This paper is by four scientists studying at Chengdu University in China: Xin Wang, Zhuo Yin, Jielai Chen, Jing Liu. (Full contact information for these authors in the link below)
Read here: Phytoplankton Carbon Utilization Strategies and Effects on Carbon Fixation
What is Phytoplankton?
From: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/phyto.html
Phytoplankton are a group of organisms that contain chlorophyll and need sunlight to grow. They usually float at the surface of bodies of water where sunlight can reach. Phytoplankton also use inorganic nutrients such as nitrates, phosphates, and sulfur which they convert into proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Some phytoplankton are able to move through the water using a whip-like tail or flagella. They often have complex shells around their bodies. Phytoplankton are the base of many food webs in the ocean, lakes, and rivers.
Carbon acquisition vs. metabolism
Phytoplankton both acquire and metabolize carbon, but the rates that they do each activity are not perfectly correlated. It’s important to understand how the phytoplankton acquire and metabolize carbon so they can be optimized in production. The metabolizing of carbon is the most important part for the permanent sequestering of the carbon.
Sewage treatment, biological products, and carbon fixation go together
This scientists have discovered that there is great opportunity for phytoplankton in the sewage treatment sector, and that biological products made from phytoplankton and carbon capture will easily be offshoots of doing that process.
Leveraging Carbon Sequestration
This paper describes the many levers of the carbon acquisition and fixation processes in phytoplankton. For example, light, nutrients, temperature etc. Sometimes phytoplankton will excrete CO2 through physical exertion. This paper describes why and how phytoplankton does that so that people who want to control phytoplankton for sewage treatment and carbon fixation will have the science to be able to do so.
Here’s the diagram offered by the scientists at Chengdu University:
Gigablue
This article came to my attention through this company: https://www.gigablue.co/howitworks
Gigablue writes: “Nature has created the perfect carbon capture and removal mechanism, known as the biological carbon pump. Tiny photosynthetic phytoplankton convert carbon into biomass, fulfilling their role as the primary producers of the oceanic ecosystem.
As predators consume them, only 1% of the carbon captured reaches the sea bottom. We have developed a method to safely harness phytoplankton fixation, while improving the sequestration ratio by two orders of magnitude.”
Gigablue is working towards building a process for capturing and permanently sequestering carbon using phytoplankton.
Here’s a photo of phytoplankton:
