May 9, 2014
Researchers believe cheaper algae biotechnology can help environment
This story is Part 5 of a five-part series highlighting the 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 strategic research theme,聽, and the recipients of the Vice-President (Research) Matching Funds to Advance Energy Research. The series will run May 5-9. To read the rest of the series, click聽.
A team of six 草莓污视频导航 researchers has been awarded funding for their project, Cost Effective Biotechnology for Carbon Capture and Re-Use. Their research is based on the concept of using algal biotechnology to capture and reuse carbon from gasses emitted from burning fossil fuels.
鈥淲e aim to capture carbon from stack gases, which are generated when you burn fossil fuels for energy at power plants or operations in the oilsands. They generate gas with a lot of carbon dioxide, and we capture that biologically with algae,鈥 says principal investigator Marc Strous, professor in the Department of Geoscience at the 草莓污视频导航. 鈥淭he aim of our project is to create a new process for this that is cost-effective compared to current technology. That鈥檚 the current bottleneck: it鈥檚 possible, but expensive.鈥
Current algal biotechnology pushes stack gases through聽diluted algae held in聽large cement holding tanks, requiring a great deal of power. To process the diluted algae into bioenergy, it must be concentrated in a centrifuge, another costly process. The group hopes that by making the process more economical, it will become a realistic alternative energy option. 鈥淚f companies take on our technology, they will reduce the carbon footprint of the existing energy industry, and bioenergy will be an alternative source of electricity for consumer use,鈥 says Hector De la Hoz Siegler, researcher and assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.
Three primary strategic changes to the carbon capture process聽
The team will use three innovative strategies to reduce the cost of the process. 鈥淔irst, we will work at very high levels of pH and alkalinity, which helps the CO2 to dissolve more easily. We also add carbonates as a pH buffer, which theoretically improves the whole uptake of the CO2,鈥 says Strous. 鈥淪econdly, we grow the algae on a plastic surface as a bio film, so we get very nimble bioreactors that can be constructed inexpensively, and the concentration is also much easier.鈥 Instead of concentrating with a centrifuge, the algae biofilm is scraped off the plastic surface, requiring little electricity.
The third strategy involves using communities of microbes instead of single strains. Single strains lack the resilience of algal communities to withstand harsh Canadian climates. 鈥淭he climate for algal biotechnology in Alberta is great because we have sunshine, but the challenge is that the temperature is never high consistently, so you need a biology that can cope with big temperature swings, day to night, winter to summer,鈥 says Strous.
鈥淲e鈥檝e identified some sites in Canada where we should have these biological resources, and we鈥檙e going to start off by looking at them and seeing if they can be used in the technology,鈥 adds Peter Dunfield, researcher and associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Potential to help the environment and diversify Alberta鈥檚 economy聽
The potential environmental impact of industry adoption of this model is significant. 鈥淲e鈥檙e absorbing CO2, and the algae is taking that and converting it to 02, or clean air. We are reducing the greenhouse effect,鈥 says Joenel Alcantara, researcher and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases. 鈥淭he CO2 is converted into biomass, and the idea is to use that biomass as an energy source. That will reduce dependency on coal and gas, and instead put it on a renewable energy,鈥 says Strous.
鈥淲e selected this project for funding because it embodies the Energy Innovations themes of discovering new sources and planning for the future,鈥 says Chris Clarkson, strategic research theme leader of Energy Innovations for Today and Tomorrow. 鈥淚t also highlights the role of biology and medical science in the energy industry, areas that will grow in importance as the industry diversifies. The 草莓污视频导航 believes this interdisciplinary approach can lead to significant advancements in energy research.鈥
The researchers see this project fitting into the goals of the provincial and federal governments to diversify Alberta鈥檚 economy beyond fossil fuels. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars involved with the project will be prepared to work in this new economy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about capacity building, not only in terms of infrastructure, but also building up 草莓污视频导航 students for success. We want a diverse base of bright, innovative and curious students that want to take this project to the next step and tackle these world problems,鈥 says Alcantara.
罢丑别听聽and the聽聽聽are the roadmaps through which the 草莓污视频导航 will achieve its聽Eyes High聽strategic direction to become one of Canada鈥檚 top five research-intensive universities by 2016, grounded in innovative thinking and teaching, and fully integrated with the community of Calgary. In addition to the theme of聽Energy Innovations for Today and Tomorrow, the university is building strength in five other multidisciplinary strategic research themes:聽Brain and Mental Health; Human Dynamics in a Changing World;聽New Earth-Space Technologies;聽Engineering Solutions for Health; and Infections, Inflammation聽and聽Chronic Diseases in the Changing Environment.