Thursday, 20 November 2014

Algae Farm Designed To Suck Up Highway Pollution

A highway overpass might seem like an unlikely place for a garden, but if you're growing algae, it's ideal: All algae need to thrive are sunlight and CO2. The pollution from cars driving below is actually an asset.
In a prototype built above a busy Geneva highway earlier this year, architects from The Cloud Collective tested a system for growing algae in tubes on the wall of the overpass. Though the tubes could be used on any wall, the designers wanted to take advantage of the abundant CO2 from the highway—and the symbolism of the location.
The algae can be harvested by draining the tubes, and filtering the green goo inside. The material can be used in food supplements, since it's high in protein, or to make products like cosmetics. Algae can also be used to make biofuel or turned into green electricity; algae produce five times as much biomass as plants.


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