IU Photobioreactor Formula: Flue Gases + Algae = Fertilizer
Where others see waste, Stephen “Chip” Glaholt and Mark Menefee see opportunity. Co-leaders on the new Indiana University photobioreactor project, Glaholt and Menefee plan to put photosynthetic
algae to work high atop IU’s Central Heating Plant. There, carbon- and nitrogen-rich emissions will be condensed and diverted from plant smokestacks to a maze of algae-filled pipes. Add a little sunlight and the waste is transformed into nutrient-rich biofertilizer.
