Friday, January 27, 2023

Artificial photosynthesis uses sunlight to make biodegradable plastic

Synthesis of fumaric acid by a new method of artificial photosynthesis, using sunlight

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Fumaric acid synthesis from CO2 using solar energy 

IMAGE: USING SUNLIGHT TO POWER THE PHOTOREDOX SYSTEM PYRUVIC ACID AND CO¬2 ARE CONVERTED INTO FUMARIC ACID, BY MALATE DEHYDROGENASE AND FUMARASE. view more 

CREDIT: YUTAKA AMAO, OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Osaka, Japan – In recent years, environmental problems caused by global warming have become more apparent due to greenhouse gases such as CO2. In natural photosynthesis, CO2 is not reduced directly, but is bound to organic compounds which are converted to glucose or starch. Mimicking this, artificial photosynthesis could reduce CO2 by combining it into organic compounds to be used as raw materials, which can be converted into durable forms such as plastic.

A research team led by Professor Yutaka Amao from the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis and graduate student Mika Takeuchi, from the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Science, have succeeded in synthesizing fumaric acid from CO2, a raw material for plastics, powered—for the first time—by sunlight. Their findings were published in Sustainable Energy & Fuels.

Fumaric acid is typically synthesized from petroleum, to be used as a raw material for making biodegradable plastics such as polybutylene succinate, but this discovery shows that fumaric acid can be synthesized from CO2 and biomass-derived compounds using renewable solar energy.

“Toward the practical application of artificial photosynthesis, this research has succeeded in using visible light—renewable energy—as the power source,” explained Professor Amao. “In the future, we aim to collect gaseous CO2 and use it to synthesize fumaric acid directly through artificial photosynthesis.”

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About OMU
Osaka Metropolitan University is a new public university established by a merger between Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University in April 2022. For more science news, see https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/, and follow @OsakaMetUniv_en, or search #OMUScience. 

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