Materials
The Bio-Integrated Design Lab developed Indus as a tile-based, modular bioreactor wall system for cleaning water through bioremediation made using traditional clay-making methods. Inspired by the architecture of a leaf, water flows over a series of vein-like channels that contain algae prepared in a seaweed-based hydrogel. The algae sequesters pollutants such as cadmium, allowing the hydrogel to be processed to safely recover heavy metals.