The partnership that is turning CO2 into ethanol
Carbon transformation company Twelve and biotechnology company LanzaTech have turned CO2 emissions into ethanol as a part of an ongoing research and development partnership.
Ethanol is a common alcohol used as a fuel, and an ingredient in hand sanitisers, as well as personal care and household cleaning products.
Read more: New CO2 conversion project turns steel emissions into e-fuels
It is typically produced using biological processes or as a petrochemical, through ethylene hydration, which uses fossil fuels. It is also often produced using corn and other crop feedstocks, but this approach is dependent on crops, that otherwise could be used to grow food, or on waste feedstocks.
The two companies are producing ethanol without fossil fuels by converting CO2 to Carbon Monoxide (CO) through Twelve’s carbon transformation technology. The CO is then converted to ethanol with LanzaTech’s small Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) to convert CO.
The companies claim the approach is highly scalable and could ultimately produce ethanol sustainably on an industrial scale without emissions.
"Collaboration is critical to our work in a rapidly evolving technology space. As we use carbon transformation to address long-standing climate challenges, developing pathways to ethanol and other critical products are key to a fossil-free future," said Twelve CEO Nicholas Flanders.
"Our partnership with Twelve provides us with the feedstock needed to create critical resources like ethanol without adding CO2 to the atmosphere. Our process aims to rebalance the overabundance of carbon in our environment and instead reuse it for meaningful applications," said LanzaTech CEO Dr Jennifer Holmgren.
Read more: Twelve & LanzaTech are turning CO2 emissions into polypropylene
In September 2021, the two companies revealed plans to develop polypropylene from CO2 with a grant from Impact Squared. This work will see Twelve converting CO2 to CO, which will, in turn, be converted by LanzaTech’s proprietary microbe to isopropyl alcohol. TotalEnergies will then dehydrate it into propylene which will be polymerised into polypropylene with the same technical characteristics as its fossil counterparts.
Polypropylene is a major polymer used in key applications, including medical devices like syringes and IV bags, automotive, furniture, textiles, and other durable products, however, it is presently produced using petrochemicals.
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