In carbon fixation, plants convert carbon dioxide into sugars, from which many biosynthetic pathways originate.  The catalyst responsible for this conversion, RuBisCO, is the most common protein. Some anaerobic organisms employ enzymes to convert CO to carbon monoxide, from which fatty acids can be made.
In industry, a few products are made from CO, including urea, salicylic acid, methanol, and certain inorganic and organic carbonates. In the laboratory, carbon dioxide is sometimes used to prepare carboxylic acids in a process known as carboxylation. An electrochemical CO electrolyzer that operates at room temperature has not yet been commercialized. Elevated temperature solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOECs) for CO reduction to CO are commercially available. For example, Haldor Topsoe offers SOECs for CO reduction with a reported 6-8 kWh per Nm CO produced and purity up to 99.999% CO.