Recovery and Sequestration of CO2 from Stationary Combustion Systems by Photosynthesis of Microalgae

Abstract

Most of the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide result from the combustion of fossil fuels for energy production. Photosynthesis has long been recognized as a means, at least in theory, to sequester anthropogenic carbon dioxide. Aquatic microalgae have been identified as fast growing species whose carbon fixing rates are higher than those of land-based plants by one order of magnitude. Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), Aquasearch, and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii are jointly developing technologies for recovery and sequestration of CO{sub 2} from stationary combustion systems by photosynthesis of microalgae. The research is aimed primarily at demonstrating the ability of selected species of microalgae to effectively fix carbon from typical power plant exhaust gases. This report covers the reporting period 1 October 2000 to 31 March 2005 in which PSI, Aquasearch and University of Hawaii conducted their tasks. This report discusses results of the work pertaining to five tasks: Task 1--Supply of CO2 from Power Plant Flue Gas to Photobioreactor; Task 2--Selection of Microalgae; Task 3--Optimization and Demonstration of Industrial Scale Photobioreactor; Task 4--Carbon Sequestration System Design; and Task 5--Economic Analysis. Based on the work conducted in each task summary conclusion is presented.