Algae absorbs CO2 as it grows, and if it is introduced on a large scale on buildings – the organisation claims - it could play a significant role in carbon capture.
And, when the algae have matured, they could be removed from the tubes and used for heat, power or be burnt to produce a fertiliser.
The idea is one of many detailed in an IMechE report, Geoengineering – Giving us time to act?
In the publication IMechE state their concerns about the environment and about how geoengineering could offer the world a chance to cut CO2 emissions. It also highlights how they want the government to take the discipline seriously.
Tim Fox, the IMechE’s head of environment and climate change and lead author of its report, told bsdlive.co.uk that the report contains practical solutions.
The publication is based on a competition in which the institution asked its members to find geo-engineering approaches to climate change.
According to the report, geo-engineering “could provide the world with extra time to decarbonise the world economy, a task which has yet to begin in earnest.”
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Date Published: October 27, 2009
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