Space Farms: algae vs plants for food/oxygen?

First the reality-check:

In a sci-fi world where humans have interstellar travel but "nice" Earth-like planets are rare, what reasons might an algae farm be "better" than a plant farm, especially concerning the proletariat people living under artificial conditions (orbital ring, aerostat city, archology, subterranean, or low-gravity)? I'm trying to go for something more industrial/dystopian/repulsive to the "forest under glass" spacefarm.

Pros:

• Could algae provide more oxygen or scrub more CO2 than plants?
• more Nutrition?
• a Profitable bi-product harvested from their waste or dead bodies?
• Require less skill to maintain?

Cons:

• I'd assumed algae takes vast amounts of water (especially compared to aeroponics) but maybe less than conventional farming. Would algae require a large cistern or calm reservoir pools, or could it be distributed/flowing like paste or sludge through pipes?
• I couldn't find info comparing the efficiency of algae vs plants as an oxygen source.
• Algae nutrition info tends to come from people who sell algae.
• Simple organisms are more vulnerable to radiation?

Now the world-building:

Could a vascular irrigation system of algae sludge provide structural support, or be used like a hydraulic fluid to reshape the mega-structure? Could the algae cycle to the surface "skin" to get sunlight? Could the extreme poor "tap" an algae vein to get raw food?

posted almost 8 years ago

wetcircuit‭

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