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. 2019 Jul;116(7):1604-1611.
doi: 10.1002/bit.26974. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Direct capture and conversion of CO2 from air by growing a cyanobacterial consortium at pH up to 11.2

Maryam Ataeian  1 , Yihua Liu  1 , Karen Andrea Canon-Rubio  1 , Michael Nightingale  1 , Marc Strous  1 , Agasteswar Vadlamani  1
Affiliations

Direct capture and conversion of CO2 from air by growing a cyanobacterial consortium at pH up to 11.2

Maryam Ataeian et al. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2019 Jul.

Abstract

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is recognized as a potential negative emission technology, needed to keep global warming within safe limits. With current technologies, large-scale implementation of BECCS would compromise food production. Bioenergy derived from phototrophic microorganisms, with direct capture of CO2 from air, could overcome this challenge and become a sustainable way to realize BECCS. Here we present an alkaline capture and conversion system that combines high atmospheric CO2 transfer rates with high and robust phototrophic biomass productivity (15.2 ± 1.0 g/m 2 /d). The system is based on a cyanobacterial consortium, that grows at high alkalinity (0.5 mol/L) and a pH swing between 10.4 and 11.2 during growth and harvest cycles.

Keywords: BECCS; Cyanobacteria consortium; alkalinity; direct carbon capture; photosynthesis; soda Lakes.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
pH dependent changes in (a) HCO3 − and CO3 2− concentrations, (b) mass transfer driving, and (c) enhancement factor. The values were calculated for a cultivation medium with an alkalinity of 500 meq/L using pK1 and pK2 at temperature (T) 25°C and ionic strength (I) 0.73 mole/L. The dotted line in all panels indicates the lower bound of pH window compatible with both effective CO2 capture and effective algal growth (HCO3 − concentrations 30–40 mM at the start of the growth cycle) [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of pH on photosynthetic activity of the Cyanobacterial consortium. (a) shows dark adapted quantum yield for cyanobacterial consortium grown in a starting pH of 8.5 (red) and 10.4 (green). (b,c) Showing electron transfer rates under different light intensities for 4 days of growth in lower pH (b) and higher pH (c). Numbers at the end of the lines indicate the pH measured on each day. Error bars indicate the standard deviation of six biofilm samples [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of pH on nitrate and bicarbonate uptake rates. (a–c) Shows three growth cycles with initial pH of 8.3. (d–f) Shows four growth cycles with initial pH of 10.4. Each cycle was performed in duplicates and error bars indicate the standard deviation [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of pH on biomass productivity of the system. Productivity is shown as ash free dry weight (AFDW) for bioreactors grown at pH 8.3–9.3 (shown as pH 9.3), and pH 10.5–11.2 (shown as pH 11.2) [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of CO2 absorption from air on spent medium. (a) Shows change in pH while bubbling air into the medium. (b) Showing modeled changes in bicarbonate and carbonate concentrations during 7 days of air bubbling. (c) Showing estimated absorption rates of CO2 into the spent medium [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
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