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Algae carbon capture companies3/28/2024 ![]() Social Carbon manages the trademarked greenhouse gas standard by the same name. In March, BlueGreen received approval from the Social Carbon Foundation for its carbon quantification methodology, under the proprietary name Net Blue. Scientific verification for cyanobacteria remediation The challenge is to develop a methodology that produces a science-based estimate of the captured carbon. This carbon-sequestering feature could help offset the cost of remediating blue-green algae blooms, if stakeholders could claim carbon credits for the operation. ![]() The treatment effectively converts a body of water into a carbon sink, with the dead cyanobacteria locked into sediment for potentially millions of years, according to BlueGreen. Its patented, EPA-approved formula triggers a natural “suicide” response in cyanobacteria, clearing the way for beneficial algae and other aquatic species to take over. Regardless of the potential use cases for cyanobacteria-produced carbonate, algae blooms must be treated and prevented in order to protect aquatic habitats and human health.īlueGreen Water Technologies is among those developing algaecides that specifically tackle cyanobacteria. (Image: European Space Agency/Flickr) Algae remediation and carbon offsets Blue-green algae blooms swirling around the Baltic Sea in 2019, as seen from space. As the cyanobacteria produced calcium carbonate, they mineralized the gelatin and bound the sand into a bio-manufactured brick. The research team tested their method on a growing medium of sand and gelatin. They demonstrated that, under the right growing conditions, certain types of cyanobacteria can produce calcium carbonate, which happens to be the main ingredient in cement. In 2020, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder put the biomineralization concept to work. However, 2014 research concluded that some strains are capable of producing carbonate on their own. The “biomineralization” process carried out by cyanobacteria was formerly thought to occur as a result of outside factors. They have been linked to deposits of the mineral carbonate, a salt of carbonic acid. Researchers have tweaked cyanobacteria to produce renewable hydrogen and other biofuels, for example.Ĭyanobacteria are also attracting attention for their ability to convert airborne carbon to a solid substance. ![]() On the plus side, cyanobacteria are emerging as a clean technology jack-of-all-trades, partly because they are fast-growing, voracious consumers of carbon dioxide. They mainly occur on inland waters, but they can also happen in the open ocean. Blue-green algae blooms in particular are a frequent occurrence in all 50 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that warmer temperatures and other climate impacts affect the frequency and severity of algae blooms. In higher concentrations, the toxins produced by some cyanobacteria can damage the liver, nerves, and skin of humans and other creatures, including pets and livestock as well as wildlife. “A combination of environmental factors such as the presence of nutrients, warm temperatures, and lots of light encourage the natural increase in the numbers of cyanobacteria,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ![]() Cyanobacteria and algae bloomsīlue-green algae is the common name for cyanobacteria, a type of water-dwelling bacteria that has plant-like photosynthetic abilities.Īn over-abundance or “bloom” of cyanobacteria can wreck ecosystems and harm other living things. One of them involves an environmental two-for-one: capturing carbon by preventing destructive blue-green algae blooms. Forestation is an important climate action strategy, but more sophisticated - and potentially more efficient - nature-based alternatives are emerging. ![]()
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