Electrolytic conversion of carbon capture solutions containing carbonic anhydrase

The electrolysis of carbon capture solutions bypasses energy-intensive CO2 recovery steps that are often required to convert CO2 into value-added products. We report herein an electrochemical flow reactor that converts carbon capture solutions containing carbonic anhydrase enzymes into carbon-based products. Carbonic anhydrase enzymes benefit CO2 capture by increasing the rate of reaction between CO2 and weakly alkaline solutions by 20 fold. In this study, we reduced CO2-enriched bicarbonate solutions containing carbonic anhydrase ( enzymatic CO2 capture solutions ) into CO at current densities of 100 mA cm(-2). This result demonstrated how to electrolyse enzymatic CO2 capture solutions, but the selectivity for CO production was two-thirds less than bicarbonate solutions without carbonic anhydrase. This reduction in performance occurred because carbonic anhydrase deactivated the catalyst surface. A carbon microporous layer was found to suppress this deactivation.

Automated summary

The electrolysis of carbon capture solutions can convert them into carbon-based products without the need for energy-intensive CO2 recovery steps. Carbonic anhydrase enzymes can enhance CO2 capture by increasing the reaction rate between CO2 and alkaline solutions. A carbon microporous layer can suppress the deactivation of the catalyst caused by carbonic anhydrase.