Protein‐based carbon capture: progress and potential

Increasing atmospheric levels of CO 2 and potential resulting climate changes require new, innovative solutions. As currently employed, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology is unable, by orders of magnitude, to cope with the tremendous (and increasing) amount of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. In the biosphere, enzymatic CCS captures more than quadruple the amount of CO 2 emitted by human activity, and so a bio‐inspired approach to CCS is greatly appealing. In this perspective, recent work concerning the ability of various CO 2 ‐utilizing enzymes (Rubisco, carbonic anhydrase, and others) to act as carbon capture agents is discussed. Particular attention is given to computational modeling and simulation research, which has revealed useful, fundamental information about the way a protein interacts with carbon dioxide at the primary, secondary, and tertiary structure levels. Novel computational approaches that have been developed to rapidly screen proteins for their suitability for enzymatic CCS are discussed. It is proposed that increased carbon utilization must be incorporated into CCS, and furthermore that enzymatic utilization, especially when guided by computational modeling, will be a crucial component of success. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd