Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

EMPLOYMENT OF MICRO ALGAL CELLS FOR CO2 SEQUESTRATION

S.I. Beema Jainab, V.V. Subramanian and V. Sivasubramanian

Abstract

Microalgae have the ability to produce high value compounds using only sunlight, CO2 and water. Chlorococcum humicola, Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris obtained from Algal culture collection of Vivekananda Institute of Algal Technology, were cultivated in a suitable medium in a thermostatically controlled room at 24 ± 1ºC and illuminated with cool white fluorescent lamps at an intensity of 2000 lux in a 12:12 light and dark regime. Experiments were conducted using a CO2 cylinder to saturate the growth medium with CO2 and study the influence on the growth of these micro algae. Closed system bioreactors were designed, fabricated and utilized in these experiments. Analytical data revealed that Chlorococcum sp was found to be more efficient in absorbing CO2 than Spirulina and Chlorella sp. Chlorococcum humicola can be effectively employed in large scale cultivation systems to sequester waste CO2 in flue gas.