“Being less bad is no good!”… “Nature doesn’t have a design problem — people do!”… “Eco-effectiveness”… “Waste = Food”…. These are the phrases in Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, William McDonough's 2002 book that calls for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design, that caught the eyes and imaginations of Team Innovatech as they were doing background reading for their Global Challenge project. In the Global Challenge, now registering its third group of participants, teams of US high school students collaborate with international counterparts from October to May to address global climate change and compete for over $60,000 in awards. Students strengthen skills in math, science, engineering, and critical thinking, while learning about global business practices.

Meghna Das and Pranav Pai from Bangalore, India, and Rudhdi Karnik and Brian Mason from Massachusetts in the US composed Team Innovatech, the 2007 Global Challenge overall winner. (Click here to see all of the 2007 winners) They had a major ah-ha moment when they were looking for a project to pursue in Global Challenge. It seemed to them that industry was always pitted against the environment, and one has to lose. “Everything we saw,” says the team in their final project summary, “had at very best, only reduced pollution. We wanted something that could potentially be a solution to global warming by working with the system rather than against it. That is exactly what we found in the GreenFuel Emissions-to-Biofuels™ process.”

Here’s how Innovatech describes the GreenFuel process, which they particularly liked because it wasn’t a future technology, but one that could be implemented and make an impact now. Emissions from factory chimneys are guided through a Bioreactor, which is a pyramid of pipes filled with photosynthetic algae. Two of nature’s fundamental processes — photosynthesis and nutrition — help to remove the largest contributors to global warming: CO2 and NOx. Once the gases have been absorbed by the algae, what remains is a residue from which can be obtained several useful by-products, which in turn yield more energy.

“I think the idea of utilizing “natural allies” (algae) to clean the environment is the penultimate in being green. Innovatech’s field test efforts are to be commended – it’s challenging convincing people to try new ideas in an actionable way. I consider their efforts highly successful.” Comment by a Global Challenge judge

The team’s final business plan, titled Sludge on Steroids, advocated for and worked out the details of taking the GreenFuel technology global; doing industrial and technical, and market analyses, working out manufacturing details and analysing feasibility. Here’s what Dr. David Gibson, Executive Director of Global Challenge has to say about this amazing team…."Without ever meeting face to face, these four high school students found a promising technology and figured out what it would take to "go to scale - go global" with three countries cooperating in a supply chain, leveraging "flat world" technologies. The team demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics of their concept and created a viable model that could make a significant impact on global warming."

Questions and Answers

Here are Innovatech's answers to your questions, submitted in July 2007.

I'm wondering about your family cultures. What role did your home environments play in your success and dedication to this project?

Pranav: I would say that my family played the most crucial role for me. My mother introduced me to the representative of GCA who had come to Bangalore to speak to high school students here, and I called Meghna over and we all spoke about this together. So my mother was responsible for us getting into this project, and that was perhaps the most important of all. Then, throughout the project, my parents were very supportive and helped me through the tough task of balancing my senior year with this undertaking. They also chipped in with some very valuable information. My mother and brother kept their eyes on the news to filter out any information which would possibly help me in my project, from news on the UN’s report on Global Warming to how the beef industry is a significant contributor to GW in the USA. My father helped me understand the finer points of setting up a company on the global scale, analysis of different markets and the strengths of each country in supporting entrepreneurs.

Meghna’s parents were very supportive too, and their insights were very helpful to our understanding of the global perspective of our project. Her mother was our mentor, while her father was crucial in helping us analyze the costs of our solution. Meghna and I live very close to each other, and this made collaboration convenient. Also, both of us have access to a variety of knowledge banks and resources due to living in a developed metro like Bangalore. So I would say our home environments certainly played a beneficial role in the successful completion of the project.

Rudhdi: Personally, my parents knew I was involved with this project, but they didn't know a whole lot about it. Every now and then I'd tell my dad just what we were working on, but my motivation really just came from my own passion for the environment. I wanted to show myself that I could do something independently.

Meghna: Yes, our families played a very big role in that! Actually, it was Pranav’s mother who found out about Global Challenge and got us into it. My mother mentored our team and was there to push us and see that we made our self-given deadlines; she gave us our space, but once in while made sure were didn’t slack – both with the project and schoolwork that we had to balance. Both Pranav’s and my dads, being in business, helped immensely with financial studies and manufacturing plans. I don’t think we could have done it without them!

Were you matched up, or did you find that you had common research interests, communication styles, etc, and decide to work together? And what was the most challenging part of working as a team across such a distance?

