Nature inspired strategy to capture smoky carbon dioxide into commercial carbonates and add value to farming

Air pollution is linked to the climate change crisis threatening life on Earth. The technologies for managing the rising concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide are insufficient and mostly non-holistic. Amine scrubbing and the bury-and-hide approaches have led the way, whereas biocatalysed treatment has potential. However, these technologies could be more polluting (and more dissordered S > 0). Therefore, there is growing interest in holistic designs based on bioinspired solutions. The problem is complex and requires innovative designs that break disciplinary boundaries. Methods in this work consider: 1) the use of natural carbonic anhydrase from bovine blood waste to accelerate carbon conversion into carbonates up to 1 million molecules per second; 2) the use of real untreated smoke instead of the traditional, yet unrealistic, pristine CO2 approach (smoke is hot, sticky, corrosive and carries momentum, nitrogen, soot and toxic molecules harmful to most technologies, including biological); 3) at the heart of this work is the novel Cloud C concept, where a synthetic aqueous cloud simultaneously enhances the bioreactive absorption of smoky carbon and 4) the reduction of energy and water to produce commercial carbonates. Results showed that the amount of captured smoky CO2 doubled compared to its traditional counterpart. Moreover, 98% of the water was recovered and recycled after rapid natural precipitation of carbonates. This approach is safer for avoiding technologies linked to the high temperatures and pressures of amine scrubbing and geological capture and storage while valorising wastes. In addition, it avoids the use of fossil amines and natural or synthesised anhydrases, ultimately depending on feedstocks from fossil raw materials, or renewables generating more pollution linked to land-use change. Carbonates can be used in more than 500 commercial applications. This wholistic nature-inspired approach presents opportunities in harmony with climate change mitigation, circular economy and sustainability.