CO2 Sequestration through Deep Saline Injection and ...

Figure 32
World Production of Spirulina biomass between 1975 and 1999 [53]
The microalgal biomass market is growing at unprecedented rates because it has been discovered
that many substances within miroalgae such as Sirulina and Chlorella have very positive health
impacts for both humans and animals [53]. It has been estimated that microalgae in the form of
processed and unprocessed foods as well as health supplements could consist of as much as 20%
of the human food market within the next few years [53]. Of the significant health benefits, the
autoimmune strengthening has been the largest consideration [53]. There are also very
significant markets developing in animal and fish feed within farming applications because the
microalgae represent a safe protein supplement [53]. It is likely that this market will see
significant growth as many countries outlaw the use of animal meals in feed stocks. The proteins
in microalgae have been shown to be acceptable substitutes for animal meals and have shown to
have the same autoimmune benefits for livestock [53]. The fears of diseases such as avian flue,
bovine and ovine encephalitis, and mad cow disease will likely further the market as the diseases
can be transmitted from one animal to another in the use of processed animal meals.
The biomass market will have to drive the need for such a plant because photosynthesis is not
efficient enough to be competitive with other light to electrical technologies such as photovoltaic
cells and solar-thermo technology. Currently, photosynthesis can only make use of 10% of total
solar irradiance. If the biomass is then burned in a power plant to produce electricity at 30% to
40% efficiency, the net solar utilization would be between 3% and 4%. This is much lower than
competing and existing solar to electrical technologies. The high capital cost for generating
biomass is not justified if the intention is to use the biomass for fuel to generate electricity
That said the biomass production costs for this type of system are significantly lower than
existing technologies. Current technologies can produce biomass between $50/kg and $150/kg
($45,000 and $136,000/ton) [53]. As seen in the discussion to follow, the biomass production
costs could be as low as $4,371/ton. This represents a huge financial opportunity.
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