Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

With annual CO2 emission over half a billion ton, Canada is the ninth largest CO2 producer country in the world. As one of the country that accepted the Paris agreement, Canada should impose and implement green energy policy from year 2020 to decrease the carbon emission. More than 5% of this CO2 release is related to mining industries, which use in different aspects such as, transportation and processing and smelter. Replacement of fossil fuels with biomass pellet is one of the way that EMISPEC is targeting. Algae is an autotrophic microorganism capable of capturing huge amounts of carbon dioxide as a source of carbon, when ammonia and phosphorus sources are available. Mining industry produce huge amount of effluent with high nitrogen concentration, as well as carbon dioxide emissions from ore processing; factors highly required for algae growth. CTRI will collaborate with EMISPEC to demonstrate the feasibility of algae utilization in mine effluent treatment system and biomass production. Upon collaboration in this project, not only a new CO2 capturing technique by algae will be investigated, but also EMISPEC could secure the biomass required for heat generation from process dewatering. This project will benefit from a multidisciplinary team and an operational R&D infrastructure; essential ingredients for achieving the project's objectives within the given deadlines.