Bio-based materials: Sunlight drives CO2 to chemicals

In the drive to develop renewable feedstocks, the conversion of waste carbon dioxide (CO2) to useful chemicals is somewhat of a Holy Grail, in that it would reduce industrial emissions as well as creating non-fossil routes to chemicals.

Dutch technology start-up Photanol, founded in 2008 by inventors Professor Klaas Hellingwerf and Professor Joost Teixera de Mattos and the University of Amsterdam (UvA), has developed a breakthrough technology to convert CO2 into valuable organic compounds.

Rex Features Sunlight plays a key part in helping cyanobacteria convert CO2 to useful chemicals

The company is applying this technology in a number of markets, ranging from food ingredients to chemical bio-blocks and biofuels.

In the short term the company, backed ­financially by ICOS Capital and UvA Holding, is seeking to produce cost-effective alternatives for products in the flavours and fragrances market and the food industry. It believes it can deliver products with constant quality and supply in a market that is prone to supply issues due to variability of feedstock. An ­initial example is limonene, a lemon flavour chemical.

In the longer term, Photanol envisions providing cost-effective alternative production for bulk chemicals and fuels, which are ­currently highly dependent on oil and gas as feedstock.

PREPARING TO SCALE UP

Photanol, based at the University of Amsterdam, employs more than 15 researchers in the field of molecular biology, biochemistry and process engineering. It opened a pilot plant for process development in March 2012 and is now preparing to scale up the production of terpenes and low calorie sugars.

In September this year, it signed an agreement with AkzoNobel to develop “green” chemical building blocks that will eventually replace raw materials AkzoNobel currently obtains from fossil-based production.

“Given the challenges the world is facing in terms of resource scarcity, we are actively looking for bio-based alternatives for our chemicals and Photanol’s existing technology is a potential game-changer,” explained Peter Nieuwenhuizen, AkzoNobel’s director of innovation and partnerships.

“We are constantly looking for less traditional solutions as we strive to do more with less and this exciting partnership – which has the potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprint – is a perfect example of our ‘Planet Possible’ approach to sustainability.”

The collaboration is focused on Photanol’s existing proprietary technology, which uses light to directly convert CO2 from the air into predetermined raw materials such as acetic acid and butanol. The only by-product is oxygen.

‘MAJOR STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE’

Michiel Lensink, Photanol’s CEO, added: “The cooperation with AkzoNobel is of major strategic importance to us. Not only does it give us access to a large potential market, but AkzoNobel’s processing technology expertise also means that we will shorten our time to market.”

The two companies will start by developing a number of specific chemicals that are currently used by AkzoNobel’s specialty chemicals business area. The partnership is intended to be a stepping stone for potential commercial production of fourth generation bio-based chemicals.

Photanol’s technology uses engineered ­cyanobacteria to turn CO2 directly and ­efficiently into predetermined products when exposed to light. By genetically introducing properties of fermentative bacteria into these cyanobacteria, Photanol enables these bacteria to produce and excrete valuable ­compounds.

The company points out that the CO2-consuming process is based on circular economy principles and is truly sustainable, widely applicable and independent of the food economy. The technology is not dependent on soil quality nor does it need high-tech infrastructure.

Application is modular and hence can be globally employed to the benefit of consumers from both local small-scale settings and large-scale industrial production. Compared to classical fermentation, Photanol uses 40 times less land area and up to 10,000 times less water.

• More information on Photanol and its technology