Autotrophic biorefinery: dawn of the gaseous carbon feedstock

Abstract

CO2 is a resource yet to be effectively utilized in the autotrophic biotechnology, not only to mitigate and moderate the anthropogenic influence on our climate, but also to steer CO2 sequestration for sustainable development and carbon neutral status. The atmospheric CO2 concentration has seen an exponential increase with the turn of the new millennia causing numerous environmental issues and also in a way feedstock crisis. To progressively regulate the growing CO2 concentrations and to incorporate the integration strategies to our existing CO2 capturing tools, all the influencing factors need to be collectively considered. The review article puts forth the change in perception of CO2 from which was once considered a harmful pollutant having deleterious effects to a renewable carbon source bearing the potential to replace the fossils as the carbon source through an autotrophic biorefinery. Here, we review the current methods employed for CO2 storage and capture, the need to develop sustainable methods and the ways of improving the sequestration efficiencies by various novice technologies. The review also provides an autotrophic biorefinery model with the potential to operate and produces a multitude of biobased products analogous to the petroleum refinery to establish a circular bioeconomy. Furthermore, fundamental and applied research niches that merit further research are delineated.