Microalgae can not only “eat†the culprits but also produce superior bio-oil
Maybe one day, the health products we eat are the power plant waste. This is an idea that the reporter flashed when interviewing researcher Wang Qiang. Recently, the news that "Chinese scientists discovered that Chlorella eats 'nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide in smoke'" has caused many people's curiosity. What is chlorella? What does it "eat" under nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide? On November 27th, Science and Technology Daily reporter took these questions and interviewed Wang Qiang, a researcher at the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Proved the feasibility of "bio-emission reduction" for the first time In recent years, atmospheric haze has seriously affected people's health and life. Nitrogen oxides are the main cause of acid rain and haze. In 2016, China's total nitrogen oxide emissions amounted to 23 trillion tons, ranking the first in the world. The technology to eliminate nitrogen oxides is called “denitrificationâ€. Since nitrogen oxides can react with water to produce nitrates and nitrites, which is exactly the nitrogen nutrition that microalgae can use, nitrogen oxide pollution can be eliminated through the cultivation of microalgae. New biological denitrification technology. The obtained microalgae biomass by-products can be used as a source of protein and oil, and meet the raw material requirements of aquatic feed, bio-energy and other industries. The contents of carbon and nitrogen in microalgal biomass accounted for about 50% and 10%, respectively. Microalgae is a photosynthetic microorganism with the highest efficiency of converting carbon dioxide and inorganic nitrogen into organic matter on Earth, and is praised as a high-efficiency “biofactory†driven by sunlight. Can this "biofactory" be installed in a power plant to allow microalgae to "eat" the nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide in the industrial flue gas, achieve carbon emission reductions and reduce environmental pollution, and at the same time, can produce raw materials for bioenergy and High value-added products to achieve "one stone with two birds"? Wang Qiang, who has been engaged in research on algae biology for eight years abroad, as a researcher of the “Hundred Talents Program†introduced by the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, returned to China in July 2010 to establish a microalgae research team and began to invest in this research. In 2014, the first paper was first published in the "Environmental Science and Technology", a top journal in the field of international environmental science. This study is considered to be the first in the world to demonstrate the feasibility of using microalgae to produce high value-added products while reducing industrial pollutants. Get through a difficult industrial experiment In the past 7 years, Wang Qiang's team gradually turned the idea into industrial feasibility. In the process, they have come through a difficult process. The first problem is algae species. Among the numerous algae, what kind of algae "have more food and produce more?" Chlorella is a spherical unicellular freshwater algae with a diameter of 3-8 microns and a high reproduction rate. Wang Qiang said: "Chlorella can breed for up to two hours at a time, which means that its biomass can be doubled in two hours, and the growth efficiency is naturally high." After continuous screening, the final acquired chlorella increased the lipid and biomass productivity by 39% and 35%, respectively, and the denitrification rate reached 96%. Concerning the problem of nitrogen oxides insoluble in water, Wang Qiang’s team, through cooperation with Professor Rong Junfeng of the Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemical Sciences, has innovatively established a scheme for the recycling of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides from flue gas, and proposed a two-step biological method. The theory of denitrification, that is, the combination of absorption and fixation by the nitrogen oxide absorption unit and the biotransformation of the microalgae culture unit, realizes the recycling utilization of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. On this basis, the microalgae biological denitrification roadmap 1.0 is proposed. The new challenge encountered during the pilot phase is how to produce microalgae that matches the emissions of industrial smoke. After step-by-step optimization of industrialization, the final choice of fermentation method, a 100-ton fermentation system can solve the problem of nitrogen oxide emission reduction for a small and medium-sized emission company, occupying an area of ​​only 200 square meters. On this basis, the team further improved the joint production process of microalgae biological denitrification, production of high value-added products and biodiesel production, and proposed an optimized production process version 2.0. In cooperation with Prof. Rong Junfeng, the first domestic refinery flue gas producing microalgae biological emission reduction demonstration facility was established in Shijiazhuang Refining & Chemical Branch of Sinopec, forming a complete technical reserve of microalgae biodiesel. Using microalgae or extractable dietary supplements Through systematic research, the researchers elucidated the biological basis for the use of oil-producing microalgae in industrial flue gas abatement, demonstrated the application value and feasibility of microalgae in the field of industrial flue gas biotransformation, and completed the construction of the algae species library. Through the development of full-scale technology such as scale farming, high-efficiency and low-energy recovery, and extraction of algae oil, microalgae biodiesel that meets national standards has been successfully prepared, and a circular economy system for carbon sequestration, denitrification, and comprehensive utilization of microalgae has been established. A complete patent network of 26 invention patents. “Microalgae is a relatively low-end raw material for bioenergy.†Wang Qiang said that microalgae cells are rich in high-value nutrients such as proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, β-carotene, and various inorganic elements. Chemical raw materials. If the use of microalgae to extract dietary supplements, the value will be higher. "But if you say that it is a dietary supplement for the production of petrochemical smoke 'waste', you may not accept it." Wang Qiang said, so the next step, the Industrialization Research Society will focus on biomass power plant waste disposal recycling economy technology research. Based on this, the team further proposed the 3.0 version of the microalgae biological denitrification roadmap. Wang Qiang said that in geological history, the prosperity of microalgae is the basis for the formation of fossil energy, so buried underground algae in ancient times supported the modern petrochemical system. In the future, humans will build a new circular economy based on the cultivation of microalgae and obtain biological energy, biodegradable materials, fine chemicals, and health pharmaceutical products through microalgae bio-refinery to achieve recycling of carbon and nitrogen and solve industrial Environmental problems caused by pollution emissions. Wall Pack,Led Wall Pack Lights,Outdoor Led Wall Pack Lights,Alleyways Wall Pack Light Fuonce-Lighting , https://www.fuoncelighting.com