Comparative evaluation of microalgae strains for CO2 capture purposes

Abstract

In this paper we have compared eleven microalgae/cyanobacteria strains used for the development of a CO 2 capture process. Firstly, we studied the tolerance of the selected strains to the water quality available at the production site. The results confirmed that no toxins were present in the water used; in addition, we confirmed that fertilizers could be utilised as the nutrient source instead of pure chemicals. Secondly, the strains were evaluated in terms of growth rate, biomass productivity and photosynthetic efficiency concluding that Scenedesmus almeriensis, Neochloris oleoabundans and bloom from the River Seine were the most productive, above 1.0 g•L −1 •day −1. Thirdly, we determined the biochemical composition of the biomass with the results showing that most of the strains mainly accumulate carbohydrates in the stationary phase, over 60% d.wt.; the exceptions were Neochloris oleoabundans and Chlorella vulgaris, which accumulate lipids, above 20% d.wt. In any case, the performance of the microalgae strains was better than that of cyanobacteria both in terms of biomass productivity and the biochemical composition; consequently, using these types of microorganisms is recommended. By considering a fixed value for the main biomass components, we concluded that the most promising strains were Scenedesmus almeriensis, Neochloris oleoabundans and bloom from the River Seine, yielding a biomass value above 0.6 €•kg −1 and an economic value higher than 0.7 €•m-3 •day −1. These figures confirm that, in order to obtain profitable CO 2 capture processes and to develop more efficient production systems that reduce current production costs, coupling with wastewater treatment schemes is required.

Bench-Scale Cultivation of Microalgae Scenedesmus almeriensis for CO2 Capture and Lutein Production

“…Cheng et al [48] reported that the amount of CO 2 present in the air (0.04%) is inadequate to achieve high cell density and on the other hand, an excess may inhibit the carbonic anhydrase enzyme, which in turn may reduce biomass productivity. Sepulveda et al [49] reported that S. almeriensis was one of the most productive strains when using it in CO 2 capture processes, with a biomass productivity of 1.0 g•L −1 •day −1 and with 2.…”

Large-Scale Cultivation of Spirulina for Biological CO2 Mitigation in Open Raceway Ponds Using Purified CO2 From a Coal Chemical Flue Gas

“…It is reported that up to 7% of global CO 2 emissions can be attributed to the anthropogenic emission of CO 2 from coal-fired thermoelectric plants (Morais and Costa, 2007). With respect to CO 2 sequestration, different technologies have been investigated, such as using amines or solid adsorbents (da Rosa et al, 2016;Sepulveda et al, 2019). Cardias et al (2018) reported that the growth of Spirulina sp.…”

Neochloris oleoabundans from nature to industry: a comprehensive review

“…The interest in the cultivation of Neochloris strains has significantly increased over the last decade due to its potential to treat wastewater treatment (Altunoz et al 2020;Singh et al 2020), to accumulate significant amounts of lipids suitable for biodiesel production (Banerjee et al 2019), and its capacity to capture a substantial amount of CO 2 (Zhu et al 2018;Sepulveda et al 2019). In addition, the capacity of Neochloris to grow in fresh and marine medium has increased the interest in exploring its full potential (Safi et al 2020).…”