It may not be pretty to look at, but this urban algae farm installed on an overpass in Geneva, Switzerland is doing a fine job as a CO2 energy converter said Inhabitat. The algae farm was installed by the French and Dutch-based company, The Cloud Collective, and was one of the 13 displays at the Geneve: Villes et Champs garden festival in the summer of 2014.
A solution of algae moves through a system of transparent pipes, feeding off the carbon dioxide expelled by the cars on the highway below it. The installation was designed to demonstrate that even the bleakest of urban environments can be used to grow an abundance of biomass for food and fuel production.
The Cloud Collective’s Culture Urbaine Geneve was one of the 13 gardens produced for the festival. The festival focuses on the co-rehabilitation of urban and natural environments within the context of the urban expansion of Geneva. The algae garden takes advantage of the site’s large volumes of CO2 and sunlight and recreates a blighted landscape into a productive space. The algae produced can be used as raw materials for food or cosmetics, a combustible biomass or for air filtration.
The transparent tubes are attached to the concrete siding of a viaduct highway overpass that also doubles as a pedestrian and cycling path. A steel structure supports all the secondary equipment like the pumps, solar panels and filters. The didactic panels also provide detailed information on the project for pedestrians and cyclists on the bridge.
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Featured Image Credit: Inhabitat.com