Using bacteria, sunlight, and synthetic seawater, a new material can absorb carbon dioxide from the air — and may revolutionize the future of construction.
This innovative material is a gel that can be shaped using a 3D printer. It grows using only sunlight and artificial seawater. Inside the gel, researchers embed a type of photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria, turning the gel into a “living, photosynthetic material.”
“Cyanobacteria are among the oldest living organisms on Earth,”
said Yifan Cui, co-author of the study published in Nature Communications.
“They’re highly efficient at photosynthesis and can use even the faintest light to convert CO₂ and water into biomass.”
This new material is the result of a collaboration between researchers seeking to merge conventional materials with living organisms — such as bacteria, algae, and fungi — to create “living materials” with novel functions. In this case, the material absorbs carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
“In the future, this material could be used in construction to directly lock carbon within buildings,”
said Professor Mark Tibbitt, head of the Polymer Engineering Group at ETH Zurich.
The material was showcased at the Venice Architecture Biennale, at the Canada Pavilion under a project titled Picoplanktonics. The installation featured 3-meter-tall column structures shaped like trees, each capable of capturing as much CO₂ per year as a 20-year-old pine tree.
Source : https://www.discoverwildlife
