• Posted on 13 Oct 2022
  • 4-minute read

UTS has celebrated World Algae Day by highlighting two cutting-edge technologies that promise the next-generation of carbon capture.

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Descriptive transcript

[Upbeat music plays] As we know, high levels of carbon are having extreme and long-term effects on our climate, economy and quality of life. To keep the planet under 1.5 degrees of warming, we have less than 10 years to develop technology to remove massive quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere. Currently, we're using either chemical solvent-based technology, which has been around for about 30 years and is struggling to operate at scale, or we're attempting to remove CO2 with large-scale tree planting, which is costly, takes time and is ultimately competing with food production.

We need to rapidly drive innovative technology from research and development to commercial implementation. Biotechnology offers a cheap and scalable option. Algae uses light and nutrients to capture carbon, thereby producing cellular biomass that can be converted into bioplastics, building products or biochar. All of these algae-derived products can store atmospheric carbon long-term.

Enter the Green Genie, a shipping container that contains a highly optimised algal photobioreactor where layers of microalgae capture atmospheric carbon using photosynthesis. Like a turbocharged mini-forest, fast-growing microalgae are 40 times more efficient than trees at removing CO2 from the atmosphere. This process is called CCU – Carbon Capture and Use – rather than CCS, which captures carbon and attempts to store it, often underground and with considerable risk.

A Green Genie processing module can be easily transported and installed to be used for a number of industries. Here are just three. It can be used to capture CO2 from flue gas or off-gas from hard-to-abate emitters, such as power plants, cement manufacturers or breweries. Atmospheric CO2 can also be scrubbed from the air for direct air capture, or DAC. Green Genie can also process wastewater from sewage treatment plants or agricultural waste as a nutrient source to grow microalgae and capture CO2.

Now is the time to think about how carbon removal and biomass production can benefit your business or industry. For more information about the Green Genie project, follow our website or email us. We'd love to hear from you. [Music fades out]

Minister for the Environment and Water, The Hon Tanya Pilbersek MP, officially launched the UTS Algal Phenomics Facility and had a preview of the new Green Genie technology.

The Algal Phenomics Facility is a world-first lab featuring a fully automated robotic system that can screen thousands of types of algae per day, supercharging the genetic selection of the traits needed by industries.

Minister Tanya Pilbersek at Algae Phenomics Facility
Minister for the Environment and Water, The Hon Tanya Pilbersek MP, at launch of the Algal Phenomics Facility. Photo: Barnaby Downes.

Distinguished Professor Peter Ralph, Director of Climate Change Cluster, says the facility can operate at the equivalent of 20 scientists working 24/7 on finding these ‘super algae’.

“By drastically accelerating the discovery and characterisation of using this advanced tech, we are unlocking enormous potential for industry to quickly utilise ‘super algae’ to decarbonise their manufacturing processes,” he said.

UTS has supported the development of new biotechnologies to combat climate change and create a new green industry in Australia

Green Genie is a portable bioreactor technology platform that can fit in a shipping container. It directly captures carbon from the air that can then be used to produce products such as bio-plastics and animal feed.

Professor Long Nghiem, Director of the Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, says Green Genie has the potential to work 20 times more efficiently in capturing carbon than existing platforms.

“Scientists and engineers have been working to overcome the challenges of achieving carbon capture at scale. Green Genie uses innovative optical techniques and new filtration technology to make a step-change in the fight against climate change,” he said.

World Algae is celebrated on 12 October each year, and is part of Global Climate Change Week.

As a pioneer in the field, UTS has supported the development of new biotechnologies to combat climate change and create a new green industry in Australia.

 

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