Enzymatic Carbon Dioxide Capture

Abstract

In the past decade, the capture of anthropic carbonic dioxide and its storage or transformation have emerged as major tasks to achieve, in order to control the increasing atmospheric temperature of our planet. One possibility rests on the use of carbonic anhydrase enzymes, which have been long known to accelerate the hydration of neutral aqueous CO 2 molecules to ionic bicarbonate species. In this paper, the principle underlying the use of these enzymes is summarized. Their main characteristics, including their structure and catalysis kinetics, are presented. A special section is next devoted to the main types of CO 2 capture reactors under development, to possibly use these enzymes industrially. Finally, the possible application of carbonic anhydrases to directly store the captured CO 2 as inert solid carbonates deserves a review presented in a final section.