Development of a hybrid photo-bioreactor and nanoparticle adsorbent system for the removal of CO2 , and selected organic and metal co-pollutants
Andrea A. Rocha , Christian Wilde , Zhenzhong Hu , Oleg Nepotchatykh , Yevgen Nazarenko , Parisa A. Ariya
DOI:10.1016/j.jes.2016.12.010
Received July 04, 2016,Revised October 30, 2016, Accepted December 05, 2016, Available online December 28, 2016
Volume 29,2017,Pages 41-53
Fossil fuel combustion andmany industrial processes generategaseous emissionsthat contain a number of toxic organic pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2 ) which contribute to climate change and atmospheric pollution. There is a need for green and sustainable solutions to remove air pollutants, as opposed to conventional techniques which can be expensive,consume additional energy and generate further waste. We developed a novel integrated bioreactor combined with recyclable iron oxide nano/micro-particle adsorption interfaces, to remove CO2, and undesired organic air pollutants using natural particles, while generating oxygen. This semi-continuous bench-scale photo-bioreactor was shown to successfully clean
up simulated emission streams of up to 45% CO2 with a conversion rate of approximately 4% CO2 perhour,generatingasteadysupply ofoxygen(6 mmol/hr),whilenanoparticleseffectively remove several undesired organic by-products. We also showed algal waste of the bioreactor can be used for mercury remediation. We estimated the potential CO2 emissions that could be captured from our new method for three industrial cases in which, coal, oil and natural gas were used. With a 30% carbon capture system, the reduction of CO2 was estimated to decrease by about 420,000, 320,000 and 240,000 metric tonnes, respectively for a typical 500 MW power plant. The cost analysis we conducted showed potential to scale-up, and the entire system is recyclable and sustainable. We further discuss the implications of usage of this completesystem,orasindividualunits,that could provide a hybrid op tionto existing indu strial setups.
