Carbon dioxide conversion to synthetic fuels using biocatalytic electrodes

Abstract

Carbon dioxide has evolved from being considered as a greenhouse gas to a valuable carbon feedstock for the generation of artificial fuels and valuable chemicals. In this work, we review the biocatalytic approaches towards CO₂ conversion into chemicals and fuels. We display the opportunities and challenges of using biocatalysts. Our work especially focuses on bio-electrocatalytic systems. These electrochemical applications of biocatalysts gain increasing interest, as electrochemical redox processes can avoid expensive mediators and co-factors. This is also a pathway for renewable energy storage because wind or solar energy can possibly be applied as electrical sources for the electrochemical CO₂ conversion systems. Biocatalytic CO₂ conversion together with renewable energy storage represents a viable and sustainable route for the generation of chemicals and fuels.