The National Research Foundation (NRF) announced that Korea University (KU) Professor Koo Man Bok’s (Department of Life Science and Biotechnology) research team has successfully invented a continuous-production system that produces industrially useful composites by using carbon dioxide. This project’s accomplishment, funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning (MSIP), was made public through the globally renowned science journal, American Chemical Society (ACS) Catalysis on August 17. 

Carbon dioxide has long been considered one of the biggest causes of global warming. Scientists are therefore working on converting harmful carbon dioxide into eco-friendly materials using carbonate anhydrous. The original converting method was only able to convert carbon dioxide into bicarbonate ions, which had little industrial usage. Professor Koo’s research team, however, was able to produce industrially useful compounds through the use of carbon dioxide. 
 
The production system invented by the research team utilized a catalyst enzyme to directly extract oxaloacetic acetate and calcium carbonate from carbon dioxide. Under this production system, researchers are able to produce oxaloacetic acetate for 24 hours and calcium carbonate for six hours continuously. This is the first case of a continuous stirring reaction system utilizing carbon dioxide by controlling the reaction speed using beads. 
 
Professor Koo, meanwhile, emphasized the significance of the research by commenting that, “Being able to produce industrial materials from carbon dioxide, which is the main cause of global warming, signifies the invention of foundation technology that can be utilized in industrial production.” It is also hoped that the new technology will serve as a breakthrough towards a cleaner environment. 
   
▲ A diagram of how oxaloacetic acetate and calcium carbonate is produced using the system. Provided by the National Research Foundation Korea.
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