Pranav: When I found out about the GCA, I started to think of someone I knew who had similar interests, whom I could ask to be my partner for the country team. Meghna is a good friend, lives close by and is in the same grade as me. She also took science, and is interested in extra-curricular activities just like I am. When I told her about this, she was very enthusiastic to participate. So our common interests and proximity patched us together on this project.

We eventually found out that the GCA website had an interactive map set up to help us communicate with a team from the US in order to form an international team. It took us around a month of e-mails to finally collaborate with a like-minded team with similar interests from the US. Rudhdi and Brian sent us an introductory letter in which they listed their interests and backgrounds. They seemed to be the kind of students we would like to work with, and after an introduction from our part we all agreed to form a team and work together.

The most challenging part of working as a team was definitely the communication. We live on opposite sides of the planet, and even ten years ago such an undertaking would have seemed a titanic effort! But the GCA site had adequate suggestions on how to work together and share information. They gave us an online e-space to put up or work, so the entire team could review progress. We communicated mostly by email, and this worked well enough for us. One of our team members did fall ill in the middle of the project. This made work all the more difficult. But we stuck together and pulled through; so our common interests, thought process and dedication to this project was certainly the binding factor in this undertaking.

Rudhdi: When we were looking for partners, we saw that Meghna and Pranav had similar interests and goals to ours, and seemed to be really dedicated, as were we. They also had skills that were different than ours, so we thought we'd make a well-balanced team. Communication was a little challenging because sometimes waiting for e-mails takes a while, but all in all, it worked out great.

Meghna: As expected, there were difficulties in working together. After all, we were working with people we had never met before, and who had a different set of problems than us. But we found that we shared enthusiasm about project ideas and implementation, and soon had set the ball rolling. I think the most challenging part of working as a team was maintaining communication. It proved difficult, what with the time difference and different chat software on opposite ends. We also had to deal with illnesses and examinations. But when one part of the team couldn’t handle work, the rest of the team made up for it and we managed.

I would like to congratulate Team Innovatech for their prowess and vision for creating solutions to the world's issues and problems. Congratulations for your creation of your wonderful new technology. This definitely shows the value and worth of the ITEST initiative.

Pranav: Thank you very much, your congratulations mean a lot to me! We didn’t actually create this technology, but we did do a whole lot of research on its working, feasibility, marketability and positive contributions to the environment. Since it is quite new, information on this solution required a thorough and in-depth analysis. But it all went into developing ourselves and learning new things everyday… so it was definitely a great experience for me.

Meghna: Thank you for your kind words! Let’s hope next year’s competition is even bigger! It’s us after all who have the responsibility of fixing these very issues and problems!

Congratulations on your winning proposal! I wonder if you all had an interest in global issues before this work? Will any of you continue to research and work in this field?

Pranav: Thank you! In my school here, environmental protection is a serious issue. We have rallies, sapling-planting initiatives and even a separate compulsory course in high school called Environmental Education. So I have grown up with an understanding on how serious such global issues really are, and how each one of us can make a difference. I’m sure it’s the same with Meghna, Rudhdi and Brian.

Being educated youth, we know that it is in our hands to protect our planet; and I’m sure this sense of responsibility is developed or steadily developing all over the world. Initiatives such as the GCA serve to unite like-minded students from all over the world, and I certainly hope its work continues. Regarding my future, I am deeply interested in electronics and engineering. I am sure that one day I will have the opportunity to develop new technology that will help in our efforts to develop a carbon-neutral society.

Rudhdi: I've always felt really passionate about environmental issues, which was the reason I wanted to participate in this. I wanted to help make a difference. Global warming is an issue that concerns everyone, so it was great working with another team internationally. Since I'm just 16, I'm not quite sure what I'd like to do yet, but it's very possible I'll continue in this field.

Meghna: Thank you! Yes, I would say that I had an interest in global issues before this work – particularly with respect to environmental protection, but honestly, this interest was quite theoretical. Global Challenge made me realise that I’m not too small to change that theoretical interest to an active one, and actually DO something about global warming.

I am so impressed by how you framed your problem to create a win/win solution. To what extent did you find working between two countries with varying cultures and approaches helped you develop such a productive way of looking at a problem? If so, what types of attitudes or logic appeared to influence this productive frame for your project?

Pranav: Thank you! We were indeed looking for a win-win solution for GW, because we realized that the best solutions are ones that have multiple profits lodged deeply in their working!

