Lgem | synalgae

LGEM, Mourik EGP, and CyanoCapture announced today the successful completion of a first stage carbon capture proof of concept project. The project successfully demonstrated the feasibility of capturing CO2 directly from the unscrubbed flue gas of a portable fuel cell generator using cyanobacteria growing in a photobioreactor. This technology provides a new way to not only reduce CO2 emissions but also reuse them. The produced biomass can serve as a raw material for such things as bioplastics and pharmaceutical applications. This opens opportunities for industries such as energy, chemicals, and agriculture to turn their CO2 emissions into valuable products. Mourik EGP's new methanol fuel cell generator was connected to an LGEM photobioreactor, in which CyanoCapture's fastest-growing cyanobacterial strain was used to absorb CO2 from the flue gas and convert it to cyanobacterial biomass. The fuel cell and photobioreactor setup was run for a week without any discernible impact on growth rate, capturing CO2 at a rate of 1.9 g/L/d (grams per litres per day) in continuous cultivation mode, at conservative light levels aimed at mimicking industrial scale. During parallel growth studies using higher light levels, biomass productivity of 1.8 g/L/d (CO2 fixation rate of 2.9 g/L/d) was achieved, higher than any other organism grown at LGEM so far. "This project demonstrates the growth rate and culture stability that can be achieved using LGEM photobioreactors backed by decades of algae and cyanobacteria culturing experience," said Jeroen de Vree (LGEM). "We are excited to work with Mourik EGP and CyanoCapture to advance this much-needed technology." "Our novel HT-PEM fuel cell generator on bio-methanol is a portable and clean source of up to 5kW of electrical power, modularly expandable beyond 250kW. Although using bio-methanol is CO2 neutral, our system does emit a small amount of CO2 from the bio-methanol. However, CO2 is not just an emission; it is increasingly becoming a business case for commodities, among other purposes. The addition of the cyanobacterial photobioreactor now demonstrates removal of CO2 from the flue gas, allowing valuable biomass to be made for potential commercialisation." said Max van der Linde (Mourik EGP). "We are confident that this technology can be used to significantly reduce carbon emissions in a wide variety of industries." "Our fastest-growing cyanobacterial strain is ideal for carbon capture applications," said Nick Roesen (CyanoCapture). "The tested light level was just a fraction of what the strain can really do, and coupled with our work on expressing high value products from the cyanobacteria, we aim to achieve economically-viable capture and utilisation of waste CO2." The three partners are now working on the next phase: scaling up and commercial implementation. Companies interested in CO2 capture and reuse are invited to explore collaboration and potential applications in their industries.

LGEM, Mourik EGP, and CyanoCapture announced today the successful completion of a first stage carbon capture proof of concept project. The project successfully demonstrated the feasibility of capturing CO2 directly from the unscrubbed flue gas of a portable fuel cell generator using cyanobacteria growing in a photobioreactor. This technology provides a new way to not only reduce CO2 emissions but also reuse them. The produced biomass can serve as a raw material for such things as bioplastics and pharmaceutical applications. This opens opportunities for industries such as energy, chemicals, and agriculture to turn their CO2 emissions into valuable products. Mourik EGP's new methanol fuel cell generator was connected to an LGEM photobioreactor, in which CyanoCapture's fastest-growing cyanobacterial strain was used to absorb CO2 from the flue gas and convert it to cyanobacterial biomass. The fuel cell and photobioreactor setup was run for a week without any discernible impact on growth rate, capturing CO2 at a rate of 1.9 g/L/d (grams per litres per day) in continuous cultivation mode, at conservative light levels aimed at mimicking industrial scale. During parallel growth studies using higher light levels, biomass productivity of 1.8 g/L/d (CO2 fixation rate of 2.9 g/L/d) was achieved, higher than any other organism grown at LGEM so far. "This project demonstrates the growth rate and culture stability that can be achieved using LGEM photobioreactors backed by decades of algae and cyanobacteria culturing experience," said Jeroen de Vree (LGEM). "We are excited to work with Mourik EGP and CyanoCapture to advance this much-needed technology." "Our novel HT-PEM fuel cell generator on bio-methanol is a portable and clean source of up to 5kW of electrical power, modularly expandable beyond 250kW. Although using bio-methanol is CO2 neutral, our system does emit a small amount of CO2 from the bio-methanol. However, CO2 is not just an emission; it is increasingly becoming a business case for commodities, among other purposes. The addition of the cyanobacterial photobioreactor now demonstrates removal of CO2 from the flue gas, allowing valuable biomass to be made for potential commercialisation." said Max van der Linde (Mourik EGP). "We are confident that this technology can be used to significantly reduce carbon emissions in a wide variety of industries." "Our fastest-growing cyanobacterial strain is ideal for carbon capture applications," said Nick Roesen (CyanoCapture). "The tested light level was just a fraction of what the strain can really do, and coupled with our work on expressing high value products from the cyanobacteria, we aim to achieve economically-viable capture and utilisation of waste CO2." The three partners are now working on the next phase: scaling up and commercial implementation. Companies interested in CO2 capture and reuse are invited to explore collaboration and potential applications in their industries.