The first urban photobioreactor in Serbia, named "Liquid Tree", has been launched as one of the solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
The system contains six hundred liters of water and produces carbon dioxide and uses microalgae to obtain pure oxygen through photosynthesis.
According to Dr. Ivan Spasojevic, one of the authors of the project at the Interdisciplinary Research Institute at the University of Belgrade, Microalgae can replace two 10-year-old trees or a 200-square-meter lawn. The system photosynthesizes and produces carbon dioxide just like trees and grasses. The advantage of microalgae is that they are 10-50 times more efficient than trees.
"Our goal is not to replace the forests through technology, but to use this system to fill the parts of the city where it is not possible to plant trees," says Ivan Spasojevic.
Belgrade is one of the fourth most polluted cities in Serbia due to two large coal-fired power plants nearby.
According to the IQAir World Air Quality Report, in 2019, Serbia ranked fifth among the most polluted countries in Europe with an average air pollution level of PM 2.5.
Another report published in December 2019 also brought the country under more scrutiny, as scientists found that Serbia had the highest per capita pollution death rate in Europe at 175 per 100,000 people.
Also, according to experts, pollution in Serbia and other parts of the Balkans is so bad that it can be seen, smelled and even tasted, especially in autumn and winter.
Source: https://bit.ly/3EHzZO0
