Sequestration and utilization of carbon dioxide by chemical and biological methods for biofuels and biomaterials by chemoautotrophs: Opportunities and challenges

To meet the CO2 emission reduction targets, carbon dioxide capture and utilization (CCU) comes as an evolve technology. CCU concept is turning into a feedstock and technologies have been developed for transformation of CO2 into useful organic products. At industrial scale, utilization of CO2 as raw material is not much significant as compare to its abundance. Mechanisms in nature have evolved for carbon concentration, fixation and utilization. Assimilation and subsequent conversion of CO2 into complex molecules are performed by the photosynthetic and chemolithotrophic organisms. In the last three decades, substantial research is carry out to discover chemical and biological conversion of CO2 in various synthetic and biological materials, such as carboxylic acids, esters, lactones, polymer biodiesel, bio-plastics, bio-alcohols, exopolysaccharides. This review presents an over view of catalytic transformation of CO2 into biofuels and biomaterials by chemical and biological methods.