Title.  CO2NCEPT

Date.  October 2017

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As part of the SENCity Workshop, this project was created along with Mayuri Favard and Gladys Champanay. 

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CO2NCEPT is a project focused on the problem of air pollution. In Montpellier, pollution is mostly concentrated around the roads. The goal was then to find a way to diminish this phenomenon on this part of the urban space.

 

In the course of our research, we found that there were systems reducing CO2 from the air through the action of algae. We have therefore sought to link this type of system to an urban furniture device that can be placed along roads and highways. The most obvious answer was street lamps because they have a fairly simple infrastructure as well as a punctual treatment along the roads. 

 

Here is the description of the device: A pump sucks polluted air (CO2 from cars, factories, etc). This air is then integrated into tubes in which an algae + water mixture circulates. The circulation of this liquid favours the absorption of CO2 by algae. The algae exposed to the sun (by the means of transparent plastic tubes) will then perform photosynthesis in order to accentuate the process. Moreover, Chlorella is used: a freshwater green micro algae which contains a very high concentration of chlorophyll (favouring even more the absorption). 

In addition, the street lamp would be equipped with sensors to measure air quality.

 

Algae need to be renewed about every 6 weeks. The street lamps are therefore connected to a collective pump (by an underground network) ensuring the evacuation and renewal of the liquid.

 

The collected algae are not lost: they can then be used by various companies. As a matter of fact, these algae can be used as combustible biomass or even as raw material for various cosmetic and food products.

 

The data collected by the sensors can also be resold to different actors: municipality, research centres, population… 

 

In order to make the process more efficient, this device can of course adapt to different types of urban furniture (such as bus shelters, billboards, etc). It can even go as far as adapting to a building facade. 

 

Therefore, thanks to this web of street lamps plus the action of well informed citizens, the rate of pollution may decrease in the years to come. CO2NCEPT would indeed reduce by 2,6% the CO2 air concentration. Knowing that it is only a prototype, the system can be readjusted and amplified to be much more efficient.