An inter-university research team has developed a microalgae-based carbon capture technology and established the nation’s largest pilot microalgae farm at a university in Tainan in hopes of helping the nation conserve energy and reduce its carbon emissions.
Microalgae are the most productive organism for capturing carbon because of their high photosynthetic rate, said the team, headed by National Cheng Kung University professor Chang Chia-hsiu (張嘉修).
The goal of the team was to use the exhaust emissions and wastewater from factories to breed microalgae, which were first mutated from wild algae with special chemical formulas until they were capable of tolerating the level of heat emitted by factory chimneys, and use the bred microalgae to capture carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, the team said.
Photo: Tang Chia-ling, Taipei Times
“We hope to create a sustainable ecological system,” Chang said.
The team discovered that 1kg of microalgae is capable of absorbing 2kg of carbon dioxide, adding that the Chlorella and cyanobacteria often found in Taiwan’s rivers were most effective, Chang said.
If factories could dedicate one hectare of land for the breeding of microalgae, that one hectare would be able to capture 400 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, he said.
The team has established a breeding center for microalgae at the university’s campus in Annan (安南), Tainan, that is capable of holding 40 tonnes of microalgae, Chang said, with plans for building a bigger center that can breed 200 tonnes of microalgae.
The team has also developed the technology for extracting lutein, synthesizing succinic acid, synthesizing 2-Hydroxypropanoic acid and extracting biodiesel from microalgae, Chang said.
In addition, it has developed a process for breeding microalgae with rhodotorula rubra, Chang said.
Aside from producing biodiesel, rhodotorula can be made into healthcare products, the team said, adding that the carbon dioxide produced when it is growing can also be used by microalgae.
The inter-university team was commissioned by the Ministry of Science and Technology and also includes professors from National Sun Yat-sen University, Tunghai University, Fooyin University and National Chiao Tung University, as well as the Metal Industries Research & Development Center.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS