Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

CO2 Capture and Utilization (CCU) in Coal-Fired Power Plants: Prospect of In Situ Algal Cultivation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Sustainable Energy Technology and Policies

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

Coal-fired plants, presently sharing 90% of Indian thermal power, are the main point sources of anthropogenic emission of CO2. Although there is a prediction of significant decline in the share of coal by 2040, it will remain the obvious choice as power plant fuels due to economic constraints and natural abundance. Therefore, from the perspective of environmental protection, immediate measures for the mitigation of CO2 emission are necessary. Micro- and macroalgae are the photoautotrophs which naturally sequestrate atmospheric CO2 through photosynthesis. The captured inorganic carbon derived from CO2 is stored as carbohydrates in the algal cells. On the other hand, under nitrogen stress, many algae store oil along with carbohydrates. Therefore, from a microalgal cultivation facility, oil can be extracted by solvent extraction process and can be utilized in pharmaceutical sector, and the residual oil can be converted to biodiesel. Valuable biochemicals can be recovered from the algal solid, and the process residue can be ultimately pyrolyzed to generate pyro-oil, pyro-gas, and biochar. Pyro-oil and pyro-gas can be utilized as fuels, and the biochar can be utilized for the amendment of soil. Therefore, an algal cultivation unit, either a raceway pond or a closed reactive system, can be integrated with coal-based power plants for their environmental and financial sustainability through the CO2 capture and utilization (CCU) and for the creation of revenue through the generation of biofuels and valuable biochemicals. This chapter has assessed the prospect of application of different algal strains for the CCU in Indian power plants with special focus on Rhizoclonium hieroglyphicum JUCHE 1, Pithophora varia JUCHE 2, Leptolyngbya subtilis JUCHE 1, the native algae isolated from water handling units (cooling water forebay, clarifier water tank, and cooling tower) of Indian power plants by the present group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2015) Climate change 2014: mitigation of climate change, vol 3, Cambridge University Press

    Google Scholar 

  2. Wallington TJ, Srinivasan J, Nielsen OJ, Highwood EJ (2009) Greenhouse gases and global warming. Environ Ecol Chem 1:36

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ajmi AN, Hammoudeh S, Nguyen DK, Sato JR (2015) On the relationships between CO2 emissions, energy consumption and income: the importance of time variation. Energ Econ 49:629–638

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Vernon C, Thompson E, Cornell S (2011) Carbon dioxide emission scenarios: limitations of the fossil fuel resource. Procedia Environ Sci 6:206–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Rahman FA, Aziz MMA, Saidur R, Bakar WAWA, Hainin MR, Putrajaya R, Hassan NA (2017) Pollution to solution: capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) and its utilization as a renewable energy source for a sustainable future. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 71:112–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Board CIA (2010) Power generation from coal: measuring and reporting efficiency performance and CO2 emissions. CIAB International Energy Agency, Paris, Report: OECD/IEA2010, pp 1–114

    Google Scholar 

  7. Sethi M (2015) Location of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from thermal power plants in India along the urban-rural continuum. J Clean Prod 103:586–600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Mittal ML, Sharma C, Singh R (2012) Estimates of emissions from coal fired thermal power plants in India. In: 2012 International emission inventory conference, pp 13–16

    Google Scholar 

  9. Ito O (2011) Emissions from coal fired power generation. In: Workshop on IEA high efficiency low emissions coal technology roadmap, vol 29

    Google Scholar 

  10. www.teriin.org/projects/green/pdf/India-CCT.pdf, 2015. Greengrowth and cleancoal technologies in India. The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi

  11. Goel M (2017) CO2 Capture and utilization for the energy industry: outlook for capability development to address climate change in India. In: Carbon utilization, Springer, Singapore, pp 3–33

    Google Scholar 

  12. Leung DY, Caramanna G, Maroto-Valer MM (2014) An overview of current status of carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 39:426–443

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Cuéllar-Franca RM, Azapagic A, (2015) Carbon capture, storage and utilisation technologies: a critical analysis and comparison of their life cycle environmental impacts. J CO2 Utilization 9:82–102

    Google Scholar 

  14. Viebahn P, Vallentin D, Höller S (2014) Prospects of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in India’s power sector—an integrated assessment. Appl Energ 117:62–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Cully M (2015) Coal in India. Australia Government Office of the Chief Economist, June

    Google Scholar 

  16. Guttikunda SK, Jawahar P (2014) Atmospheric emissions and pollution from the coal-fired thermal power plants in India. Atmos Environ 92:449–460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. http://powermin.nic.in/en/content/power-sector-glance-all-india

  18. http://cbrienvis.nic.in/Thermal%20Power%20Station%20in%20India%202016.pdf

  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_union_territories_of_India_by_area

  20. Mishra MK, Khare N, Agrawal AB (2015) Scenario analysis of the CO2 emissions reduction potential through clean coal technology in India’s power sector: 2014–2050. Energ Strategy Rev 7:29–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Chang S, Zhuo J, Meng S, Qin S, Yao Q (2016) Clean coal technologies in China: current status and future perspectives. Engineering 2:447–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Goel M (2010) Implementing clean coal technology in India

    Google Scholar 

  23. Zhao B, Su Y (2014) Process effect of microalgal-carbon dioxide fixation and biomass production: a review. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 31:121–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Moreira D, Pires JC (2016) Atmospheric CO2 capture by algae: negative carbon dioxide emission path. Biores Technol 215:371–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Aresta M, Dibenedetto A, Barberio G (2005) Utilization of macro-algae for enhanced CO2 fixation and biofuels production: development of a computing software for an LCA study. Fuel Process Technol 86:1679–1693

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Cardol P, Forti G, Finazzi G (2011) Regulation of electron transport in microalgae. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Bioenerg 1807:912–918

    Google Scholar 

  27. Jablonsky J, Bauwe H, Wolkenhauer O (2011) Modeling the Calvin-Benson cycle. BMC Syst Biol 5:185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. de Morais MG, Costa JAV (2007) Isolation and selection of microalgae from coal fired thermoelectric power plant for biofixation of carbon dioxide. Energ Convers Manag 48:2169–2173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. de Morais MG, Costa JAV (2007) Biofixation of carbon dioxide by Spirulina sp. and Scenedesmus obliquus cultivated in a three-stage serial tubular photobioreactor. J Biotechnol 129:439–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Murakami M, Yamada F, Nishide T, Muranaka T, Yamaguchi N, Takimoto Y (1998) The biological CO2 fixation using Chlorella sp. with high capability in fixing CO2. Stud Surf Sci Catal 114:315–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Chen CY, Chang HW, Kao PC, Pan JL, Chang JS (2012) Biosorption of cadmium by CO2-fixing microalga Scenedesmus obliquus CNW-N. Biores Technol 105:74–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Adamczyk M, Lasek J, Skawińska A (2016) CO2 biofixation and growth kinetics of Chlorella vulgaris and Nannochloropsis gaditana. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 179:1248–1261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Ho SH, Lu WB, Chang JS (2012) Photobioreactor strategies for improving the CO2 fixation efficiency of indigenous Scenedesmus obliquus CNW-N: statistical optimization of CO2 feeding, illumination, and operation mode. Biores Technol 105:106–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Taher H, Al-Zuhair S, Al-Marzouqi A, Haik Y, Farid M (2015) Growth of microalgae using CO2 enriched air for biodiesel production in supercritical CO2. Renew Energ 82:61–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Pegallapati AK, Nirmalakhandan N (2013) Internally illuminated photobioreactor for algal cultivation under carbon dioxide-supplementation: performance evaluation. Renew Energ 56:129–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Pradhan L (2014) Studies on carbon sequestration through microalgal culture in photobioreactor (Doctoral dissertation)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Ho SH, Chen CY, Lee DJ, Chang JS (2011) Perspectives on microalgal CO2-emission mitigation systems—a review. Biotechnol Adv 29:189–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Ryckebosch E, Bruneel C, Termote-Verhalle R, Goiris K, Muylaert K, Foubert I (2014) Nutritional evaluation of microalgae oils rich in omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids as an alternative for fish oil. Food Chem 160:393–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Wei D, Chen F, Chen G, Zhang X, Liu L, Zhang H (2008) Enhanced production of lutein in heterotrophic Chlorella protothecoides by oxidative stress. Sci China, Ser C Life Sci 51:1088–1093

