10/22/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/22/2021 16:04
Vicat is working together withAlgoSource Technologies, TotalEnergiesand the Université de Nantesto accelerate the development of microalgae production using CO2 and waste heat.
The CimentAlgue industrial research project is aimed at harnessing CO2 and waste heat from the manufacture of cement to produce microalgae. The project's demonstrator will be set up at Vicat's Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant. The project received financial support from France's Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) for the 2014 BIP call for proposals (BIP: bioresources, industry, performance). By harnessing industrial waste flows for use as essential raw materials for the development of micro-organisms, this innovative process helps reduce atmospheric emissions of CO2.
FYI: microalgae consume 5 to 10 times more CO2 per square meter than terrestrial plants.How the demonstrator works
Life-size demonstrator for real progress
The technology used for this research was validated previously, at a smaller scale, through trials with the AlgoSolis platform run by the University of Nantes and France's National Scientific Research Center (CNRS). The 800-m² CimentAlgue demonstrator set up at Vicat's Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant will achieve the following:
The microalgae grown with the tubular photobioreactor in this project is arthrospira platensis, commonly called spirulina. With the tubular PBR, all the parameters affecting microalgal development (light, temperature, CO2, nutrients) can be closely controlled to achieve optimum growth.
Testing different strains of microalgae, such as spirulina for instance, will lead to the development of products consistent with marketsadapted to the industrial scale of cement plants. The lipids, proteins and sugars that can be extracted from them can be used in animal feed, as plant biostimulants, or to make bio-based materials, etc. Strains of oleaginous microalgae with potentially high growth rates will also be tested with a view to producing third-generation biofuels.
DOWNLOAD THE CIMENTALGUE PRESS RELEASE (in French only)