Minimizing Carbon Footprint via Microalgae as a Biological Capture

1.0 Introduction

Climate Change Impact: Acknowledged as a significant global threat causing rising sea levels, increased greenhouse gases, longer heatwaves, ice mass loss, and biodiversity loss.
Human Health Effects: Negative impacts on health due to ozone layer depletion, increased heat-related illnesses, and altered patterns of infections.
Economic and Cultural Impact: Affects global economies and cultures; significant in agriculture and coastal flooding.
CO2 as a Contributor: Major role in global warming due to its ability to trap heat in the atmosphere; 5 Gt emitted annually from power plants and industries.
Carbon Capture: Investment in CO2 capture expected to mitigate emissions; opportunities for converting CO2 into products, although current methods are energy-intensive.

Historical Emissions: Rise from 9.34 billion metric tons in 1960 to 36.44 billion in 2019. Major emitters include China, USA, India, Russia, and Japan.
Reduction Strategies: Requires annual cuts of 7.6% to meet Paris Agreement goals; importance of transitioning to low-carbon energies.
Photosynthesis Role: Microalgae demonstrate high carbon fixing capabilities, fixing around 100 Gt of CO2 annually.

Methods: Pre-combustion, post-combustion, and oxy-fuel combustion are major CO2 capture methods.
Challenges: Include high costs, energy requirements, and environmental concerns.
Microalgae as a Solution: Offers a lower cost, environmentally-friendly alternative for CO2 capture, particularly for transportation emissions.

Microalgae Advantages: High CO2 fixation efficiency, rapid growth, ability to recycle CO2 into bioenergy.
Techno-economic Feasibility: Utilization in integrated bio-refinery settings shows potential, though current scalability is limited.
CO2 Capture Efficiency: Can achieve efficiencies of 80% to 99% under optimal conditions.

Unique Features: Thrives in diverse environments, high photosynthetic efficiency, and ability to utilize waste gases and nutrients.
Economic and Environmental Benefits: Converts waste into bioenergy, suitable for non-arable land, and supports carbon neutrality.

Species Tolerance: Some strains tolerate high CO2 concentrations, crucial for effective carbon capture.

Research and Development: Focus on genetic and metabolic engineering to improve efficiency and scalability. Challenges include cost and environmental adaptability.

Environmental and Technical Challenges: Outdoor cultivation conditions, mass transfer limitations, and lack of comprehensive research.
Parasites and Contamination: Issues with bacterial and fungal parasites affecting growth and productivity.

Genetic Modifications: Enhancements to improve RuBisCO efficiency and overall photosynthetic capacity.

Promising Technology: Microalgae bio-capture has significant potential to mitigate global warming by reducing atmospheric CO2 levels.
Future Research: Continuous investment in research and development is necessary to realize the full potential of this sustainable technology.