One of the world’s most abundant organisms, algae, may be the solution to CO2 emissions for the cement industry. Two Ontario, Canada-based companies have developed a process in which carbon-eating algae is used to scrub exhaust gases of the greenhouse gas. St. Mary’s Cement (SMC), part of Votorantim, and Pond Biofuels have been working on the process for some time, and have finally constructed a small test facility at SMC’s facility west of Waterloo.
For now, only part of the exhaust is diverted to the test facility, where homegrown algae from sunlight and the nearby Thames River absorb the CO2 and emit oxygen in return. The algae are continually harvested and dried using the plant’s waste heat. Pond Biofuels utilizes the harvested algae to create an alternative fuel for the plant to use in its kilns and to make a biofuel to be used in SMC’s trucking fleet. This new process allows the CO2 to be continuously recycled, vastly reducing the plant’s carbon footprint. The two companies hope to be able to scale up the facility to accept a plant’s entire emissions. SMC environmental manager Martin Vroegh said, “It’s a small model of what a big full-scale facility could be.”
The development of this algae process comes under the looming threat of carbon prices being set across the globe. When these prices are introduced, even a moderate $30 per ton of CO2 would mean that consumers can expect to see a fifteen percent jump in price at the register. Concerning carbon pricing, Vroegh said, “The amount of exposure to carbon pricing we face as an industry is very high. If we want to be around tomorrow we have to be sustainable. This project helps us achieve that” and “This is a made-in-Ontario solution to a global problem.” The world, and especially the energy-intensive cement industry, will be watching as SMC and Pond Biofuels work to improve upon and expand their process.