The new biomaterial, called C-ELM, incorporates live cyanobacteria in translucent panels that can be attached to the interior walls of buildings. The microbes embedded in these panels grow through photosynthesis, absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and attaching it to calcium through a biomineralization process to produce calcium carbonate, which traps carbon.
C-ELM is Camptonema Animal Cyanobacteria extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Image courtesy of Prantar Tamuli.
One kilogram of C-ELM (cyanobacterial engineered biomaterial) can capture and sequester up to 350 grams of carbon dioxide, while the same amount of traditional concrete releases as much as 500 grams of carbon dioxide.
A 150-square-metre wall covered with these C-ELM panels will trap around one tonne of carbon dioxide.
“By developing C-ELM materials, my goal is to transform the construction of future human settlements from one of the largest carbon emitting activities into one of the largest carbon sequestration activities,” said Planter Tamri, a graduate student at University College London.
“I was inspired to develop this material through my study of stromatolites – natural stone structures that formed over millions of years from sediments trapped by algal mats, the oldest living organisms on Earth.”
Tamri et al. Camptonema AnimalA type of photosynthetic cyanobacteria, it grows in long filamentous structures that help attach the microbes to the surrounding material within the panel.
The calcium carbonate produced by the cyanobacteria helps strengthen the panels.
The panels themselves are designed to provide a variety of aesthetic and structural benefits to buildings.
It is lightweight, sound absorbing, translucent enough to let light through, and has insulating properties, making buildings more energy efficient.
The first such panel was unveiled at an exhibition in the “Bioscope” pavilion at St. Andrews Botanic Garden in Scotland.
Designed by design collective Studio Biocene, the exhibit showcased low-carbon, low-impact building methods that mimic the natural environment.
“The potential of this type of biomaterial is enormous,” said Professor Marcos Cruz, from University College London.
“If mass-produced and widely adopted, it has the potential to dramatically reduce the construction industry's carbon footprint.”
“We hope to scale up the production of this C-ELM and further optimize its performance to make it suitable for use on construction sites.”
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This article is a version of a press release provided by University College London.
Source: www.sci.news
