UK CAER Receives $1.2 Million to Support Algae-Based Carbon Utilization Project
The University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research’s (CAER) Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis Group has received $1.2 million US DOE grant for their novel work in utilizing CO2 from coal-fired power plants to manufacture bioplastics.
The DOE funding will allow the CAER team to investigate a combined photobioreactor/pond cultivation process to decrease the cost of algae cultivation while developing a strategy to maximize the value from algal biomass.
With this project, UK CAER team has become the global leader in developing a technology to capture carbon di oxide from coal-fired power plants using algae and convert the resulting algal biomass to products like bioplastics, chemicals and fuels.