As planet swelters, are algae unlikely saviour?

As the world mulls over the conundrum of how to satisfy a seemingly endless appetite for energy and still slash greenhouse gas emissions, researchers have stumbled upon an unexpected hero: algae.

So-called microalgae hold enormous potential when it comes to reining in both climate change, since they naturally absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, as well as energy production, since they can easily be converted to a range of different fuel types.
“This is certainly one of the most promising and revolutionary leads in the fight against climate change and the quest to satisfy energy needs,” Frederic Hauge, who heads up the Norwegian environmental group Bellona, told AFP.

The idea is to divert exhaust spewed from carbon burning plants and other factories into so-called “photobioreactors”, or large transparent tubes filled with algae.

When the gas is mixed with water and injected into the tubes, the algae soak up much of the carbon dioxide, or CO2, in accordance with the principle of photosynthesis.

The pioneering technique, called solar biofuels, is one of a panoply of novel methods aiming to crack the problem of providing energy but without the carbon pollution of costly fossil fuels — with oil pushing 140 dollars a barrel and supplies dwindling — or the waste and danger of nuclear power.

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As attractive as it may seem however, the algae solution remains squarely in the conception phase, with researchers scrambling to figure out how to scale up the system to an industrial level.

Shell, for one, acknowledged on its website some “significant hurdles must be overcome before algae-based biofuel can be produced cost-effectively,” especially the large amounts of water needed for the process.

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