Portland General Electric are running a small pilot test from their Boardman coal plant to test if they can use the pollutants from the plant to feed algae and produce a biodiesel.

Some of the CO2 emissions from the plant are siphoned off and fed into six 12-foot long tubs of algae. During the photosynthesis process, the algae eat the CO2 and release oxygen. The mature algae are then squeezed to produce an oil which can be made into a clean-burning bio-diesel.

The Boardman plant is currently Oregon’s only coal power plant and generates around a fifth of PGE’s power. It is also the state’s largest stationary source of CO2.

The pilot project will not significantly reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions at present, however if the project proves successful, a larger version of the project would be built and this would have the potential to remove around 60 percent of the plant’s emissions and produce around 20 million gallons of biodiesel a year.

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