Biological CO2 mitigation from coal power plant by Chlorella fusca and Spirulina sp

Abstract

CO₂ biofixation by microalgae and cyanobacteria is an environmentally sustainable way to mitigate coal burn gas emissions. In this work the microalga Chlorella fusca LEB 111 and the cyanobacteria Spirulina sp. LEB 18 were cultivated using CO₂ from coal flue gas as a carbon source. The intermittent flue gas injection in the cultures enable the cells growth and CO₂ biofixation by these microorganisms. The Chlorella fusca isolated from a coal power plant could fix 2.6 times more CO₂ than Spirulina sp. The maximum daily CO₂ from coal flue gas biofixation was obtained with Chlorella fusca (360.12±0.27mgL^-1d^-1), showing a specific growth rate of 0.17±<0.01d^-1. The results demonstrated the Chlorella fusca LEB 111 and Spirulina sp. LEB 18 potential to fix CO₂ from coal flue gas, and sequential biomass production with different biotechnological destinations.

Keywords: Biofixation; Cyanobacteria; Flue gas; Global warming; Microalgae.