Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment and Delivery (ACED)

Microalgae are very useful biological systems for capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) and generating biomass and many useful products. Increasing the CO₂ concentration in gas supplied to a microalgae growth system can improve its productivity many fold over using atmospheric air. Flue gas could be a good source of CO₂ -enriched gas; however, its usefulness is compromised by transportation costs and toxic contaminants that can introduce impurities into fuel or other high value products.

Researchers at Arizona State University have developed systems and methods for capturing and concentrating CO₂ from the atmosphere and delivering the concentrated CO₂ to microalgae growth systems. This system is highly efficient and delivers CO₂ at a rate that is great enough to promote high biomass-production rates in closed or open systems. This system creates a concentrated stream of CO₂ similar to flue gas, but is located at the site of microalgae growth (eliminating transportation costs and risks) and it doesn’t contain contaminants.

This system can enable the high microalgae productivity needed to meet the significant global demand for high-density liquid transportation fuels and lower production costs.

Potential Applications

• CO₂ capture and concentration for delivery into microalgae growth systems
• Production of renewable biofuels
• Production of animal and fish feed
• Production of bioplastics/biopolymers
• Production of fine chemicals (agrochemicals, specialty chemicals, etc.)
• Production of human and animal supplements & therapeutics
• Production of recombinant proteins
• Production of cosmetics

Benefits and Advantages

• Produced on site – significantly expands the number of feasible growing sites
• Eliminate CO2 transport costs and risks associated with building pipelines
• Carbon neutral – CO₂ removed from atmosphere, not from burning fossil fuels
• Pure and concentrated CO₂ stream without the drawbacks of flue gas
• Versatile - can be used in open microalgae systems (open ponds) or closed systems (photobioreactors)
• Minimizes CO₂ loss – 90% or more CO₂ uptake efficiency
• More precise control over the pH and inorganic-C (Ci) levels
• Eliminates the input of undesired microorganisms from gas delivery

Dowload Original PDF   

For more information about the inventor(s) and their research, please see
Dr. Rittmann’s laboratory webpage 
Dr. Lackner's laboratory webpage 
Dr. Wright’s laboratory webpage 
Dr. Flory’s directory webpage