Nodule Harvesting Plant
Crisis scenario
Due to the constantly increasing demand the deposits of raw material metal, which can be reached with current technology, will be exhausted in the future and further deposits still have to be developed.
Project
This project deals with alternatives to conventional mining for new metal deposits to be developed. Our way of dealing with raw materials is alarming. The currently estimated solution to our mass consumption is mining manganese nodules in the deep sea, as these contain the raw materials. This process is still being researched by the industry and there is little awareness in the public of this advance. I would like to change this with my contribution to this debate. After all, on the one hand the mining of manganese nodules means, that national borders are shifted into the sea, on the other hand, we advance into depths with extreme conditions.
Mining is carried out by robots which remove the nodules, thereby causing great damage. However, the deep sea is an area that, with all its life forms, has hardly been researched and is therefore particularly worth protecting. Much of what has been developed here could at some point turn out to be an important treasure of knowledge. So, my goal was to develop something to prevent this environmental damage. I saw the chance to use processes of nature. For example, there are plants that can absorb various metals from the soil. I wanted to make use of this peculiarity and therefore I looked at the properties of other plants. One was able to stand upright in water and another was able to develop long roots in water. I crossed these plants to create a plant which is able to bring the metals from the manganese nodules to the surface.
- Date August 2020
- University HAWK Hildesheim – Faculty of Design
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