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Algae-Powered Buildings: A Review of an Innovative, Sustainable Approach in the Built Environment

Author

Listed:
  • Mahsa Sedighi

    (Energy and Environment Research Center, Niroo Research Institute, Tehran 14686-13113, Iran)

  • Peiman Pourmoghaddam Qhazvini

    (Energy and Environment Research Center, Niroo Research Institute, Tehran 14686-13113, Iran)

  • Majid Amidpour

    (Energy and Environment Research Center, Niroo Research Institute, Tehran 14686-13113, Iran
    Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran 15875-4416, Iran)

Abstract

Environmental pollution, global warming, energy consumption, and limited natural resources are some key factors from which today’s built environment faces interrelated problems and their management plays a vital role in sustainability. The building sector is involved in 35% of global energy usage and 40% of energy related CO 2 emissions. Application of bioactive elements on buildings’ façades is a novel approach for solving the above-mentioned problems. Management of some important factors such as thermal comfort, energy efficiency, wastewater treatment, and CO 2 capture is positively affected by bioactive façades because of their environmentally friendly nature. They also have positive effects on global warming, pollution control, social wealth, and sustainable development on a larger scale. The buildings integrated with photobioreactors (PBRs) can meet their thermal needs due to thermal insulation, shading, solar collection, and light-to-biomass conversion. Energy savings up to 30% are estimated to be met by PBR-integrated buildings due to reduced heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting loads. The above amount of energy saving results in less CO 2 emission. Moreover, the algae-integrated buildings can sequester CO 2 with an average sequestration rate of 5 g/ft 2 /day when optimum growing environments and operation modes are implemented. This study is an overview of microalgae intervention and PBR-adapted buildings as an innovative approach for energy efficiency in the built environment with regard to implemented or speculative cases, pros and cons, challenges, and prospects.

Suggested Citation

  • Mahsa Sedighi & Peiman Pourmoghaddam Qhazvini & Majid Amidpour, 2023. "Algae-Powered Buildings: A Review of an Innovative, Sustainable Approach in the Built Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:3729-:d:1072149
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    References listed on IDEAS

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