The base case chosen for the preliminary CARS work is sized to consume up to 30 per cent of the greenhouse gases produced by the average 300 megawatt coal-fired power plant.
“Until now, it was believed Canada’s climate and light conditions wouldn’t support these kinds of algae projects,”
“We’ve now discovered the less intense sunlight in Canada is actually beneficial to the growth of algae, and we are devising concepts of how covered pond systems could work economically in our climate.”
On the engineering side, the researchers have already determined that neither the existing photobioreactor nor the open pond systems would deal with large enough volumes of CO2.
I-CAN partner researchers are now developing a hybrid covered pond system that maintains the consistent environment required by the chosen strains of algae.
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