UK Center for Applied Energy Research algae press conference

Beshear Administration to Announce Funding for UK to Demonstrate Carbon Capture Technology Using Algae. UK President Eli Capilouto, Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) director Rodney Andrews, Kentucky Energy and Environment Secretary Len Peters, Kentucky House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) CEO Tony Campbell and others. To announce a partnership with UK and East Kentucky Power Cooperative's Dale power station in Winchester, Ky. to demonstrate CAER and the UK Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering's process of using algae to capture CO2 and convert it to biomass from coal-burning power plants.

This breakthrough carbon-capture technology is being funded by $1.3 million from the Kentucky Energy and Environment cabinet, $543,633 from UK and $75,000 of in-kind costs from the EKPC to demonstrate the process at EKPC for the next two years.

The smaller-scale project began in a commercial-scale greenhouse at CAER and has been refined for the last three years. Researchers are looking at the potential of using waste CO2 and heat from a coal-fired power plant to cultivate algae, which can then be processed into value-added products like biodiesel, animal feed, fertilizer, and chemicals.

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News & Politics

Tags:

• Carbon Capture
• East KY Power
• CAER
• University of Kentucky
• UK
• Coal
• Energy