Current situation and development prospects of metallurgical by-product gas utilization in China's steel industry

Conceptually, the simplest way to synthesize an organic molecule is to construct it one carbon at a time. The Wood-Ljungdahl pathway of CO(2) fixation involves this type of stepwise process. The biochemical events that underlie the condensation of two one-carbon units to form the two-carbon compound, acetate, have intrigued chemists, biochemists, and microbiologists for many decades. We begin this review with a description of the biology of acetogenesis. Then, we provide a short history of the important discoveries that have led to the identification of the key components and steps of this usual mechanism of CO and CO(2) fixation. In this historical perspective, we have included reflections that hopefully will sketch the landscape of the controversies, hypotheses, and opinions that led to the key experiments and discoveries. We then describe the properties of the genes and enzymes involved in the pathway and conclude with a section describing some major questions that remain unanswered.

'Too much Carbon Monoxide for me to bear…' are the opening lyrics of the CAKE song Carbon Monoxide (from their 2004 album Pressure Chief), and while this may be the case for most living organisms, several species of bacteria both thrive on this otherwise toxic gas, and metabolize it for the production of fuels and chemicals. Indeed CO fermentation offers the opportunity to sustainably produce fuels and chemicals without impacting the availability of food resources or even farm land. Mounting commercial interest in the potential of this process has in turn triggered greater scrutiny of the molecular and genetic basis for CO metabolism, as well as the challenges associated with the implementation and operation of gas fermentation at scale. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.