sgef final report algae project - university of south florida › ... ›...

StudentGreenEnergyFund

FinalProjectReport

Date:Nov.22,2017

ProjectNameandcompletiondate:ReducingUSFCO2EmissionswithAlgae-Nov.20,2017

Teammembers:AhmetManisali,AlondraSoto,LaurenReilly,Prof.GeorgePhilippidis(PCGS)

Projectsummary,highlightsand lessons learned: (1)Summary:Thescopeof theprojectwastoassessthepotential ofmicroalgae cultivation on campus to reduce CO2 emissions at USF. Our findings show that, ifdeployed on campus, algae cultivation can contribute to lowering USF’s greenhouse gas emissions, whilegenerating material (cell mass) that can serve as natural fertilizer for use on the campus grounds. (2)Highlights:UsingthefreshwatermicroalgaChlorellavulgarisweinvestigatedwhetheragasmixtureof7.5%CO2+7.5%O2+85%N2,whichsimulatesthecompositionofthefluegasemittedbyUSF’snaturalgas-burningboilers,cansupportalgaecellgrowth. ThreesourcesofCO2weretested(each induplicate): (1)100%FlueGas;(2)50%FlueGas+50%AmbientAir;and(3)100%AmbientAir.Thedatashowedthatthe50%-50%mixresultedinthehighestproductivityof0.109g/L/day,thefluegasresultedin0.098g/L/day,andtheambientairresultedin0.072g/L/day.Hence,fluegascansupportstrongalgaegrowth.(3)Lessonlearned:AlgaecanindeedactasapromisingsinkforCO2emissions.

MeasurableOutcomes:Usingtherule-of-thumbthatapproximately2gofCO2areconsumedpergofalgaemassproduced,thedataindicatethatChlorellavulgariscultivationcanconsumeannuallyabout80gofCO2perliterofcultivation.Ifthecultivationsystemoncampuswerescaledupto3,300gal,itwouldpotentiallyremove1tonofCO2peryearfromUSF’semissions.Processoptimizationmayenhancethatfigure.

Detailhowfundswereutilizedincludingrebates(ifany)andcostsharing(cashorin-kindcontributions):Thefundswereusedtopurchase(1)algaecultivationchemicalsandsupplies;(2)compressedgasmixturetanks;(3)partsforexperimentalsetup;and(4)algaecellmassandwatercompositionalanalysis.In-kindcostmatchwasprovidedbyProf.Philippidisintheformoftimededicatedtodirectingtheprojectandmentoringthestudents(1hourpermonthofprojectexecution).

HowaretheprojectbenefitsbeingcommunicatedtotheUSFcommunity?AfterprojectcompletionthefindingswillbesharedwiththeSGEFCouncilandwillbecommunicatedtotheUSFcommunityviathePCGSwebsitetostimulatefurtherworkinthisarea.

Expectedprojectspin-offorupscaling:Thefeasibilityoffuturescale-upoftheprojectisunderconsiderationandwillinvolveclosecoordinationwithFacilities.

Includephotosoftheproject

Experimental setup used for algae cultivation on simulated flue gas with the freshwater algae Chlorellavulgaris.

Questions?ContactGidiHendrixSGEF_Council@usf.edu813-974-8611