The Greenfuel solution was developed in the US, by an ex-NASA scientist. The fact that I was able to “discover” it, even though it wasn’t advertised or announced widely, helped me realize the extent to which the Internet can help anyone in the world. When I proposed this project to Meghna, she immediately agreed to go forward with it. By the time we met up with our half from the US, we already had some information on this solution. When we proposed this to Rudhdi and Brian, they were also convinced that this was great technology to research. So the fact that we all thought on the same lines was a key factor to the success of this project throughout the competition.

For one thing, the sheer scale of globalization has united everyone throughout the world. So in terms of differences in culture, where work was concerned, it was not really a problem. In fact, working with people halfway across the world for 6 months was more of a learning experience than anything I had done previously! I know now that this is more possible than I could have ever imagined.

The fact that GW is such a predominant threat to human civilization is well established, at least in India and the US. Also, common knowledge of science and mathematics helped us to keep to the same levels and thought processes. So collaboration in the working of the project and research went smoothly because all of these commonalities helped us keep to the same page. To sum it up, the common logical thinking processes and attitude definitely helped to keep us working throughout the competition.

Rudhdi: Meghna and Pranav were so great to work with because they were so dedicated, and they really kept us on track. Sometimes our schedules got so busy here, it was hard to find time to work on the project, but our teammates really kept us organized, and we were so grateful for that.

Meghna: The attitude that money is what everyone wants, I think, is universal. Whether that is a good thing or not put aside, all four of us agreed that if there was a way to protect the environment that was economically lucrative, it becomes that much more attractive to do so. We linked economic protection to economic gain. Whether one is Indian, American, or anything, the prospect of making money is always attractive. That’s how an economy works. I think the fact that that is true no matter where one is from is what made this project so viable.

Wow, great work! What a wonderful way to get involved with today's critical issues. Have you thought about ways that this sort of technology could be implemented in the emerging nations?

Pranav: Thank you! Yes the GCA is a great opportunity to get young people thinking about these issues earlier on.

An integral part of the rubric given to us by the GCA staff is a thorough Market Analysis, Financial Feasibility and a plan to set up a company in atleast three different countries (Manufacturing and Operations). So we analyzed the US, India and China as our primary targets. These countries have well-established facilities to benefit a new undertaking such as our, not to mention a huge amount of carbon-coughing power plants! So this was a suitable market to establish ourselves.

We planned to set up the research, manufacturing and executive modules of our company in each of these countries to help establish our presence in this primary market. We then planned to expand to other developing nations, such as Brazil, Central America, Australia and South-East Asia. We were limited by several discerning factors, most important of all being steady sunlight (an important necessity for optimum efficiency in the working of the algae bioreactor). So from what we have researched, any country in the tropical and temperate zones of the world (which is the majority, anyway) can benefit from the installation of this technology. So understanding the applicability of this project was very important for the competition as well, besides quelling our curiosity to see how successful this technology could become!

Meghna: It already IS being implemented! The project we submitted presented a project done by a company called GreenFuel. A prototype has been tested, and the product will be available soon we believe. The problem is that the company expects to be approached to set up the bioreactor, and as of now, it is only targeted at the American market. We think that to make a real difference, the process has to reach more countries.

As a member of the Global Challenge Board, I am really psyched to see what you four have done. Please share your thoughts on building a global challenge team and say whether you would recommend GC to other high school students.

Pranav: The GCA is a fantastic way to unite like-minded youth from all over the world to come up with solutions to the very predominant threat of GW. Not only does it promote awareness, it a great way to tap the unmeasured potential of the developing minds of these students. It is a great platform for students interested in this area of research to propel themselves into this exciting field.

It requires a significant amount of hard work and dedication; I can tell you it's not easy working with one part of your team so far away that they are a half day behind you in time zones! It may even be the most demanding task one can take up at this age. But it still is so much fun, that once you're done with it you can't help but feel that you’ve done something you can be proud of!

Building an international team may seem to be a daunting task…at least it seemed to be for me because I had never done something like this before. But the GCA staff is extremely supportive, and the tools they offer are more than you will need to help you through it. So I would certainly recommend the GCA to high school students the world over. I know that balancing something like this with stuff like the SATs, sports and other activities may seem formidable; but once you are into it you will definitely feel exhilarated to be part of something that can actually make a difference in today’s world.

Rudhdi: This was such a great experience, and I highly recommend it. It enables you to take what you've learned in school and put to use working towards real solutions for the problems we face today. It also teaches you so much about teamwork and communication.

