Using Carbon Emissions to Fight Climate Change?
September 10, 2008
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A group of researches in Missouri are trying to use the carbon emissions from a local power plant to grow algae that will be used to make biofuels.
The researches come from a group of nearby universities and local electric companies that are trying to improve their green image.
The beginning of the project will see only a small amount of carbon emissions from the coal plant used by the researchers. The carbon dioxide will then be pumped into pools of water lit by the sun that will be teeming with algae.
Carbon dioxide is an ideal gas for this as it is naturally a rich food for plants. The algae can then be used in a variety of ways, including the generation of biofuels and biodiesel, as well as for feeding livestock.
While the potential of algae as a source for biofuel that will help reduce our carbon footprint is well known, the largest challenge with algae remains finding a method of producing it in commercial quantities.
The results from these scientists will be watched closely by those in the biofuel industry.
Algae has been in the news a great deal lately as more and more companies look to is as a source of biofuel that will let them cut their carbon footprint. Furthermore, it could represent a home grown source of fuel, reducing the country’s dependence on foreign oil. Expectations from algae are particularly high in the airline industry where Boeing is leading in development.
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