NewNergy

CARS, the humorous abbreviation for a Carbon Algae Recycling System, is being developed by the Alberta Research Council and nine other research corporations.

In CARS, exhaust CO2 from power plants is diverted from the exhaust gases and pumped into the tailing ponds, where micro-algae eat it all up, along with the heavy metals and leftover hydrocarbons. Result? algae that are harvested and turned into biofuels. From the press release:

“In essence, the goal of CARS is to fast-track Mother Nature’s own process of using plants to soak up greenhouse gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere,” says John McDougall, vice-chairman for I-CAN from the Alberta Research Council. “Algae growth research isn’t new, but our goal is. Other algae projects are aimed at creating bio-fuels. The goal of CARS is to provide industry with a sustainable, affordable way to deal with their greenhouse gas emissions.”

More from here



http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/05/micro-algae-will-save-world.php

Labels: biodiesel, co2-sequestration

Hybrid Hydrogen-Carbon Process - A New Biofuel Breakthrough?
March 14, 2007
By Rene O'Deay

A new process of creating biofuels could lead to the US becoming an exporter of oil, instead of an importer, according to Purdue University Scientists.

The new process is called H2CAR for "hybrid hydrogen-carbon process." This process (H2CAR) can be used to provide a sustainable fuel supply to meet the needs of the entire U.S. transportation sector...

H2CAR will enable us to use our current fuel delivery system and internal combustion engines. The method can also be used to produce liquid gas from coal without the production of CO2, eliminating the need for carbon dioxide sequestering.

Read the full post from here @ Alternative Energy Products

Labels: co2-sequestration, inventions

Fertilising the Oceans - Thin Soup and a Thin Story

2 May 2007 @ Real Climate

A firm called planktos.com is getting a lot of attention for their bid to create a carbon offset product based on fertilizing the ocean.

In certain parts of the ocean, surface waters already contain most of the ingredients for a plankton bloom; all they lack is trace amounts of iron. For each 1 atom of iron added in such a place, phytoplankton take up 50,000 atoms of carbon. What could be better?

Phytoplankton biomass does not last forever, any more than tree biomass does. The trick therefore is to get the carbon to sink out of the surface ocean into the depths, generally in the forms of snot and poop. Once it reaches a depth of a kilometer or so, it can decompose to CO2 again but the water will be isolated from the atmosphere for decades, maybe centuries.

Sounds like a great idea? May be yes, may be not...read the detailed post here @ Real Climate to know more

Labels: climate-change, co2-sequestration, ocean, research

Agrichar for Better CO2 Sequestration & to Reduce Global Warming?

May 07, 2007

The first meeting of the International Agrichar Initiative convened about 100 scientists, policymakers, farmers and investors with the goal of birthing an entire new industry to produce a biofuel that goes beyond carbon neutral and is actually carbon negative.

Agrichar is the term not for the biomass fuel, but for what is left over after the energy is removed: a charcoal-based soil amendment. In simple terms, the agrichar process takes dry biomass of any kind and bakes it in a kiln to produce charcoal. The process is called pyrolysis. Various gases and bio-oils are driven off the material and collected to use in heat or power generation. The charcoal is buried in the ground, sequestering the carbon that the growing plants had pulled out of the atmosphere. The end result is increased soil fertility and an energy source with negative carbon emissions.

Interesting, read the full story from here @ Truthout

Via: Madison Peak Oil Group post

Labels: climate-change, co2-sequestration, environment, inventions

Breakthrough Carbon Capture Technology That Turns Wastewater to Resource

Press release

Sydney based greentech company Geo-Processors Pty Limited announced the completion of development of a breakthrough Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology following successful initial process trials.

The technology - identified as Carbon Capture and Products Recovery (CCPR) system - enables efficient capture of CO2 from ambient air or point-sources and then conversion to mineral byproducts for industrial use or recycling.

Central to this technology is the use of massive volumes of bicarbonate-rich water produced as waste water by oil/gas production, coal mining and coal power stations and desalination processes - currently a source of environmental concerns and operational costs.

Read more from this press release @ IPD Group

Labels: co2, co2-sequestration, environment

PermaLink - Breakthrough Carbon Capture Technology Turns Wastewater to Resource posted by Ecacofonix : 8:50 PM  0 Comments

Total Launches the First Integrated CO2 Capture and Geological Sequestration Project in a Depleted Natural Gas Field in SW France

Press release

February 12, 2007

Total announces the launch of a pilot CO2 capture and sequestration project in the Lacq basin in southwestern France. The project, which leverages a technique considered among the most promising in the fight against climate change, calls for up to 150,000 metric tons of CO2 to be injected into a depleted natural gas field in Rousse (Pyrenees) over a period of two years as from end-2008.

Read the full press release here @ OilVoice

Labels: climate-change, co2, co2-sequestration