Abstract
Human activity has been altering many ecological cycles for decades, disturbing the natural mechanisms which are responsible for re-establishing the normal environmental balances. Probably, the most disrupted of these cycles is the cycle of carbon. In this context, many technologies have been developed for an efficient CO(2) removal from the atmosphere. Once captured, it could be stored in large geological formations and other reservoirs like oceans. This strategy could present some environmental and economic problems. Alternately, CO(2) can be transformed into carbonates or different added-value products, such as biofuels and bioplastics, recycling CO(2) from fossil fuel. Currently different methods are being studied in this field. We classified them into biological, inorganic and hybrid systems for CO(2) transformation. To be environmentally compatible, they should be powered by renewable energy sources. Although hybrid systems are still incipient technologies, they have made great advances in the recent years. In this scenario, biotechnology is the spearhead of ambitious strategies to capture CO(2) and reduce global warming.