Vol. 1, Issue 10, Part A (2015)

Abstract
The world is faced with an intrinsic environmental responsibility, i.e. the minimization of greenhouse gas emission to acceptable levels. This article tries to explain the methods of carbon dioxide capture and sequestration and to discuss a line of research that may, in future, help to reduce the greenhouse effect in a sustainable manner. The capture of carbon dioxide produced by combustion of fossil fuels used in electric generation can be achieved by amine scrubbing of the flue gases. This process is costly and may in the future be replaced by options such as membrane separation, molecular sieves or desiccant adsorption. Short term options of sequestration by direct injection into geologic or oceanic sinks are recognized as methods to reduce the CO₂ levels but do not addresses issues of sustainability. For this purpose, the topic of photosynthetic reactions, has long been known and examined as a natural process that can produce useful byproducts of biomass, oxygen and hydrogen and can fix carbon dioxide. In a controlled environment, such as a bio-reactor, micro-organisms capable of photosynthetic reactions may hold the key to reduce emissions in both economically and environmentally sustainable manner.