Algae bioreactor absorbs CO2 better than trees

Reuters Videos

A small machine sitting in the corner of an office is using algae to play what could be a key role in the fight against climate change.

This U.S.-based tech start up says it's designed a prototype bioreactor that uses the aquatic organisms to capture and process carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

And that this one small three foot-wide cube can capture as much carbon as an acre of forest, as director of Hypergiant Dan Haab explains.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DAN HAAB, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AT HYPERGIANT, SAYING:

"So our Eos reactor, the one we having sitting over there, is 400 times more effective at pulling CO2 out of the air than trees. And that means that roughly an acre of trees is offset by this one small reactor."

The bioreactor constantly monitors and manages the amount and type of light available, and the temperature, to create optimal conditions to maximize carbon sequestration.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DAN HAAB, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AT HYPERGIANT, SAYING:

"(Algae) takes in CO2, it lives in water and it reproduces. And so the more you can figure out how to optimize for those environmental factors, the more CO2 you're going to be pulling out of the air because the more algae you're going to be growing."

As the algae consumes CO2 it produces biomass which can be harvested and used to create fuel, oils, high protein food sources, fertilizers and plastics.

While the company is some way off making the device commercially available, it hopes others may take their lead to design similar solutions.