Phytolutions

Greenhouse gas mitigation with Microalgae

Together with the energy supplier BREWA, the at that time Jacobs University Team has piped waste gas containing carbon dioxide, from the BREWA power station in Bremen through an algae bioreactor, producing algal biomass from this CO2.

During the research project, supported by the Bremen environment senator, Phytolutions investigated the applicability of a selection of algal species, but concentrated research on two species: During the experiment, the productivity lay between 50 and 70 tons of biomass per hectare per year. The estimated carbon dioxide reduction rate lay at around two tons of carbon dioxide per produced ton of algae biomass. The biomass could be used as animal food, because the harmful substances found were 90 per cent below the legal limit for animal food. The total oil concentrations lay between 1 and 27 per cent, and thus the biomass could also be used as biodiesel.

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