GF Piping Systems wins international award for environmentally friendly algae bioreactors in special pipes
The Gold SolVin Award 2010 goes to GF Piping Systems. The Corporate Group, which is part of the Georg Fischer Corporation, is this year’s recipient of the international innovation prize for a newly developed piping system made of transparent plastic material. When this system is used as a bioreactor to cultivate algae, biomass and biofuel can be produced. An added benefit is that these organisms simultaneously bind the pollutant CO2.
The award recognizes GF Piping Systems’ achievement in implementing polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipes efficiently and creatively for the common good. The prize money of 50,000 euros will be invested in further development of the product.
Plastics, such as PVC, change under constant exposure to sunlight. Engineers at Georg Fischer have succeeded in finding an ideal balance between transparency and durability. They have developed a piping system made of translucent PVC, which allows enough light in the right wavelength to pass through into the pipe interior, where microalgae can grow.
The first trials to cultivate algae in this type of bioreactor are underway. Algae can be processed to obtain biomass and biofuel. In addition, these organisms bind carbon dioxide (CO2), which is required for their growth. By supplying CO2 to the algae bioreactors, for example from a power plant, CO2 emissions can be reduced.
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