Biofixation of CO2from Synthetic Combustion Gas Using Cultivated Microalgae in Three-Stage Serial Tubular Photobioreactors

Abstract

Coal is the most abundant of the fossil fuels, with reserves estimated at 102billions of tons. The feasibility of using coal as a fuel depends upon reducing emissions of gas when it is burnt, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). The removal of CO2with microalgae may be one of the most efficient ways of reducing this gas, without the need for radical changes in the world's energy supply and production methods. Spirulina sp. LEB-18 and Scenedesmus obliquus LEB-22 were cultivated in serial tubular photobioreactors, with the aim of measuring the potential of CO2biofixation and the resistance of the microalgae to SO2and NO. Spirulina sp. and S. obliquus had CO2biofixation scores of 0.27 and 0.22 g L-1d-1, respectively. Both microalgae were resistant to SO2and NO, and grew during the 15 d they were cultivated, which proves that using microalgae is an efficient method of biofixation of CO2emitted when fossil fuels are burnt. © 2011, Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung. All rights reserved.