A world-leading algal bio-fuel research and development facility at Townsville’s James Cook University could hold the key to the rapid reductions in carbon emissions from coal fired power stations.
The revolutionary algal carbon capture and storage (BIO-CCS) technology is already proving successful in trials and will be rolled out at three coal fired power stations, including Tarong which supplies Brisbane.
In the technology, algae eat the Co2 and excrete biofuel and stockfeed, so not only does it capture Co2, but turns it into usable products. The fully enclosed continuous cycle system has been designed to mimic the fundamental processes of the earth’s natural carbon cycle, but do it in hours rather than millions of years.
The valuable commodities produced by BIO-CCS with an MBD Algal Synthesiser, more than pays for the comparatively modest infrastructure investment.
The 5000sq m Townsville research plant has proved capable of producing 14,000 litres of oil and 25,000 kg of algal feed for livestock from every 100 tonnes of carbon consumed.
MBD Energy and James Cook University are partners in the research and will construct test facilities at Tarong Energy Power Station and two other coal fired power stations in Victoria and NSW.
MBD is investing $2.5m in the Tarong trial, which aims to capture 700t of carbon dioxide annually and if successful could expand to consume more than half of Tarong’s problem flue-gas emissions in the next five to 10 years.
