Algae grown from sewage could be used to produce biofuels, says a company seeking a $7 million state grant to help prove it, along with help from MSU researchers.
Representatives of Bloomfield Hills-based Sequest LLC are considering Holland’s wastewater and coal plant as a site for their project.
It would divert carbon dioxide from the power plant and combine it with treated wastewater to grow algae, which would be converted to biofuels and other uses.
Steven Pueppke, director of MSU’s Office of Biobased Technologies, said there are always risks with new technology, but that the oil produced from algae could be more than 10 times as efficient as using oil from a land-growing plant.
“That’s a tremendous opportunity because the systems that use oils to produce biofuels are very productive and very efficient,” he said. “The other advantage that we have is that we have a lot of water in Michigan.”
The Associate Press contributed to this report.
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