Innovative Catalysts Transform CO2 into Valuable Resources.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have developed an artificial metabolic pathway that produces formaldehyde from formic acid, a possible intermediate product of artificial photosynthesis. Formaldehyde could be fed directly into several metabolic pathways to form other valuable substances without any toxic effects. The researchers used high-throughput methods to optimize enzymes and achieved a fourfold improvement in production. The long-term goal is an "all-in-one platform"—from carbon dioxide via an electrobiochemical process to products like insulin or biodiesel.