PHYCO2 has announced its first patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the company's cutting edge technology that removes CO2 emissions to produce a clean, domestic energy source.

U.S. Patent 8,476,067 was issued to PHYCO2 for its proprietary HILED Photobioreactor, which promotes accelerated growth of algae biomass, without sunlight, while sequestering harmful greenhouse gas emissions from the world's refineries and power plants.

"PHYCO2's patent leads for the way for our groundbreaking technology to transform the clean energy marketplace. By eliminating the need for natural sunlight, PHYCO2's biomass process will have the flexibility to facilitate algae growth on a 24-hour basis in many different climates and environments. This patent is only the first step. The possibilities for commercial application are nearly limitless," said PHYCO2 Chairman Gregory Hagopian.

Energy independence and global climate change have produced an increased demand for renewable fuels that decrease gaseous pollutants generated by the largest emitters globally.

Existing technologies, such as open channel photobioreactors, are limited by seasonal changes in temperature, lack of a 24-hour sunlight source, external pollutants, and contamination by hostile species. Conventional air lift photobioreactors, while eliminating environmental interferences in algae production, lack a flow pattern that facilitates consistent progression of the photosynthetic stages: light-dependent reaction and light-independent reactions.

PHYCO2's new, more cost-effective process creates clean breathable oxygen and algae to use in green fuels, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agriculture, and other high-value markets - all at a faster rate without the shortcomings of current technologies, and, therefore, increases efficiency and effectiveness in the production of biofuels.

PHYCO2's HILED Photobioreactor is currently part of a demonstration project at Michigan State University (MSU). The MSU partnership is focused on sequestering CO2 from the University's power plant and reclaiming water while growing multiple types of algae at an accelerated rate without sunlight.

The PHYCO2 - MSU partnership is an important part of the University's Energy Transition Program. The goals of the program, adopted last April, are to help transition Michigan State to 100 percent renewable energy while investing in sustainable energy research and development. Through the program, MSU also hopes to become an educational leader in the clean, renewable energy community.