Biological reactors made from algae can convert carbon as well as 4,000 m2 of forest

Algae can play a very unexpected role in the fight against global warming.

On Tuesday, Hypergiant, an artificial intelligence technology company, announced a machine that uses underwater organisms to limit carbon dioxide. According to this company, "algae is one of nature's best machines." By incorporating machine learning systems, developers of this device hope to be able to exploit its potential effectively.

The machine uses algae to minimize carbon dioxide.

Not only could they say that the system - almost a meter wide and two meters high - could transform as much carbon as an acre of trees, about two tons of gas.

"We see solutions for climate change under a limited vision," said Ben Lamm, CEO of the Austin-based company Inverse . "Trees are part of the solution, but there are other biological solutions that are also helpful. Algae reduce carbon emissions much more efficiently than trees, which can be used to make clean fuels, plastics, food, fertilizer, and more. "

Can algae hold the key to the future?

This is not the only ambitious idea being developed at Hypergiant - including 6 branches. Thien Ha branch is aiming to build interplanetary internet using satellites as repeating devices. Last month, the company also developed a prototype version for an Iron Man-like hat to support fire and rescue teams. The new company was founded last year with council members like astronaut Andy Allen and scientist Bill Nye.

Hypergiant's algae bioreactor is a more practical idea than ever. Despite turning to greener technologies, annual carbon emissions have increased in 2018 to 37.1 billion tons, after two fairly balanced years from 2014 to 2016. This has created climate change. big, with 2018 being the fourth hottest year in record. A few countries, including the UK, have set zero-emission targets by 2050.

Studies show that restoring forests the size of the United States can reduce carbon dioxide by 25%, reaching an unprecedented level within a century. While tree planting may play a role in the repulsion process, there are other methods being developed such as capturing and storing carbon, as well as technologies to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Plants can help reduce the amount of carbon in the air.

Algae bioreactors: An example of accelerating natural processes

Algae, according to Hypergiant, need three factors to grow: light, water and carbon dioxide. Computers will look at factors such as light, the amount of carbon dioxide present, the temperature and more to maximize the amount of gas gained by algae.

"A machine that can capture as much carbon as an acre of forest , " Lamm said. "With enough Eos, we can balance or even reduce the amount of carbon in a city, and at a much faster rate than the tree. That's the goal to achieve: easy cities. live more with a clean atmosphere for everyone. "

When algae absorbs carbon dioxide, it produces biomass. The company believes that this amount of biomass can be used for many applications, such as oil and cosmetics. A smart city can use biomass and use it as fuel. The machine was small enough to be installed in buildings, and Lamm told FastCompany that the test could now be installed for HVAC systems to filter the air.

Ben Lamm talks about his bioreactor.

From there, Hypergian is planning to give the blueprints to engineering communities, with the intention that they will make similar devices for residential areas next year.

Hypergiant is not the only group that is developing processes to reduce carbon dioxide. Rob Mackenzie, a professor at the University of Birmingham's Institute of Atmospheric Science, also helped set up an outdoor laboratory in 2017 to observe the plant's response to higher levels of carbon dioxide. The oak trees are covered with 24m high columns that continuously release air into it. In August, MacKenzie said during the radio program Reasons to be Cheerful that during the first three seasons, the plants received better than normal amounts of carbon dioxide.

While clean energy and electric mobility can help reduce emissions, plants and other methods can also balance the amount of carbon in the air.