Algae become a carbon recycler at IU power plant
Burning fossil fuels is damaging to the environment, but no one is sure how to alter energy production without a major upset to the economy. It's a predicament for mankind's energy habit, some scientists believe, where a search for remedies lies off the traditional problem-solving path.
Fortunately, Richard Wagner is anything but traditional. A former member of Indiana University's Biology Department, he is now director and chief executive officer of Phylein, a company that researches natural oils and biofuels in algal systems. About a year ago Wagner's company began work at the IU Bloomington Central Heating Plant (CHP) using algae to remove carbon dioxide from flue gas releases.
Phylein CEO Richard Wagner in the laboratory at IU's Central Heating Plant where algae is being used to consume carbon dioxide.
Algae are photosynthetic organisms that convert carbon dioxide and energy from the sun into carbohydrates and, as far as Wagner is concerned, they become carbon recyclers when given the opportunity to gobble up carbon dioxide waste releases from sites like the heating plant. After absorbing the carbon dioxide emissions, algae would be dried and then reintroduced into the boilers as fuel, or used in other green processes like anaerobic digesters to produce biogas, reducing the amount of coal used in energy production and cutting emissions.
Carbon dioxide composes 0.03 percent of the air that circulates around the planet, but a sample of air that has been through the combustion process at a coal-fired plant like IU's contains about 15 percent carbon dioxide. However, because carbon dioxide has negative effects on human health and is a recognized contributor to global warming, scientists and policy makers are searching for ways to reduce releases into the atmosphere.
"This project seemed like a good opportunity for IU and the CHP to contribute toward a solution to the carbon dioxide problem," said IU Assistant Director of Utilities Mark Menefee. "We can't discount any single option, especially one this innovative. IU is an institution that is pursuing sustainability, and the research being conducted here may one day prove invaluable in achieving that goal."
Managers at CHP have spent years looking for ways to reduce emissions while still meeting campus demand for steam heat, and the plant does use emission controls to control the release of sulfur dioxide, mercury and particulate matter. Whenever possible, the plant has also been burning higher-priced natural gas, which emits about half as much carbon dioxide per unit of energy as does coal. Those measures have helped, Menefee pointed out, but IU remains committed to further reducing its carbon footprint.
"There is renewed interest in biological approaches to solving environmental and energy issues," Wagner said. "Because of their unique nature and large number of species algae appear to offer many opportunities for developing biological-based platforms for solving some of these problems."
Wagner conducts much of his CO2-uptake research from a tiny room on the ground floor of the IU Central Heating Plant. He grows colonies of algae, pumps different concentrations of carbon dioxide through them and then measures their response while examining issues of efficiency and viability. After the algae have been exposed to carbon dioxide, lipid content is measured to determine carbon dioxide effects on algae colony growth. Even if algae are able to absorb a portion of the carbon dioxide that is introduced, high concentrations may be toxic.
Wagner knows there will be other challenges involving logistics and cost-benefit analysis. Algae needed to filter carbon dioxide from a single power plant would require more than 100 acres of production ponds, and some regions would not be as conducive to algae production as other areas.
Wagner believes the future of using algae for carbon uptake technology is promising, and even if in the end it is not a viable means to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at CHP, he believes the research will provide a valuable contribution to future research.
"There are very few groups in the country that can conduct the critical research to evaluate the potential of this technology," said Wagner. "The combination of reputable algal scientists at IU, proactive, solutions-oriented leadership at the IU Physical Plant, an algae company based in Indiana and a progressive administration committed to making IU an environmentally sound campus will contribute to the success of this project."
In 2004, Wagner's company Phycotransgenics received a $1.8 million grant from the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. Located in IU's Emerging Technology Center in Indianapolis, it specializes in the oral delivery of biologically active molecules to humans and animals using transgenic micoalgae. Markets that the company focuses on include animal health, animal feed, bioremediation, environmental monitoring and biopesticides.
Wagner, who has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, is also president of SolarVest BioEnergy, which in February 2009 received a $1.9 million award from Canada's Atlantic Innovation Fund to support the company's development of technology to grow algae and extract oils for the growing natural oils market.
