Isolation and characterization of Carbonic Anhydrase producing bacterial isolates for CO₂ conversion

Abstract

Rapid industrialization and burning of fossil fuels is one of the major causes of global warning which has led to the deterioration of a healthy environment. Microbial carbonic anhydrase has been employed for the reduction of CO2 level in the environment. Soil sample was used in this study in order to search for CA-producing bacteria. In the bacterial cultures, eight isolates were chosen after screening for CA activity. It was found that Isolate no. 5 had the highest concentration of CA activity (1.58 U/ml) out of all the bacteria tested. Several production parameters were optimized for CA production. Incubation temperature 20°C, media nutrient broth, and inoculum volume 0.25%v/v, pH 7 was optimized. The crude enzyme was examined for the conversion of CO2 into calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Crude CA was shown to have a CO2 conversion. Bacterial CA precipitation of calcite can be exploited for the sequestration of carbon, can be used in a variety of applications such as paper industry, cements, and construction materials.