Green algae for a greener world
This fast-growing organism may help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel power plants.

In recent, small-scale tests at the PGE Boardman Plant, Mody’s team, along with scientists from Oregon State University, piped cooled gas from the exhaust stack into open-air, horizontal tubs of algae.

Test shows algae “eats” carbon
The tests confirmed the group’s hypothesis that a certain strain of algae would absorb carbon emissions, thereby reducing what’s released into the atmosphere. They also showed that algae that had been fed C02 grew twice as fast as algae not exposed to the gas.

That’s more good news, because algae can be dried for use as biomass. And it contains lipid oils that can be converted into jet fuel.

“Research on algae for fuel started in the 1980s for space shuttle missions, but it wasn’t attractive economically,” Mody says. Two decades later, the surge in fuel prices and global interest in carbon reduction changed has brought the technology to center stage.

In 2008, there were 10 companies working on growing algae for bio-diesel and jet fuel. Now there are 200. The booming interest holds promise that algae grown for carbon-reduction could be sold or used for fuel.

This is all heartening to Mody, who heads the construction of new power plants for PGE, including renewable energy projects such as phase 2 and 3 of the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm.

“Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are intermittent, so we still need thermal power plants to provide customers with reliable, cost-effective electricity when they need it,” he says. “Our ultimate goal, then, is carbon-neutral fossil fuel”.

What’s next?
It would take vast amounts of land to produce enough algae to consume substantial emissions from the plant using a horizontal system. Mody’s team suspects that a closed-air, vertical system fed by carbon dioxide would grow even more algae on less land.

PGE and OSU are seeking federal support to conduct further research on the vertical systems. PGE is helping fund OSU research to investigate different algae strains that could be used for this research.