Carbon Savings
The types of microorganisms grown for protein or biofuel production are CO2 hungry. CO2 is captured from the flue gas or fermenting barrels and percolated through an array of bioreactors populated with algae or other micro-organisms. The algae consumes the carbon dioxide and converts it to oil and proteins. Contaminants from wastewater are utilised by the algae as a food source. The by-products from the process are oil, minerals, proteins and oxygen.
Put simply, we use hydrocarbons in the form of oils and coal to produce heat and electricity. When burned, the carbon - hydrogen bond is broken; the carbon binds with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. Microorganisms strip the carbon atom, photosynthetically convert it into proteins and oil and release the oxygen.
Many algae will consume 4 kilos of carbon dioxide to produce 1 kilo of dry algal mass.