A new initiative (under experiment) could significantly assist energy intensive industries to become more environmentally friendly while reducing operating costs. GEA Niro, a Danish company that specialises in process engineering, is leading the initiative, which makes it possible for CO2 to be converted to fuel alcohol, proteins for animal feed & fertilisers for agricultural purposes. The principle is that CO2 is scrubbed from processes with high concentrations of it, such as rotary ovens or cement plants. It is then introduced to basins that contain large volumes of algae, which consume the CO2 gas. As algaes contain fermentable sugars, they are easily converted to alcohol through fermentation. The alcohol can then be recovered for use as fuel, leaving the remaining algae bio mass & yeast cream for drying into useful fertiliser & animal feed respectively. The process is thought to be suitable for industries with a large CO2 footprint, including glass manufacture, that can benefit from CO2 savings in the production process as penalties for excessive emissions become more severe. Currently, tests are running in Spain for growing algaes in connection with a cement plant. Preliminary analysis suggests that it is a successful process for reducing CO2 emissions.
