Innovative bio-based chains for CO2 valorisation as added-value organic acids

Emissions reductions necessary to meet the Paris Agreement are unachievable without large-scale capture and use of CO2 emissions. VIVALDI offers an innovative integrated solution for the valorisation of CO2 emissions from different biomass-based industrial sectors (pulp/paper, biomass and ethanol) into added-value organic acids. VIVALDI embraces the whole value chain: 1) CO2 capture using a amine-based absorption combined with immobilised carbonic anhydrases 2) electrocatalytical CO2 reduction into C1 building blocks using novel electrode materials and reactor configurations, 3) fermentation of the C1s into organic acids via the Pichia pastoris microbial chassis and 4) recovery of nutrient/trace elements/energy from their own industrial wastewaters using bioelectroconcentration. VIVALDI will profit from the recent research advances of the partners to develop and validate, in strong collaboraton with industry sector, a feasible and sustainable value chain to valorise CO2 into organic acids with different market demands: lactic (already established), itaconic (recently industry-adopted) and 3-hydroxypropionic (still poorly established at industrial scale). Besides the concept, VIVALDI’s strength is the multidisciplinary and complementary consortium: partners with well-known R&D experience, large CO2-producers from each of the industry sectors, early technology adopters, experts in the market of novel solutions and large end-users of the chemical products.