Serbia seeks to beat air pollution with 'liquid trees'

DW (English)

Serbian scientists are helping purify the air in cities with what they call liquid trees. The tanks full of microalgae bind carbon dioxide and produce oxygen through photosynthesis.

Transcript

00:00It has no leaves, branches or roots, but you could say this is a tree, a liquid tree if

00:13you like.

00:14The 600-litre water tank in Belgrade's city centre contains microalgae and is a photobioreactor.

00:22The algae photosynthesise.

00:24Just like any regular tree or plant, they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen,

00:30and they purify the air from harmful particles.

00:34The brain behind the idea is biophysicist Ivan Spasojevic.

00:38He stresses that it's not intended to replace real trees.

00:44Liquid tree is designed to target areas where you can't plant a normal tree.

00:49For example, where we're standing now, we already have two trees.

00:53You couldn't plant a third one between them because their canopies would overlap and it

00:57wouldn't be able to grow.

01:00Belgrade is home to five of the 15 most polluted districts in Europe.

01:06And Serbia is one of the most air-polluted countries on the continent.

01:11Liquid trees could help improve the air quality.

01:14They're quick to set up and require little maintenance.

01:17A solar panel is included too, making the Belgrade liquid tree multifunctional.

01:23As the tank purifies the air, it becomes greener.

01:28The first time I saw this, it was still turquoise, and I thought it was some aquarium installation.

01:34I think it's great that there's a place to sit and charge your phone halfway between

01:39my house and the city centre.

01:40If it can really help purify the air and regulate the pollution we have here, then I think it's

01:46a great innovation.

01:47I like that there are alternative solutions.

01:54And as if that wasn't enough, the man behind the award-winning project stresses something

01:59else he wants to achieve.

02:06Our goal is to send a message that it's important to fight for better urban air quality, that

02:10protecting the environment is important, and I think Liquid Tree sends that message.

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