The Liquid Trees of Belgrade: The Facts Behind the Furore

[mdp2021]

https://hackaday.com/2023/04/04/the-liquid-trees-of-belgrade-the-facts-behind-the-furore/

[twic]

Much of what is in this article seems like bunk.

I don't believe for a moment that these things are fully solar powered. Are they saying they can collect enough power from the panel on top to run the lights, and the pump, and charge people's phones, and still be competitive with an actual tree?

There's mention of particulates, but no assertion that the machine actually removes them at a useful rate.

"Microalgae can be capable of removing CO2 at a rate 10 to 50 times faster than even mature trees" links to a paper which doesn't make that claim.

Some of the claims also show up in this Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/annethegnome/status/1642575285563592709

I wonder if the article author was cribbing from that, or if they are both based on a press release or something.

[ftxbro]

I won't eat the bugs, I won't live in the pod, I won't ride the e-bike, and I won't rest under the shade of the algae tank.

[sigmar]

I spat out my drink when I read the part about using solar panels to power the lights.... come on people. The cost to build and maintain these (replacing pumps, replacing lights, cleaning glass, preventing growth of bacteria or mold being pumped in through air, draining biowaste, replacing fertilizer) is going to be many orders of magnitude more costly than planting a tree.