Aerobic syngas conversion: opportunities, challenges, and solutions

Some aerobic bacteria can convert syngas, an energy-dense mixture of CO, H₂, and CO₂ derived from waste gasification, into platform chemicals and products such as single-cell protein and bioplastics. Despite the enormous theoretical energy yield of aerobic syngas conversion, few cultured bacteria can mediate this process, and none do so quickly or efficiently. This reflects the dual challenges that known pathways of aerobic CO conversion are highly inefficient, and most H<s