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Del Campo JA, Rodriguez H, Moreno J, Vargas MA, Rivas J, Guerrero MG (2004) Accumulation of astaxanthin and lutein in Chlorella zofingiensis (Chlorophyta). Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 64:848–854

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Yeh TJ, Tseng YF, Chen YC, Hsiao Y, Lee PC, Chen TJ, Lee TM (2017) Transcriptome and physiological analysis of a lutein-producing alga Desmodesmus sp. reveals the molecular mechanisms for high lutein productivity. Algal Res 21:103–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Chen CY, Hsieh C, Lee DJ, Chang CH, Chang JS (2016) Production, extraction and stabilization of lutein from microalga Chlorella sorokiniana MB-1. Biores Technol 200:500–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Sánchez JF, Fernández JM, Acién FG, Rueda A, Pérez-Parra J, Molina E (2008) Influence of culture conditions on the productivity and lutein content of the new strain Scenedesmusalmeriensis. Process Biochem 43:398–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Del Campo JA, Rodrı́guez H, Moreno J, Vargas MA, Rivas J, Guerrero MG (2001) Lutein production by Muriellopsis sp. in an outdoor tubular photobioreactor. J Biotechnol 85:289–295

    Google Scholar 

  45. Fernández-Sevilla JM, Fernández FA, Grima EM (2010) Biotechnological production of lutein and its applications. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 86:27–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Molnár É, Rippel-Pethő D, Bocsi R (2013) Solid-liquid extraction of chlorophyll from microalgae from photoautotroph open-air cultivation. Hung J Ind Chem 41:119–122

    Google Scholar 

  47. Whyte JN (1987) Biochemical composition and energy content of six species of phytoplankton used in mariculture of bivalves. Aquaculture 60:231–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Tang S, Qin C, Wang H, Li S, Tian S (2011) Study on supercritical extraction of lipids and enrichment of DHA from oil-rich microalgae. J Supercrit Fluids 57:44–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/india.html

  50. Swanson D, Block R, Mousa SA (2012) Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA: health benefits throughout life. Adv Nutr: Int Rev J 3:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Johnson MB, Wen Z (2009) Production of biodiesel fuel from the microalga Schizochytrium limacinum by direct transesterification of algal biomass. Energ Fuels 23:5179–5183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Welker CM, Balasubramanian VK, Petti C, Rai KM, DeBolt S, Mendu V (2015) Engineering plant biomass lignin content and composition for biofuels and bioproducts. Energies 8:7654–7676

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Miao X, Wu Q (2004) High yield bio-oil production from fast pyrolysis by metabolic controlling of Chlorella protothecoides. J Biotechnol 110:85–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Hu Z, Zheng Y, Yan F, Xiao B, Liu S (2013) Bio-oil production through pyrolysis of blue-green algae blooms (BGAB): product distribution and bio-oil characterization. Energy 52:119–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Thangalazhy-Gopakumar S, Adhikari S, Chattanathan SA, Gupta RB (2012) Catalytic pyrolysis of green algae for hydrocarbon production using H + ZSM-5 catalyst. Biores Technol 118:150–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Suh DJ, Choi JH, Woo HC (2014) Pyrolysis of seaweeds for bio-oil and bio-char production. Chem Eng Trans 37:121–126

    Google Scholar 

  57. Chaiwong K, Kiatsiriroat T, Vorayos N, Thararax C (2012) Biochar production from freshwater algae by slow pyrolysis. Maejo Int J Sci Technol 6

    Google Scholar 

  58. Harun R, Jason WSY, Cherrington T, Danquah MK (2011) Exploring alkaline pre-treatment of microalgal biomass for bioethanol production. Appl Energ 88:3464–3467

