Clean the air in public places
Hauts-de-France startup Bioteos has a solution for cleaning the air in public places like the metro: install tanks of 100 liters, 2.3 meters high, containing 350 grams of microalgae! These microscopic organisms, which float in the water, capture carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and fine particles from 2.5 to 10 microns. According to its inventors, one tank can process up to 700 cubic meters of air per hour. After about two months, the organisms die and sink to the bottom of the tank, taking pollutants with them.
Then it is enough to replace it to start a new cycle. “Microalgae extracted from the bottom is loaded with heavy metals, says Romain Baheux, co-founder of Bioteos. We carry out analyzes and tests with our laboratory at Centrale Supelec to ensure that it can be developed into a bio-fertilizer. “
The first trial was launched in March in the Lille metro, at the Lille-Flander station.
“Everything went as planned, Roman Bahu rejoices. We were amazed by the excellent development of microalgae in a charged environment such as the metro environment. ” Bioteos now wants to improve its system by reducing evaporation from its tank, and increasing the volume of treated air.
The office space version, under development, should arrive in 2023.