Meghna: As a matter of fact, I have already recommended GC to practically all my friends. At a larger scale, with Mr. Gibson’s permission, I am talking to number of schools to try to get more Indian students to take part in GC. I believe that this is an experience of a lifetime and would like for more people to have it! I am mentoring a few teams, and hopefully will share my experience with them to make it easier.

Forming a team is definitely the first challenge we face. Getting people who are dedicated is pretty much a matter of luck because one doesn’t know a lot about working styles until work actually starts. It’s important, I think, to give oneself time to talk to people before forming a team to get a feel of what everyone is like. One thing which might make sense, which we didn’t do, is to get both team mentors in touch with each other.

What kinds of by-products do you expect may be made from the sludge after processing?

Pranav: This process is unique in its ability to mitigate CO2 emissions profitably. It has the ability to remove around 80% CO2 and 85% NOx from flue emissions. The profits are derived through producing renewable energy in the form of biofuels from the dried biomass. This implies that an algae-based emissions reduction system could theoretically enable a power plant to meet emerging state regulations for both CO2 reduction and effective net power generation. This means that power plants are encouraged to delve into reducing their impact on the environment, as profit and meeting regulations are combined in an attractive package.

The operation for algal oil extraction and conversion of the dewatered algae biomass into final fuel products is called the downstream process. The downstream processes are conventional technologies currently practiced on a large scale; e.g. bio-diesel is currently produced from vegetable oils via transesterification. Algae species have lipids, starch, and protein compositions similar to soy and canola beans. The algal biomass is washed with solvents to extract the ‘algal oil’, which can be converted to biodiesel via conventional transesterification. The remaining biomass is treated with enzymes, thereby converting starches into simple sugars. Ethanol can then be produced via the fermentation of these simple sugars. Consequently the same facilities can be adapted to produce bio-diesel from algae biomass and conventional agricultural feeds. It is also an excellent source of hydrogen for the exciting and rapidly growing field of fuel-cell technology.

Meghna: While the process continues and the algae absorbs the greenhouse gases, it leaves behind residue which can be refined to produce bioediesel or bioethanol which are burnt to provide energy. The crudest usage of this would be to burn the residue itself to provide energy. It can also eventually be turned into hydrogen. The greenhouse gases produced by burning of the biofuel obtained as so can be run through the bioreactor every time, so that we are getting energy over and over again from the same amount of pollution.

I was wondering about the algae you plan on using, and the mortality rate you expect for using it in the “Bioreactor.” Have you found a species that would be resistant to some of the more poisonous compounds that come out of incinerators, or would the lethal emissions be filtered out before reaching the algae?

Pranav: Algae live nearly everywhere on earth: in polar seas, in geyser pools, and in stagnant and salt water. In nature, algae scavenge carbon dioxide from air and dissolved gases in the water in which they live. Algae reproduce rapidly, doubling in volume in a matter of hours. They thrive in extreme conditions, able to withstand high temperatures and live in water sources readily available near power plants, even untreated, salty or brackish water.

Essentially, certain algae that are known to display an affinity for the general conditions of the power plant (species of cyano-bacterium – blue-green algae) are chosen. An algae culture in lab conditions is started and then the culture is quickly conditioned to thrive at the power plant conditions – very high temperatures of the flue gases. The cell culture system essentially accelerates the natural selection process, favoring algae performing best under the desired conditions. Also, the bioreactor is dewatered regularly, and a part of the algal growth is removed. There is no mortality rate, as the algae reproduce and multiply themselves once introduced into the reactor.

Typical fossil-fuel power plants use incinerators or gas-turbine technology to burn the fuel. They usually have electrostatic precipitators installed, as these are required in most countries to enforce certain emission standards. The precipitator is installed to only handle particulates and fly ash from the incinerators, as seen in the diagram below. This includes heavy metals and other poisonous particulates, if any. Ash is usually the only solid matter to enter the smoke-stream, and it is not poisonous to the algae. Other solid materials are left behind in the incineration chamber as burn residue. So even without precipitators, the algae would not be particularly harmed by these particulates.

Our process is designed to be retrofitted to flue stacks of fossil-fired power plants and other anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide with minimal impact to ongoing operations. It basically cleans out all the waste gas coming out of the plant in the end. The other “poisonous” substances – like CO2, NOx and SOx in the smoke, aren’t really poisons to the algae. That’s the best part about this solution. You can think that the algae looks upon the NOx as a great snack, because it actually feeds of it while absorbing the CO2 for photosynthesis. However the SOx passes through almost unabsorbed. Though not as largely present as the other two gases, it is also responsible for things like acid rain. This is currently being researched, and soon there may be certain strains of algae developed that might even absorb these gases as well. In all, the system cleans out the CO2 and NOx, and is designed especially to handle the extreme conditions of the flue gases.

