Microbial electrosynthesis of acetate from carbon dioxide

Abstract

Carbon dioxide gas is the major gaseous effluent release from various industries such as brewing, steel, coal, mills, ceramic, glass, refineries, cement industries and power plants etc. and it is also major constituent of greenhouse gases, due to its ever-increasing hazardous impact on not only on human beings but also on environment now seeks an affordable, clean, reliable and sustainable method to proper dispose of CO₂ into the useful products. One of the new evolving technologies to combat this issue and lead to the manufacture of useful product in the form of biochemicals and bio-fuel etc. is the Microbial Electrosynthesis (MES). MES is a biocathode driven process in which electroactive microorganisms from solid state electrode to catalyse the reduction of CO₂ and generate valuable extracellular multicarbon reduced product. This process use in biological processes such as anaerobic digestion, fermentation and conventional waste water treatment plants. Microorganisms use renewably driven electricity as a source of energy to reduce volatile fatty acids (VFAs), bio commodities and bio-fuel etc. This technology reduces our dependency on fossil fuel and also alleviate the climate change issues. It possesses the potential advantage over biomass-based strategies for the production of fuels and chemicals as it eliminates the need of arable land, avoiding environmental degradation associated with intensive agriculture and the direct production of desired product. This review article focuses over the production of acetate from the carbon dioxide by using Microbial Electrosynthesis. Acetate is commercially important and valuable chemical as it can transform further into other beneficial products.