Hydrogenase by Vincent Callebaut

“Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut has designed a conceptual transport system that would involve airships powered by seaweed.

Called Hydrogenase, the project envisages that by 2030 there could be farms in the ocean producing biofuel from seaweed and acting as hubs for the aircraft.

ALGAE FARM TO RECYCLE CO2 FOR BIO-HYDROGEN AIRSHIP

Between engineering and biology, Hydrogenase is one of the first projects of bio-mimicry which draws its inspiration from the beauty and the shapes of the nature, but also and especially from the qualities of its materials and its self-manufacturing processes. The new green revolution is really in progress and enables us to design the air mobility of the foil after shock, 100% self-sufficient in energy and zero carbon emission! This inhabitated vertical aircraft inaugures a clean and ethic mobility to meet the needs of the population en distress touched by the natural and sanitary catastrophes, and all that without any runway! Its architecture is subversive and fundamentally critic towards the ways of living of our contemporary society that we have to reinvent totally! Let’s take off thanks to biofuels and let’s propel to the eco-responsible transport of the future!

 Biofuels of the 3rd generation, the challenge of a sustainable mobility… Their main strengths: they do not compete either with the food cultures nor with the forest spaces and can be developed naturally everywhere in the world even in arid territories, the whole tending to a targeted bio-remediation of the industrial CO2.

 Able to produce electricity and biofuel without emit CO2 or other polluting substances, the hydrogen especially is nowadays such as a very promising clean energy source. Therefore (its production that respects the environment and in sufficient quantity) is a study theme that interests the biggest scientific international groups. Actually, at the end of the 90s it has been discovered that the private sulphur micro-seaweeds go from the oxygen production (classical photosynthesis) to the hydrogen production. Such as a growing tree uses the solar radiance to manufacture organic material, we aim today at producing by photosynthesis some dihydrogen (i.e. gaseous hydrogen) from living micro-organisms as seaweeds from the « Chlamydomonas reinhardtii » family that owns enzyme of hydrogenase type.

 According to biologists, the output obtained by a farm with micro-seaweeds would be superior to those made currently with farming means to produce biodiesel or bioethanol. This could be estimated at 1000 litres of hydrogen for 330 grams of chlorophyll per day whereas for example colza produces roughly only 1000 litres of oil per hectare. According to industrials a hectare of seaweeds could thus produce organically 120 times more biofuels than a hectare of colza, soya or sunflower.

 Moreover, a farm with seaweeds is a true miniature biochemical power station able to absorb CO2 as main nutrient by photosynthesis accelerated by producing hydrogen in vitro or in bioreactors. This natural process, nourishing itself with our waste enables thus to recycle under the effect of the sun, in seaweeds or sea water baths, up to 80% of carbonic gas and NOx (nitrogen oxides also very impacting on the greenhouse effect). The global organic cycle enables therefore to revaluate our carboned rejections such as for example those are coming from filters with particles of our cars, reactors of our airplanes or also our rockets coming from thermal power stations with coal or gas.

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http://www.dezeen.com/2010/05/07/hydrogenase-by-vincent-callebaut/