6.5 Sustainable & friendly materials

6.5 Sustainable & friendly materials

Algae are emerging to be one of the most promising long-term, sustainable sources of biomass and oils

for fuel, food, feed, and other co-products. Also, have the potential to produce a volume of biomass and biofuel many times greater than that of our most productive crops.

Walls might be the next frontier for urban farming. Though rooftop gardens are common, exterior walls

• The algae convert the sun’s energy into biomass which is used to

power the building.

• It helps to clean up the air pollution.

• Curtains filled with living algae which can absorb the same amount

of CO2 as a mature tree.

aren’t typically used for growing crops. A “green wall” usually means a covering of plants that won’t be

harvested. But while a wall isn’t necessarily a good place for vegetables, with algae, it’s another story. One

new algae-filled wall that can quickly grow and harvest micro-algae to help fight climate change and create

new products. • The glass panels are filled with micro algae and water.

Algae-filled walls is a new technology for producing energy empowering green buildings. The algae cells

wall works as a cycle. In each panel, the algae grow in water. The algae are then harvested after a few days

or weeks for energy, food, cosmetics, or pharmaceuticals. To start the next growing cycle, a small amount

of algae was left. In photosynthesis, algae take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. In the panels, the

algae are supplied with liquid nutrients and compressed carbon dioxide.

“Urban facades and roofs represent billions of square

meters that instead of being made of an inanimate

material such as concrete, could become clever

photosynthetic surfaces that respond to the current state

of climate warming,” Griffa says.

“Micro-organisms like algae are like bacteria–it’s one of those things that in our culture people try to get rid

of,” Griffa says. “But algae offer incredible potential because of their very intense photosynthetic activity.”

Algae take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen while growing. Compared to a tree, micro-algae are about

150 to 200 times more efficient at sucking carbon out of the air.

In Griffa’s Water Lilly system, an algae-filled structure is attached to the façade of a building. Inside

individual chambers, algae grow in water, and after a few days or weeks, the algae can be harvested and

used for energy, food, cosmetics, or pharmaceuticals. A small amount is left to start the next growing cycle.

Hydrogel can absorb water. When the air around Hydrogel heats up, it evaporates and cools the room

down by up to 5°C. The mechanism is inspired by the way the human body cools itself down. Once

installed in buildings it will act as an alternative to the overuse of air conditioning, which is detrimental

to the environment, producing 100 million tons of CO2.

Super-hydrophobic Cement (luminescent cement) Scientists in Mexico have discovered

that changing the microstructure of cement can make it absorb and reflect light, creating super-

hydrophobic cement, also known as luminescent cement.The cement canabsorb and reflect light, offering

an alternative to street lighting as the ground would be lit up using this luminescent cement.

Benefits: Often, cement needs to be replaced within thirty to fifty years; however, this alternative product

is far more durable and will last for up to hundred years. It also offers power-free lighting and therefore

can reduce the energy consumed and CO2 produced by lighting the streets of the world.

It absorbs and reflects lights which makes it an environmentally friendly material and an alternative to

street lighting. Super-hydrophobic cement declines future maintenance cost due to its durable

performance.

The durability of Super-hydrophobic Cement makes it a suitable material to solve challenges regarding

sustainable transportation, infrastructure, and safety. Moreover, it can be used to replace normal concrete

in critical infrastructure elements. Lastly, super-hydrophobic cement can be incorporated into critical

portions of infrastructure that are prone to severe weathering and deformations.

Super white paint: this coating is one of the highest compared to other "heat-resistant paints" we

have today, which can reflect only 80 to 90% of sunlight. This new ultra-white color can reflect 95.5% of

all photons that hit it.

The ultra-white coating reflects the sun's energy into space in 3 ways at once and remains cooler than the

surrounding air even under the influence of direct sunlight:

1- Paint reflects 95.5% of sunlight falling on it.

2- Reflects the bulk of ultraviolet rays by reflecting direct sunlight, without heating up by its effect.

3- It emits infrared waves in the narrow range, so the painted surface “exits into space” the heat it gets

from contact with the surrounding air.

The new paint is made of acrylic using calcium carbonate fillers that form the basis of this paint (60%)

instead of the standard titanium dioxide particles currently used, and the rest is conventional acrylic paint.

Instead of warming under direct light, objects coated with the new acrylic material can stay cooler than

their surrounding temperature even under direct sunlight, potentially allowing a new energy-efficient way

to control indoor temperature.