Osaka, Japan – Tremendous effort has been put into making plastics not only durable and convenient but also environmentally-friendly materials for everyday products. Osaka Metropolitan University scientists made a significant advance in this journey with their innovative artificial photosynthesis technology that produces biodegradable plastics from acetone and CO 2 , addressing the plastic waste crisis while moving toward the goal of carbon neutrality. Their findings were published in Chemical Communications .
The research team led by Professor Yutaka Amao from the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis at Osaka Metropolitan University has successfully synthesized 3-hydroxybutyrate, a raw material for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)—a strong water-insoluble polyester used for packaging materials—from acetone and CO 2 . With a visible light-driven catalytic system utilizing sunlight and two biocatalysts, the researchers achieved a yield of about 80%.
Mimicking natural photosynthesis, the team artificially reproduced a light reaction, which involves sunlight, and a dark reaction, which fixes CO 2 , and synthesized 3-hydroxybutyrate.
This study is the latest in a series of the researchers’ articles on using artificial photosynthesis to produce useful substances, generate renewable energy, and achieve a carbon neutral society. “This research result of synthesizing 3-hydroxybutyrate, a raw material for PHB, from CO 2 is a significant contribution to addressing both the plastic and CO 2 reduction issues,” said Professor Amao. “In the future, we aim to produce 3-hydroxybutyrate through artificial photosynthesis using CO 2 contained in exhaust gas emitted from factories.”
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About OMU
Osaka Metropolitan University is a new public university established by a merger between Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University in April 2022. For more science news, see https://www.upc-osaka.ac.jp/new-univ/en-research/ , and follow @OsakaMetUniv_en , or search #OMUScience .
Chemical Communications
Experimental study
Visible-light driven 3-hydroxybutyrate synthesis from CO2 and acetone with the hybrid system of photocatalytic NADH regeneration and multi-biocatalysts
7-Sep-2022