Using sunlight to power the photoredox system pyruvic acid and CO ¬ 2 are transformed into fumaric acid, by malate dehydrogenase and fumarase. Credit: Yutaka Amao, Osaka Metropolitan University
Synthesis of fumaric acid by a brand-new method of artificial photosynthesis, utilizing sunshine.
In recent years, environmental problems caused by international warming have actually ended up being more evident due to greenhouse gases such as CO2. In natural photosynthesis, CO2 is not reduced directly, however is bound to natural compounds which are transformed to glucose or starch. Imitating this, artificial photosynthesis could reduce CO2 by integrating it into natural compounds to be utilized as raw products, which can be transformed into long lasting types such as plastic.
A research team led by Professor Yutaka Amao from the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis and college student Mika Takeuchi, from the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Science, have succeeded in synthesizing fumaric acid from CO2, a basic material for plastics, powered– for the very first time– by sunshine. Their findings were published in Sustainable Energy & & Fuels
. Fumaric acid is typically synthesized from petroleum, to be utilized as a raw material for making naturally degradable plastics such as polybutylene succinate, however this discovery reveals that fumaric acid can be manufactured from CO2 and biomass-derived compounds using sustainable solar energy.
” Toward the practical application of synthetic photosynthesis, this research has prospered in using visible light– eco-friendly energy– as the power source,” discussed Professor Amao. “In the future, we aim to collect gaseous CO2 and use it to manufacture fumaric acid directly through synthetic photosynthesis.”
Reference: “Visible-light-driven production of fumarate from CO2 and pyruvate using a photocatalytic system with double biocatalysts” by Mika Takeuchia and Yutaka Amao, 13 December 2022, Sustainable Energy & & Fuels.DOI: 10.1039/ D2SE01533A.
Financing: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Promotion of Joint International Research.