Sustainable Recycling of Formic Acid by Bio-Catalytic CO<sub>2</sub> Capture and Re-Hydrogenation

oleh: Zhengyang Zhao, Pei Yu, Bhuvana K. Shanbhag, Phillip Holt, Yu Lin Zhong, Lizhong He

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-05-01

Deskripsi

Formic acid (FA) is a promising reservoir for hydrogen storage and distribution. Its dehydrogenation releases CO<sub>2</sub> as a by-product, which limits its practical application. A proof of concept for a bio-catalytic system that simultaneously combines the dehydrogenation of formic acid for H<sub>2</sub>, <i>in-situ</i> capture of CO<sub>2</sub> and its re-hydrogenation to reform formic acid is demonstrated. Enzymatic reactions catalyzed by carbonic anhydrase (CA) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) under ambient condition are applied for <i>in-situ</i> CO<sub>2</sub> capture and re-hydrogenation, respectively, to develop a sustainable system. Continuous production of FA from stripped CO<sub>2</sub> was achieved at a rate of 40% using FDH combined with sustainable co-factor regeneration achieved by electrochemistry. In this study, the complete cycle of FA dehydrogenation, CO<sub>2</sub> capture, and re-hydrogenation of CO<sub>2</sub> to FA has been demonstrated in a single system. The proposed bio-catalytic system has the potential to reduce emissions of CO<sub>2</sub> during H<sub>2</sub> production from FA by effectively using it to recycle FA for continuous energy supply.