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Chng LM, Lee KT, Chan DJC (2017) Synergistic effect of pretreatment and fermentation process on carbohydrate-rich Scenedesmus dimorphus for bioethanol production. Energ Convers Manage 141:410–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Kim HM, Oh CH, Bae HJ (2017) Comparison of red microalgae (Porphyridium cruentum) culture conditions for bioethanol production. Biores Technol 233:44–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Rizza LS, Smachetti ME, Do Nascimento M, Salerno GL, Curatti L (2017) Bioprospecting for native microalgae as an alternative source of sugars for the production of bioethanol. Algal Res 22:140–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Chen L, Liu T, Zhang W, Chen X, Wang J (2012) Biodiesel production from algae oil high in free fatty acids by two-step catalytic conversion. Biores Technol 111:208–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. El-Shimi HI, Attia NK, El-Sheltawy ST, El-Diwani GI (2013) Biodiesel production from Spirulina-platensis microalgae by in-situ transesterification process. J Sustain Bioenergy Syst 3:224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Zhou D, Qiao B, Li G, Xue S, Yin J (2017) Continuous production of biodiesel from microalgae by extraction coupling with transesterification under supercritical conditions. Biores Technol 238:609–615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Nautiyal P, Subramanian KA, Dastidar MG (2014) Production and characterization of biodiesel from algae. Fuel Process Technol 120:79–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Duman G, Uddin MA, Yanik J (2014) Hydrogen production from algal biomass via steam gasification. Biores Technol 166:24–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Park JH, Cheon HC, Yoon JJ, Park HD, Kim SH (2013) Optimization of batch dilute-acid hydrolysis for biohydrogen production from red algal biomass. Int J Hydrogen Energ 38:6130–6136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Roy S, Kumar K, Ghosh S, Das D (2014) Thermophilic biohydrogen production using pre-treated algal biomass as substrate. Biomass Bioenerg 61:157–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Sialve B, Bernet N, Bernard O (2009) Anaerobic digestion of microalgae as a necessary step to make microalgal biodiesel sustainable. Biotechnol Adv 27:409–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Chen PH (1987) Factors influencing methane fermentation of micro-algae. PhD thesis, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Google Scholar 

  71. Hernández ES, Córdoba LT (1993) Anaerobic digestion of Chlorella vulgaris for energy production. Resour Conserv Recycl 9:127–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Samson R, Leduy A (1982) Biogas production from anaerobic digestion of Spirulina maxima algal biomass. Biotechnol Bioeng 24:1919–1924

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Wang K, Brown RC, Homsy S, Martinez L, Sidhu SS (2013) Fast pyrolysis of microalgae remnants in a fluidized bed reactor for bio-oil and biochar production. Biores Technol 127:494–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Gutiérrez-Arriaga CG, Serna-González M, Ponce-Ortega JM, El-Halwagi MM (2014) Sustainable integration of algal biodiesel production with steam electric power plants for greenhouse gas mitigation. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 2:1388–1403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Schmidt M (ed) (2012) Synthetic biology: industrial and environmental applications. Wiley

    Google Scholar 

  76. Baral SS, Singh K, Sharma P (2015) The potential of sustainable algal biofuel production using CO2 from thermal power plant in India. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 49:1061–1074

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are highly thankful to UPEII, Jadavpur University, funded by University Grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi, for extending the financial assistance required to conduct the studies on power plant algae.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India

    Ranjana Chowdhury, Sumona Das & Shiladitya Ghosh

Authors
  1. Ranjana Chowdhury
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sumona Das
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shiladitya Ghosh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ranjana Chowdhury .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Sudipta De

  2. Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    Santanu Bandyopadhyay

  3. Natural Gas Technology, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway

    Mohsen Assadi

  4. Energy and Environment Committee, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Deb A Mukherjee

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Chowdhury, R., Das, S., Ghosh, S. (2018). CO2 Capture and Utilization (CCU) in Coal-Fired Power Plants: Prospect of In Situ Algal Cultivation. In: De, S., Bandyopadhyay, S., Assadi, M., Mukherjee, D. (eds) Sustainable Energy Technology and Policies. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7188-1_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7188-1_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-7187-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-7188-1

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation