Fumarate production from pyruvate and low concentrations of CO2 with the multi-enzymatic system in the presence of NADH and ATP

Fumarate is an unsaturated dicarboxylic acid useful as raw materials for unsaturated polyester resins, polybutylene succinate (PBS), poly(propylene fumarate)(PPF), plasticisers and so on. Biodegradable plastics made from fumarate are an attractive solution to the serious environmental pollution caused by plastic disposal. A new fumarate production from CO₂ and biobased pyruvate using enzymes in aqueous media under ambient temperature and pressure is an environmental approach for both plastic pollution, and CO₂ capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). In this work, the fumarate production from pyruvate and low-concentration CO₂ below 15% captured from the gas phase by the 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES)-NaOH buffer solution with the multi-enzyme system consisting of pyruvate carboxylase from bovine liver (PC; EC 6.4.1.1), malate dehydrogenase recombinant from Bacteria (MDH; EC 1.1.1.37) and fumarase from porcine heart (FUM; EC 1.1.1.37) in the presence of adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP) and NADH was investigated. It was found that pyruvate can be converted into L-malate in high yield (more than 80 %) by directly using 15% CO₂ equivalent to exhaust gas as a carboxylating agent by using dual-enzyme system consisting of PC and MDH in the presence of ATP and NADH after 5 h incubation. Moreover, the development of fumarate production from 15% CO₂ and pyruvate as raw materials also was accomplished by using dual-enzyme system consisting of PC and MDH.