Meghna: GreenFuel has already set up a prototype at MIT that is up and running, and have found no problems with other gases affecting the algae.

I really appreciate the chance to learn more about you project and about you and your colleagues at the Focus Forum at the University of Vermont. Congratulations on your accomplishments, present and future. My question relates specifically to the experience of developing your business plan. I recall that, while you had strong science and mathematics backgrounds, business planning was fairly new to you. Of what immediate and long-term value do you think the business planning experience is to you? Is this an aspect of Global Challenge that should be intensified, diminished, or sustained in future Global Challenge competitions?

Pranav: That’s a great point! Speaking for Meghna and myself, we were quite well equipped to handle the scientific, technological and mathematical areas of the project. However, when it came to developing an actual business model, we were a bit stumped initially. So the fact that both our fathers are extremely experienced in the matters of business, finance and marketing certainly helped in our efforts. We studied the Cradle-to-Cradle ideology and The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, and whenever we did not grasp something there was always this accessible source of knowledge to turn to! So this project actually propelled us into a whole new field of study that we had never foraged into previously.

As we all know, business and financial know-how is extremely important in today’s world, even for the most devoted scientist or engineer. So understanding this new sphere of knowledge certainly helped us grow in knowledge, understanding and experience. I think the GC is designed specifically to merge science and business planning into one great learning experience for students, and this is the most appealing aspect of it. So I would certainly recommend to them to sustain this scheme in their future competitions, as it is something no other event I have participated in has offered so far.

Rudhdi: I think the business planning was one of the most interesting parts of the experience, partially because I'm very interested in business myself, but also because it puts you in a real-life situation. All new products that are created, whatever their use, must be marketed and explained, so it was a great exercise. It should definitely be sustained in future competitions.

Meghna: I think this is an aspect that should be sustained at least. We had no experience in economics or business studies on the Indian side. However, we were lucky enough to have professional help to form our business plan, and we would like to think it came out well! The business planning experience gave us a chance to explore what I believe is very important for an engineer. An idea is as good as nonexistent if the layman can’t understand and use it. Business planning and communications is very important for a good science project and I believe that is what gave us the chance to really understand our product and its applications and limitations!

Usually many of the environment-saving techniques take hundreds or thousands of years to work. How and why does the Greenfuel project make an immediate impact?

Pranav: The amazing part about this process is that it has an immediate effect on the pollutants coming out of the flue-stack of a power plant. It is proven to be very effective, as it has the ability to remove around 80% CO2 and 85% NOx from flue emissions. What’s amazing is the fact that these trapped pollutants can actually be converted into a variety of different by-products – from biodiesel and ethanol to animal feed and fertilizers. Just imagine how significant these numbers are… and then imagine a large number of these systems set up at power plants all around the world. I must admit that it will need a lot of intensive work in terms of customizing the solution to different markets, with different capacities, facilities and requirements. But what we have tried to show is that it definitely can make an immediate impact.

The scale of this impact depends on how well-received it is as a solution to the problem of flue emissions. We have seen that one of the world's greatest energy users is electricity generation, with transport close in tow. Both are responsible for huge quantities of greenhouse gas emissions, as most power plants and vehicles still rely on fossil fuels. Now our solution hopes to marry the two together with an emerging technology that uses a by-product of one to supply fuel to the other. Doing so could dramatically reduce their overall carbon dioxide emissions. So our niche can be described as a link between these two factions of global industry and development. By doing so, we will definitely see a dramatic drop in carbon emissions, as we will get a two-for-one deal on the fuel-emissions relation.

Meghna: The GreenFuel product can be set up at thermal power plants as soon as they are willing to have them installed, and the process starts working straight away. The more bioreactors set up, the faster there will be visible reduction of global warming. From an environmental point of view, the effects are immediate. From a financial point of view, our feasibility study shows that costs are made up in under three years, and is profitable after that.

I'm aware that you guys are forming a new global network for young people concerned about the environment. I'm sure that people finding Cogito.org would appreciate hearing a bit more about that! Good luck with all that you are doing.

Pranav: Yes, plans for this are definitely in the works. We will be glad to link up with Cogito, and look forward to setting up soon. Thank you!

Meghna: Thank you for your wishes! As for the global network, it is, as of now, just an idea. We have begun work on it, but nothing has been implemented as yet. If and when something is set up, we will inform cogito.org for sure!