In Lahore and other heavily polluted Pakistani cities, every new green technology gets a lot of attention — and rightly so. The “OxyGenix Poda” (CO₂-fixing bioreactor) is one such idea. It promises a way to clean the air using microalgae in places where planting trees is hard or impossible. But is it enough? What do people think? When did this start? And what are its real benefits and limitations? Let’s dig deeper.

• Innovation & Visibility: Many are inspired by this being a new, visible method to fight smog in cities. Because the concept is easy to understand (microalgae absorbing CO₂, output oxygen), people seem to appreciate the creativity.
• Supplementing Trees: In crowded urban areas where planting full-scale trees is difficult due to space or infrastructure, Liquid Trees are seen as a good supplement.
• Co-benefits: Some locals believe Liquid Trees could help reduce dust, reduce heat in nearby areas, produce algae
  biomass for useful purposes (e.g., biofertilizer) and improve air quality.

• Carbon Fixation Pathways

Microbes metabolize CO₂ and get organic compounds from it, and one of the well-known metabolic processes is the CBB cycle, widely adopted by plants and many photoautotrophs, and also some other natural fixes such as the reductive TCA cycle and the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway.

• Light, Energy & Reducing Power

Public Awareness Raising: These projects are sparking conversations — helping people to think about air quality, climate change, clean tech. That awareness itself is valuable.

• Mass Transfer & Gas–Liquid Contact

Fresh air. g CO₂ must dissolve in the liquid medium, which the microbes inhabit, as well as diffuse into the liquid medium. The speed of CO₂ fixation and how the gas reaches the liquid are two of the primary limiting factors. Bioreactors aim to optimally mix, generate bubbles, and disperse membranes to ensure easy contact with the biomass they are growing.

• Harvesting and Biomass Growth

Through carbon fixation, the microbes can grow and produce other by-products such as lipids, proteins, and even other chemicals in the process. The downstream step of biomass harvesting, and ideally the products of the above processes, is vital.

• Improved reactor designs (better mixing, membranes, illumination strategies) are needed to overcome mass transfer and light challenges.
• Continued genetic and synthetic biology improvements to CO₂ fixation pathways, enzymes, andmicrobial robustness will be key.
• Cost reduction in reactor construction, energy inputs, and downstream processing is essential for viability.
• Hybrid systems combining biological CO₂ fixation with other capture/sequestration techniques may yield better overall performance.
• Pilot and demonstration projects arecrucial for validating lab results at a real-world scale.

The Liquid Tree project is innovative, hopeful, and new. In 2025, the Punjabi government formally began implementing it under the EPA/EP&CCD Punjab. Even while the concept has potential, many people still see it as being in its infancy and will only have a limited influence unless it is expanded, supported, and controlled openly. One reactor at a time, this effort might gradually help clean the air in Pakistani cities by converting part of our smog into something a little clearer with public support, policy backing, and cost control.