A review of carbon dioxide capture and utilization by membrane integrated microalgal cultivation processes

The capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air for microalgal cultivation has received increasing interest since it allows advantages that do not only reduce the amount of CO2 already added to the air, but it is also more economical due to the accessibility of air, there are no regeneration requirements and it is a safe method that can help enhance microalgal growth. In order to capture CO2 from the air, it is necessary to deal with CO2 emissions from all sources in an atmosphere. Interestingly, the capture unit and microalgal culture can be located at any favorable site. Although a number of photobioreactors have been proposed with a CO2 distribution system, the consequence of CO2 losses is still being ignored. Thus, capturing CO2 from the air via an integrated separation process in a photobioreactor is required for microalgal cultivation. Among the four available separation technologies, the membrane separation process would offer a safe, reliable and low cost method for CO2 capture. Thus, this method of separation can be considered as a key factor in accelerating the development of a CO2 enrichment process from the air for microalgal cultivation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.