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Use of Carbon Dioxide in Polymer Synthesis

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Part of the book series: Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World ((ECSW,volume 41))

Abstract

The possibility of developing biotechnological processes based on emitted carbon dioxide (CO2) for obtaining diverse products offers an exciting and visionary path from an ecologically destructive and resource-exhausting societal and economical model to a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly one. Microorganisms-based CO2 sequestration is best positioned to represent a prominent alternative to conventional CO2 sequestration technologies consisting of CO2 capture, CO2 separation, and CO2 storage, which present shortfalls such as energy and operational costs and the production of degradation products injurious to human health and natural ecosystems. Without neglecting the bottlenecks inherent into bio-manufacturing, it is worth highlighting that, differently from microbial CO2 sequestration, microorganisms are not restricted to be used solely as desirable carbon sinks but also as catalysts that can simultaneously capture CO2 and produce value-added chemicals. Rather than being a niche market, the CO2-based biopolymers market is expected to witness significant growth.

Herein, we highlight the usage of CO2 as carbon substrate in the synthesis of polymers or polymer building blocks through biological processes. Together with the advances reached by synthetic biology and metabolic engineering capacities, a number of microorganisms have been engaged in the construction of CO2-based cell factories. The present chapter captures the main breakthroughs in the biotransformation of CO2 into different classes of valuable intermediates towards polymer synthesis.

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Abbreviations

1,3-PDO:

1,3-Propanediol

2,3-BDO:

2,3-Butanediol

3-HP:

3-Hydroxypropionic

3-HPA:

3-Hydroxypropionaldehyde

3-HV:

3-Hydroxyvalerate

4HB:

4-Hydroxybutyrate

5-AVA:

δ-Aminovaleric acid

6-ACA:

ε-Aminocaproic acid

ADH:

Alcohol dehydrogenase

ADMET:

Acyclic diene metathesis

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

ATRP:

Atom transfer radical polymerization

C3H:

p-Coumarate-3-hydroxylase

CA:

Carbonic anhydrase

CAGR:

Compound annual growth rate

CDW:

Cell dry weight

CO:

Carbon monoxide

CO2:

Carbon dioxide

CP:

Cyanophycin

CRISPRi:

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats interference

DAHPS:

3-Deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase

DHAP:

Dihydroxyacetone phosphate

DHCA:

3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic acid

EPS:

Extracellular polymeric substances

fbr-DAHPS:

Feedback-inhibition-resistant 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase

GABA:

γ-Aminobutyric acid

GDP:

Guanosine diphosphate

GlyDH:

Glycerol dehydrogenase

H2:

Hydrogen

HCO3-:

Hydrogen carbonate

IPTG:

Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside

KGD:

Ketoglutarate decarboxylase

LDH:

Lactate dehydrogenases

MCR:

Malonyl-CoA reductase

MgCO3:

Magnesium carbonate

MSA:

Malonate semialdehyde

NADH:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

NADPH:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

NAGK:

N-Acetyl-l-glutamate kinase

n-Bu4NBr-DMF:

Tetra-n-butylammonium bromide-dimethylformamide

NMP:

Nitroxide-mediated polymerization

Nox:

Nitrogen oxides

O2:

Oxygen

P(3HB-co-3HP):

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxypropionate) copolymer

P(3HB-co-4HB):

Poly(3-hydroxubutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) copolymer

P3HB:

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate

PAD:

Phenolic acid decarboxylase

PBS:

Polybutylene succinate

p-CA:

p-Coumaric acid

PDC:

p-Hydroxycinnamic acid decarboxylase

PEP:

Phosphoenolpyruvate

PHAmcl:

Medium-chain length polyhydroxyalkanoates

PHAs:

Polyhydroxyalkanoates

PHAscl:

Short-chain length polyhydroxyalkanoates

PHB:

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

p-HBA:

p-Hydroxybenzene

p-HS:

p-Hydroxystyrene

PHV:

Polyhydroxyvalerate

PLA:

Polylactic acid

PTT:

Polytrimethylene terephthalate

PyDC:

Pyruvate decarboxylase

rAcCoA:

Oxygen-sensitive reductive acetyl-CoA pathway

RAFT:

Reversible addition fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization

rPP cycle:

Reductive pentose phosphate cycle

rTCA:

Reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle

SPPS:

Solid-phase peptide synthesis

SSD:

Succinate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase

THF:

Tetrahydrofuran

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Correspondence to Annalisa Abdel Azim or Alessandro Cordara .

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Azim, A.A., Cordara, A., Battaglino, B., Re, A. (2020). Use of Carbon Dioxide in Polymer Synthesis. In: Inamuddin, Asiri, A., Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Conversion of Carbon Dioxide into Hydrocarbons Vol. 2 Technology. Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World, vol 41. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28638-5_1

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