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Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

forbes.com

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Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#11

Post by ac29 »

kolinko wrote: post #9
ajmurmann wrote: post #4

This is super interesting! Sounds from the article like the main point is to remove CO2 from the air to improve air for humans. That's already really exciting. In essence it's a CO2 scrubber right? So how does this compare to devices built with the goal to remove CO2 with the goal to reduce climate change? Edit: To answer my own question, this probably does little. They have a home use version that supposedly removes…

Good math. Another way to ballpark this - the airport tank holds 500 liters of spirulina. Algae extract around 0.5kg co2 per 1000 liters ( https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/sustainability/sustainabil... ). So this tank removes around 0.25kg of co2 per day. By comparison, an average human exhales 1kg co2 per day. So you need four of those tanks to offset a single passenger passing by. This does virtually nothing for t…

I would assume the electricity used to power the pumps and lights ends up emitting substantially more than 250g of CO2 per day as well.

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#12

Post by garte »

ajmurmann wrote: post #4

This is super interesting! Sounds from the article like the main point is to remove CO2 from the air to improve air for humans. That's already really exciting. In essence it's a CO2 scrubber right? So how does this compare to devices built with the goal to remove CO2 with the goal to reduce climate change? Edit: To answer my own question, this probably does little. They have a home use version that supposedly removes…

The irony is strong in this one: Not building airports would definitely improve the situation as a whole.

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#13

Post by JohnJamesRambo »

I have my doubts about this. In my experience, a house full of cannabis plants photosynthesizing full tilt under 15,000 watts of lights would still show elevated CO2 when two people went to it and tended it. Maybe the algae get around that, but I need to see some numbers.

>A human breathes about 9.5 tonnes of air in a year, but oxygen only makes up about 23 per cent of that air, by mass, and we only extract a little over a third of the oxygen from each breath. That works out to a total of about 740kg of oxygen per year. Which is, very roughly, seven or eight trees' worth.

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#14

Post by WalterBright »

I bought a CO2 meter, and discovered my office had elevated CO2 levels (sometimes going over 1000). Cracking a window solved the problem.

Want to reduce CO2 levels outside? Plant trees. They're solar-powered green machines, turning CO2 into building materials, paper, and fuel.

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#15

Post by ryanmerket »

bmitc wrote: post #10

This seems like a potentially nice thing for a home office or bedroom. Does anyone have any experience with their home version? https://algenair.com/

I use it in my office. Don't really notice a difference. I should get a CO2 reader and test it out.

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#16

Post by smt88 »

WalterBright wrote: post #14

I bought a CO2 meter, and discovered my office had elevated CO2 levels (sometimes going over 1000). Cracking a window solved the problem. Want to reduce CO2 levels outside? Plant trees. They're solar-powered green machines, turning CO2 into building materials, paper, and fuel.

> Want to reduce CO2 levels outside? Plant trees.

This thread is about indoor air pollution. Trees aren't going to help with that. The best way to reduce it is to open a window.

For outdoor air pollution, planting trees can actually increase it[1]. Even in ideal conditions, planting trees is not nearly enough to stop climate change. The best way to fix the CO2 problem is stop producing it, not to try to clean it up.

1. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200521-planting-trees-d...

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#17

Post by icelancer »

WalterBright wrote: post #14

I bought a CO2 meter, and discovered my office had elevated CO2 levels (sometimes going over 1000). Cracking a window solved the problem. Want to reduce CO2 levels outside? Plant trees. They're solar-powered green machines, turning CO2 into building materials, paper, and fuel.

Buying a CO2 meter for the office - especially a closed-door small room one - is something almost all indoor workers should invest in. As you noted, it gets over 1000ppm quite easily.

My office is an interior one without a window to the outdoors, so I have to flap the door open here or there along with the exterior door about 100 feet away. HVAC doesn't do much to help.

If I am in the office with the door closed for 2 hours (I share it with one other person), 1000ppm happens regularly.

Some good reading for any passersby on the topic:

https://www.jeffgeerling.com/tags/co2

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#18

Post by [deleted] »

kolinko wrote: post #9
ajmurmann wrote: post #4

This is super interesting! Sounds from the article like the main point is to remove CO2 from the air to improve air for humans. That's already really exciting. In essence it's a CO2 scrubber right? So how does this compare to devices built with the goal to remove CO2 with the goal to reduce climate change? Edit: To answer my own question, this probably does little. They have a home use version that supposedly removes…

Good math. Another way to ballpark this - the airport tank holds 500 liters of spirulina. Algae extract around 0.5kg co2 per 1000 liters ( https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/sustainability/sustainabil... ). So this tank removes around 0.25kg of co2 per day. By comparison, an average human exhales 1kg co2 per day. So you need four of those tanks to offset a single passenger passing by. This does virtually nothing for t…

[deleted]

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#19

Post by domoritz »

kolinko wrote: post #9
ajmurmann wrote: post #4

This is super interesting! Sounds from the article like the main point is to remove CO2 from the air to improve air for humans. That's already really exciting. In essence it's a CO2 scrubber right? So how does this compare to devices built with the goal to remove CO2 with the goal to reduce climate change? Edit: To answer my own question, this probably does little. They have a home use version that supposedly removes…

Good math. Another way to ballpark this - the airport tank holds 500 liters of spirulina. Algae extract around 0.5kg co2 per 1000 liters ( https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/sustainability/sustainabil... ). So this tank removes around 0.25kg of co2 per day. By comparison, an average human exhales 1kg co2 per day. So you need four of those tanks to offset a single passenger passing by. This does virtually nothing for t…

Wouldn’t it offset one passengers CO2 for a whole day and not just a single passenger passing by? I’m sure that’s what you mean but the wording is a bit confusing.

Re: Pittsburgh Airport installs an algae air purifier

#20

Post by fooker »

garte wrote: post #12
ajmurmann wrote: post #4

This is super interesting! Sounds from the article like the main point is to remove CO2 from the air to improve air for humans. That's already really exciting. In essence it's a CO2 scrubber right? So how does this compare to devices built with the goal to remove CO2 with the goal to reduce climate change? Edit: To answer my own question, this probably does little. They have a home use version that supposedly removes…

The irony is strong in this one: Not building airports would definitely improve the situation as a whole.

Of course, depopulating the earth will also accomplish that.
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