Turning seaweed into car fuel, solving the environmental crisis

DNVN – In 2011, when a large amount of seaweed washed up on the Caribbean coast, local people were confused and did not know how to handle it.

Algae covered with ants on a beach. Photo: El País

Not long after, piles of seaweed from the Sargasso Sea were
flooding the coast, causing serious impacts. The combination of pollution and
Rising sea temperatures have caused seaweed to grow at a rapid rate.
When they decompose, they produce a very unpleasant stench.

Ms. Legena Henry from the University of the West Indies (Barbados) commented:
“Local tourism is badly hit by seaweed, hotels have to
spend a lot of money to deal with it. Algae causes crisis.”

Algae not only affects the industry Travel but also
threat to human health due to hydrogen sulphide gas released during the process
decompose. In addition, the habitat of many local animals is also
severely damaged by their appearance.

The solution to deal with the huge amount of seaweed is a big challenge for
with small islands dependent on tourism with limited resources. In 2018, Prime minister
Barbados at that time, Mr. Mia Mottley, had to declare a national emergency.
seaweed

Now, a group of scientists and environmentalists
The Caribbean is trying to turn this problem into an opportunity by producing fuel.
biotechnology from seaweed. They introduced a vehicle that runs on natural gas.
compressed fuel, in which the fuel is produced at the University of the West Indies in
Barbados, using additional wastewater from its winery and local sheep manure containing the bacteria
important anaerobic organisms.

According to the research team, any car can be
Convert to use this biogas in just about 4 hours at a cost
about 2.500 USD.

Initially, scientists planned to use sugarcane to create
biofuels to achieve Barbados' zero emissions target. However,
According to Ms. Legena Henry, although Barbados still maintains sugarcane cultivation, the output
not enough to meet the project scale.

In contrast, seaweed appears in large quantities all year round.
One of Henry's students, Brittney McKenzie, suggested the idea of ​​using seaweed.
for biofuel production.

Brittney then set about collecting seaweed from the beach and
built a small bioreactor to conduct initial experiments. She
shared: “In just 2 weeks, we have achieved quite good results.”

The research team has registered intellectual property for the project.
their production method and in 2019, they presented the project to investors.
at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York (USA). The project received
funded by many organizations, including the non-profit organization Blue Chip
Foundation of America with a grant of 100.000 USD.

This effort is a testament to the Caribbean nations
is proactively building an environmentally sustainable future.