Short communicationCoupled CO2 fixation from ethylene oxide off-gas with bio-based succinic acid production by engineered recombinant Escherichia coli

•Succinate-producing E. coli was used to fix CO2 from ethylene oxide off-gas.•Acetaldehyde was the main factor inhibiting cell metabolic capability.•irrE gene was introduced to improve cell resistance to acetaldehyde.•A novel approach to fix CO2 from industrial exhaust gases was established.

Industrial exhaust gases contributed heavily to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In this study, a novel approach of capturing CO2 from ethylene oxide off-gas and converting it into a platform C4 chemical was established by using succinate-producing E. coli. Fermentation results showed that the acetaldehyde in the off-gas was the main factor inhibiting cell metabolic capability, thus IrrE which is a global regulator from Deinococcus radiodurans was used to improve cell resistance to acetaldehyde. A final succinic acid titer of 68.12 g L−1 with a CO2 fixation rate of 4.7 mmol L−1 h−1 was achieved. Notably, this coupled process not only realized the CO2 fixation from ethylene oxide off-gas but also provided a potential cost-effective gas source which holds potential application for bio-based succinate production.