Biooctanic - the Huge Biofuel Producing Towers

A somewhat hypothetical idea was proposed by architects from UPI 2M in Croatia. They decided to design buildings that will serve as biofuel production facilities.

The designers called their project "Biooctanic" and it includes a series of towers, each having the shape of a cactus and each producing biofuel crop. These towers will be situated in an urban area near petrol or gas stations.

The main idea of the project is that if fuel producing centers will be constructed at the refill locations, the biofuel facilities can act as air filters (making fresh oxygen in smog-filled cities), plus they will reduce transportation costs.

The futuristic towers will use as feedstocks algae and bamboo, the combination of which, according to UPI 2M's researchers, can generate the maximum amount of biofuels per unit of building surface area. The designers also analyzed the cost of technologies that will be needed for cultivation and processing. In addition, they estimated the growth rate and the annual input-to-yield ratio.

Although initially the project was developed for cities in Croatia, it could be implemented in virtually any location on the globe. The production of biofuel at the place of sale and distribution has several advantages, including lower transportation costs and reduced emissions, informs DesignBoom. In addition, just like vertical farming, the production of urban biofuel does not require arable land.