It is easy to think of plants as passive. But they keep working at a complex process that fuels the whole planet: photosynthesis. With the help of solar energy they put together food from water and carbon dioxide that forms the basis of the food chain. What if a similar approach is followed by buildings? What if buildings came alive? What if they could breathe carbon dioxide (CO2) like plants? This is no longer a science fiction. The increasing carbon footprints are posing a greater threat to the environment that is increasing the greenhouse emissions thus leading to increase in global warming. There are efforts being made globally to address the issue of increasing carbon footprint.
One such effort to reduce the carbon footprints is by means of paints that can absorb CO2. Initiatives in this direction are being pursued by several industry players – The Real Milk Paint Co, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Avatar London, to name a few.
The principle on which the phenomenon discovered by Avatar is as follows: The wall paint consists of chemicals, referred to as protocell by the researcher, that are engineered to behave like organic microorganisms – with the added benefit that they can be manipulated to do things nature cannot. This chemical can produce simple chemical reactions when it comes in contact with CO2 molecules, turning the CO2 into calcium carbonate, or limestone, which stops the greenhouse gas from rising up into the ozone layer.
As a by-product of this process, the limestone produced by the protocell could naturally "heal" micro-fractures in walls, channeling through tiny breaks, helping to extend the life of any structure it was painted on to.
The thickness of the limestone will grow over time, creating insulation and allowing the building to retain more heat or indeed preventing it from heating up underneath the sun.
The layer of limestone could take anywhere between a year and a decade to form depending on the concentration of carbon dioxide in the surrounding air. However the researcher says that "eventually we will see protocell technology become self-repleting (able to replenish itself) and (it) will be considered alive."
The technology, if the same becomes commercially viable, will certainly be a step towards reducing carbon footprint and global warming at large.
