Starch synthesis from CO2 without plants (Tianjin)
Síntesis de almidón a partir de CO2 sin plantas (Tianjin)
- Date
- 2021 · confidence high
- Place
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Tianjin, China
- Credited to
- Cai Tao and colleagues (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
A Tianjin team designed an artificial 11-reaction pathway, using enzymes from different organisms, that converts CO2 into starch via hydrogen and methanol, without photosynthesis or cells. They reported a rate about 8.5 times that of maize per unit area, at laboratory scale.
Published in Science in September 2021 (Cai et al.); the advantage over maize is a theoretical rate comparison, not an agricultural yield, and requires external hydrogen. It is not yet an industrial process.
What it led to
- biomanufacture of food without agriculture
- cell-free enzymatic pathways for chemicals and fuels
- Chinese CO2 bioeconomy projects