Unveiling Liquid 3: The Next Big Thing

We mainly plant trees in forests, home gardens, or any open spaces. And this is the only simple and pure method to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air. In other words, trees are nature’s best air filters, absorbing CO2 and releasing oxygen (O2) for us. We can benefit from this throughout our lives, and it doesn’t even require any extra cost. That’s a fact.

However, in concrete cities, we can’t even find space for a small bush or shrub. Planting trees or creating forests has become a distant dream in such places. As a result, cities have become breeding grounds for pollution.

Now, the question arises: is there any city where there are no trees at all? Trees exist everywhere—sometimes in small numbers, sometimes more. But let’s add a point here: a single tree can absorb about 150 kg of carbon per year. But in comparison to vehicle pollution—just talking about vehicle pollution alone—a full tank of a car releases almost the same amount of carbon, around 150 kg. So, one or two trees alone won’t solve the problem. To combat pollution, we need a massive number of trees, right?

Before diving into the main topic, let’s look at a small part of the problem. Hopefully, this will help understand how devastating this issue can be on a global scale.

According to IHME (Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation), “pollution kills three times as many people a year as HIV/AIDS and malaria combined.” In other words, three times more people die from pollution than from HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.

In 2019, according to the Health and Environment Alliance, two coal-based power plants in Serbia, South Europe, were listed among the 10 dirtiest plants in Europe. These two plants are Kostolac and Nikola Tesla 2.

Even though Serbia ranked 28th in the world for worst air pollution in 2020.

This is just an example of the severity of pollution in one country. So, if we were to count the total pollution worldwide, where would the numbers stand?

There’s no need to worry, as now we’ll talk about a solution.

Everything essentially started in 2020. That year, Serbia was ranked as the European country with the highest mortality rate due to pollution. Since most of Serbia’s population lives in urban areas, the shortage of space in cities made it difficult to create new forests or protect existing ones. There was barely any space available even to plant trees.

At that critical moment, the great individual Dr. Ivan Spasojević emerged. In 2020, Mr. Spasojević, from Belgrade University, developed the liquid tree photobioreactor, which was installed for the first time on one of Serbia’s busiest streets, Makedonska Street. Soon after, three organizations—UNDP, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Climate Smart Urban Development Initiative—recognized this liquid 3 or liquid tree for its imaginative, functional, and unique design.

And the most important part is the mechanism:

This photobioreactor, or Liquid 3, is housed in a chamber with the capacity to hold 600 liters of water, containing single-celled freshwater algae. The algae used here are specifically microalgae, which were collected from local ponds and water bodies in Serbia. After undergoing some processes, these algae were incorporated into Liquid 3, ensuring that the water inside could maintain a balance or stability even under low and high-temperature stress.

The primary function of Liquid 3 is to absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere and release purified oxygen through photosynthesis. The more photosynthesis the microalgae perform, the deeper green the liquid becomes.

It’s said that a single Liquid 3 tank can be equivalent to a 20-year-old mature tree. There are also additional uses, such as wastewater treatment. How does that work? When water passes through the reactor, the algae filter out pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. According to scientists, these photobioreactors could even be used as backups on spacecraft in the future.

Benches on roadsides or in parks are typically used just for sitting, but Liquid 3 will primarily replace those benches, enabling pedestrians to not only rest but also charge their phones while pure air is continuously produced. Solar panels have been installed on top of these tanks to capture solar energy, and at night, the solar panels will light up the tanks from within, making them look spectacular. Another crucial aspect is that, according to scientists, this mechanism will not hinder the efficiency of photosynthesis. Even during the winter, when sunlight is scarce, these microalgae will continue their photosynthesis process.

So, while this innovation is currently in Belgrade, I am eagerly waiting for the day when it will be implemented in our local cities as well. India is like a world in itself, and just as it happened in Belgrade, I believe that one of our scientists will eventually develop this right from home without any external help.

That’s it for today. On behalf of Sci-fi Note, I wish you all the best. Stay well, stay healthy, keep the environment healthy, and keep loving science. Thank you.