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[에너지경제신문 송기우 에디터] KAIST (President Lee Kwang-hyung) announced on the 9th that the research team of Professor Byung-Kwan Cho (photo) of the Department of Life Sciences has developed a technology that converts C1 gas (a gas composed of one carbon such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide), which is the main factor of climate change, into high value-added biochemicals. .
Professor Cho’s research team developed an artificial photosynthesis system for microbial-optical nanoparticles in which highly efficient optical nanoparticles are attached to the surface so that microbes can use electrons emitted when optical nanoparticles receive light as an energy source. This technology is an eco-friendly C1 gas refinery technology in which microorganisms convert C1 gas into various biochemicals by using light as the only energy source, and it presents various application possibilities for realization of 2050 carbon neutrality declared by the government.
This study, which was participated by a student of KAIST Life Sciences Dept. Sang-Rak Jin, as the first author, was published in the online edition of Sanskrit on February 23 in the international journal’Proceedings of National Academy of Science (PNAS)’. : Acetogenic bacteria utilize light-driven electrons as an energy source for autotrophic growth)
Acetogen microbes can convert C1 gas to acetic acid through the Wood-Yungdahl metabolic circuit. Accordingly, the possibility of using it as a biocatalyst for the production of biochemicals from C1 gas is high, and it is attracting much attention as a carbon capture and utilization technology.
Acetogen microorganisms obtain reducing energy for C1 gas metabolism by decomposing sugar or hydrogen. In order to replace sugar or hydrogen, C1 gas can be used without sugar or hydrogen by attaching optical nanoparticles that act as individual photoelectrodes of nanoparticle size to the surface of microorganisms and transferring light energy to the microorganisms.
Existing technologies have limitations in enhancing the efficiency of C1 gas metabolism because it is difficult to control the structure and size of optical nanoparticles by biosynthesizing optical nanoparticles and attaching them to the cell surface. This is due to the unique characteristics of optical nanoparticles that differ in the performance of the photoconductive effect depending on their structure and size.
To overcome these limitations, the research team synthesized high-efficiency optical nanoparticles that are uniform in structure and size and exhibit excellent photoconducting effects by chemical method, and the’Clostridium autoethanogenome, one of the acetogen microorganisms that can be used industrially (Clostridium autoethanogenum)’ was attached to the surface. The research team established an eco-friendly artificial photosynthesis system using light by proving that microorganisms attached with optical nanoparticles can produce acetic acid from C1 gas. Through technology to determine the presence or absence), the electron acceptor for the transfer of electrons generated from optical nanoparticles into microorganisms was identified.
Professor Cho Byeong-gwan, who led the research, said, “We can replace sugar or hydrogen used in the C1 gas fixation process with eco-friendly light energy, and overcome the limitations of the existing artificial photosynthesis system using microbial-based biosynthetic photonic nanoparticles. Using high-efficiency optical nanoparticles can increase the efficiency of artificial photosynthesis, and provides a clue to the research on the development of artificial microorganisms that can efficiently accept electrons generated from optical nanoparticles.
Meanwhile, this research was carried out with the support of the C1 Gas Refinery Project Group and Intelligent Biosystem Design and Synthesis Research Group (Global Frontier Project) promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Research Foundation.