Bacteria and CO2: Harnessing the power of carbon-eating bacteria

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• December 1, 2022

Insight summary

Algae's carbon-absorbing abilities could be one of the most valuable tools in mitigating climate change. Scientists have long studied this natural process to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create environmentally friendly biofuels. The long-term implications of this development could include increased research on carbon capture technologies and the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate bacteria growth.

Bacteria and CO2 context

There are several methods of removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air; however, separating the carbon stream from other gases and pollutants is costly. The more sustainable solution is cultivating bacteria, such as algae, which produce energy via photosynthesis by consuming CO2, water, and sunlight. Scientists have been experimenting with ways to transform this energy into biofuels. 

In 2007, Canada's Quebec City's CO2 Solutions created a genetically engineered type of E. coli bacteria that produce enzymes to eat carbon and turn it into bicarbonate, which is harmless. The catalyst is part of a bioreactor system that may be expanded to capture emissions from power plants that use fossil fuels.

Since then, technology and research have advanced. In 2019, US company Hypergiant Industries created the Eos Bioreactor. The gadget is 3 x 3 x 7 feet (90 x 90 x 210 cm) in size. It is intended to be placed in urban settings where it captures and sequesters carbon from the air while producing clean biofuels that can potentially reduce a building's carbon footprint. 

The reactor uses microalgae, a species known as Chlorella Vulgaris, and is said to absorb far more CO2 than any other plant. The algae grow inside a tube system and reservoir within the gadget, filled with air and exposed to artificial light, giving the plant what it needs to grow and produce biofuels for collection. According to Hypergiant Industries, the Eos Bioreactor is 400 times more effective at capturing carbon than trees. This feature is due to the machine learning software that oversees the algae-growing process, including managing light, temperatures, and pH levels for maximum output.

Disruptive impact

Industrial materials, such as acetone and isopropanol (IPA), have a total global market of over $10 billion USD. Acetone and isopropanol are a disinfectant and antiseptic that is widely used. It's the basis for one of the World Health Organization's (WHO) two recommended sanitizer formulations, which are highly effective against SARS-CoV-2. Acetone is also a solvent for many polymers and synthetic fibers, thinning polyester resin, cleaning equipment, and nail polish remover. Because of their bulk production, these chemicals are some of the largest carbon emitters.

In 2022, researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois partnered with carbon recycling firm Lanza Tech to see how bacteria can break down waste CO2 and turn it into valuable industrial chemicals. The researchers used synthetic biology tools to reprogram a bacterium, Clostridium autoethanogenum (originally designed at LanzaTech), to make acetone and IPA more sustainably via gas fermentation.

This technology eliminates greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and doesn't use fossil fuels to create chemicals. The team's life-cycle analysis showed that the carbon-negative platform, if adopted on a large scale, has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 160 percent compared with other methods. The research teams expect that the developed strains and fermentation technique will be able to scale up. Scientists might also use the process to formulate quicker procedures for creating other essential chemicals.

Implications of bacteria and CO2

Wider implications of using bacteria to capture CO2 may include: 

• Companies in diverse heavy industries contracting bioscience firms to bioengineer algae that can be specialized to consume and convert the specific waste chemicals and materials from production plants, both to reduce CO2/pollution output and to create profitable waste byproducts. 
• More research and funding for natural solutions to capture carbon emissions.
• Some manufacturing companies partnering with carbon-capture tech firms to transition to green technologies and collect carbon tax rebates.
• More startups and organizations focusing on carbon sequestration through biological processes, including ocean iron fertilization and afforestation.
• The use of machine learning technologies to streamline bacteria growth and optimize output.
• Governments partnering with research institutions to find other carbon-capturing bacteria to fulfill their net zero pledges by 2050.

Questions to consider

• What are the other potential benefits of using natural solutions to address carbon emissions?
• How is your country addressing its carbon emissions?