The only problem in the process was the need to harvest regularly the bacteria from the ocean floor. A recent study conducted by a group of researcher from University of Florida stated that a type of bacteria plucked from the bottom of the ocean could play a fantastic role in this fiasco by neutralizing large amounts of industrial carbon dioxide.
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According to reports from the Environmental Protection Agency, carbon dioxide continues to be the primary greenhouse gas emitted into our atmosphere as a result of human activities. It essentially helps in retaining the heat, thus increasing the problem of global warming.
Amongst the many atmospheric greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide happens to be the one found in abundance and is the biggest reason for the buildup of atmospheric greenhouse gases. In order to neutralize the carbon dioxide a durable heat resistant enzyme is necessary. Thiomicrospira crunogena is the bacteria which is being used to fulfill this goal.
A statement released by the University of Florida said that the bacterium, known as Thiomicrospira crunogena, yields carbonic anhydrase, which is an enzyme that aids in the removal of carbon dioxide from organisms.
In the process of carbon sequestration, the carbonic anhydrase catalyzes a chemical reaction between the greenhouse gas and water.
Because this bacteria lives by hydrothermal vents, it has adapted to withstand the scalding temperatures involved in sequestering carbon dioxide from the power plant emissions. The Carbon dioxide will then interact with it, and the further convert into bicarbonate. Bicarbonate is a harmless compound commonly found in household products such as chalk and baking soda. The enzyme can be produced in a laboratory using a genetically engineered version of the common E. coli bacteria.
Bhatt said their team is working hard to find ways to increase the enzyme’s stability and longevity. All that remains is a few engineering brilliance, and we may yet be closer to resolving part of our world’s climate issues. They are also trying to produce a variant of the enzyme that is both heat-tolerant and fast-acting enough to be used in industrial settings.
That is just what is needed for the enzyme to work in the process of lowering industrial carbon dioxide, said researchers from UF.
In an industrial setting, the UF researchers believe the carbonic anhydrase could be captured, immobilizing it with solvent inside a reactor vessel serving as a large purification column.
“You want it to do the reaction faster and more efficiently”, said Avni Bhatt, a research assistant.?The fact that it has such a high thermal stability makes it a good candidate for further study.?.
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“It shows that it’s physically possible to take known enzymes such as carbonic anhydrase and utilize them to pull carbon dioxide out of flue gas”, he said.
