March 31st, 2009
Algae to the rescue
There are estimates that 60% of the greenhouse gas emissions are CO2. And some engineers at Ohio State think they’ve found the best use for all that excess CO2: growing algae.Here’s their proposal: large scale bioreactors. The CO2 is pumped into water tanks where it is dissovled in the water which then circulates over and around numerous fabric panels impregnated with algae. The algae in turn remove the CO2 from the water and create hydrocarbons, releasing oxygen and nitrogen. The power for the reactor comes from photosynhesis. The algae can be harvested from biodiesel or animal food. The bioreactor becomes self-powering and CO2 is removed from the atmosphere. That’s the plan.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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