Gas Fermentation Shows Promise for Harnessing Waste CO2

Using a specially engineered strain of bacteria, Michael Jewett and a team from Lanzatech have developed a process for converting waste carbon directly into acetone and isopropanol.  As these chemicals, with a joint global market of $10 billion due to their wide utility, typically require fossil fuels to produce, the overall effect could reduce associated greenhouse gas emissions by 160 percent according to an associated lifecycle analysis.  Even more promising, acetone and isopropanol may not be the only chemicals that gas fermentation might be used to produce, promising a potentially enormous effect on emissions associated with chemical production in the future.