Sequestro De Carbono E Geração De Bioenergia Por Chlorella Vulgaris / Carbon Sequestration and Generation of Bioenergy by Chlorella Vulgaris

Abstract

The increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, due to the consumption of fossil fuels, is the main cause of man-made greenhouse effect, thus, global warming and all sort problems associated to it. To solve those questions, researchers from different countries are developing new and more sustainable technologies and products. Among these techniques, the production of biofuels using new sources is relevant. In Brazil, ethanol obtained from sugarcane it is the most produced and used biofuel by local population. To produce enough ethanol to meet the Brazilian's demand, large crop areas are required, reducing the available space for growing food crops. An option to conventional raw materials is the employment of microalgae such as Chlorella vulgaris, that can remove and assimilate large amounts of CO2 from atmosphere, producing a highstarch biomass, which can be used to produce ethanol. In addition, other possible application of the microalgae is as biological catalyst Photosynthetic Fuel Cell (PFC) system in the cathode of a microbial fuel cell, designed to produce clean energy. In this paper, the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris was applied in an electrochemical system to generate electricity, with maximum value of Vmax 244mV.cm -2 . C. vulgaris It's also an efficient carbon sink, absorbing 3.5 mg.L -1 CO2 after 10 days of growing. The biomass composed by 40% starch, which shows potential use of these microalgae to produce clean energy and biofuels.