open a new way" to convert phosphate molecules in other pathways in yeast into glucose, increasing the yeast's ability to accumulate glucose
.
The glucose yield of the modified engineered yeast strain reaches 2.
2 g/L, and the yield is increased by 30%
.

New catalysis method has solid foundation

More importantly, in recent years, with the rapid rise of new energy power generation and the decline in electricity costs, carbon dioxide electroreduction technology has the potential to compete with traditional chemical processes that rely on fossil energy
.

At the same time, as a living cell factory, microorganisms have the advantage of high product diversity and can synthesize many compounds that cannot be artificially produced or with low artificial production efficiency.
They are a very rich "material synthesis toolbox"
.
For example, microorganisms play an important role in the processing of common food and drugs such as liquor, steamed bread, and antibiotics
.

"In this way, the electricity and microorganisms required for the synthesis of glucose and oils are guaranteed, and a new catalytic method combining electrocatalysis with biosynthesis has a solid foundation
.
" Xia Chuan said
.

In this regard, researcher Li Can, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the China Catalysis Professional Committee, commented that this work coupled artificial electrosynthesis and biosynthesis, and developed a yeast from water and carbon dioxide to the energetic chemical small molecule acetic acid, and then engineered.
A new way for microorganisms to catalyze the synthesis of high value-added products such as glucose and free fatty acids provides a new technology for artificial and semi-artificial synthesis of "food"
.

"This work opens up a new strategy for electrochemically combining living cells to catalyze the preparation of food products such as glucose, and provides a new paradigm for the further development of new agriculture and bio-manufacturing based on electric drive.
It is an important development direction in carbon dioxide utilization
.
" Chinese Academy of Sciences Deng Zixin, academician and professor of Shanghai Jiaotong University, said
.

At the same time, Zeng Jie also emphasized that this achievement is still in the basic research stage of the laboratory.
If it is to be put into practical use, it is necessary to further improve energy efficiency and productivity and reduce production costs
.

Zeng Jie said that next, the research team will further study the homogeneity and compatibility of the two platforms of electrocatalysis and biological fermentation
.
In the future, if you want to synthesize starch, make pigments, produce drugs, etc.
, you only need to keep the electrocatalytic facilities unchanged and replace the microorganisms used for fermentation
.
(Editor Li Chuang)