On the receiving end? The team here at Origin by Ocean.
Invasive sargassum seaweed has caused problems in the Caribbean region for a number of years.
This is due to the difficulty of managing the volume of seaweed both floating in the ocean and washing up on shores.
Rafts of seaweed are vast and deep and have an impact on many areas such as fishing, marine health, and tourism. The impact of sargassum in the Caribbean region is difficult to comprehend. However, despite many efforts made in this region to reduce both the amount and the impact of the Sargassum, the size and impact of the problem continue to grow.
The purpose of the shipment reaching us is to investigate how we can utilize sargassum seaweed as an alternative feedstock for our biorefinery process.
A new biorefinery process
This shipment represents the first phase of a project we are currently developing.
We are looking to develop a new patented biorefinery process.
Our new biorefinery process will extract biomolecules from seaweed and algae, which can then be used in a range of different industries. These include food, cosmetics and household detergents - all based on marine biomass.
This first shipment will form part of the first reference trials of the biorefining process.
Our process explained
This shipment represents the first phase of a project we are currently developing.
Our novel biorefinery process will extract biomolecules from the seaweed and algae, which can then be used in a variety of industries. These include food, cosmetics and household detergents - all based on marine biomass.
This first shipment will form part of the first reference trials of our patented biorefining process.
It will be a comparison of the use of sargassum with the benchmark feedstock: bladderwrack.
You can see a step-by-step explanation of the process using bladderwrack as a feedstock here.
Our process is designed to create a nutrient cycle from land to sea and sea to land on an industrial scale.
Our refining process takes wet tonnes of blue-green algae and bladderwrack and produces dry tonnes of biomolecular products.
The algae is refined into valuable products that can be used in everything from emulsifiers for non-dairy milk to medicines and animal feed.
The other benefit is for the ocean, which is cleaned up as a result of the removal of the excess seaweed and algae.
What is sargassum seaweed?
Sargassum is a species of brown seaweed that is generally found on the coast of the British Isles, Mainland Europe, and North America.
It traditionally moves around from its beginnings in the Gulf of Mexico, into the North Atlantic Ocean, and then onto the Sargasso Sea.
The seaweed forms a thick layer that covers the ocean surface and provides food and breeding ground for marine life.
The problems caused by invasive sargassum seaweed
Iris Monnereau, a Barbados-based fisheries expert with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said that“You see meters high of Sargassum piled up on shore but you’re also seeing it in the ocean…sargassum mats can be up to seven meters deep.”
As it is an invasive seaweed, it is really difficult to control and it tends to take over the areas where it washes up.
Sargassum seaweed in the Caribbean
Efforts to clean it or eradicate it completely have proved to be almost impossible.
Sargassum has swamped coastlines from Tobago to Anguilla. Clean-up attempts have only seen the seaweed come back in vast amounts.
Both the relentlessness and overall volume of sargassum have caused numerous problems in these areas over the last decade.
Why use sargassum seaweed as biomass?
There are so many benefits to harvesting Sargassum Seaweed to use as Biomass for alternative feedstock.
Some examples of the benefits are:
There is so much of it and it grows quickly. The rate at which sargassum regenerates makes it the perfect biomass for use in feedstock. Communities have seen their efforts to clean up washed-up sargassum fail due to the sheer amount of seaweed on the shores.
It can affect the fishing industry. Fishermen have stated that sargassum affects catches. The depth of the sargassum seaweed belt creates barriers that can not be penetrated by any smaller or larger fish.
The turtle population is affected.The nesting sites turtles use have been blocked or damaged by the sargassum itself and the consequences of removal work. Not only that but turtles in the ocean can become tangled in the seaweed due to the size of the rafts it grows in.
It is unattractive which affects tourism.The sargassum washes up on the beaches to form a brown carpet over the otherwise white sand. This can have a devastating effect on tourism due to negative feedback on sites like TripAdvisor and resorts closing altogether.
It’s expensive to try and clean up. The cost of manpower and machinery in trying to remove the sargassum is expensive and often ineffective.
We are excited to explore how sargassum performs as an alternative feedstock in our biorefinery process.
We will continue to explore and study to find out if it can be used as biomass for food, medicinal use, and animal feedstock. If we succeed this will have incredible benefits to cleaning our oceans in a responsible way.
Not only this, but it will create a feedstock that is sustainable and help us in our mission to create an algae-based business ecosystem that is commercially viable.
Conclusion
We are absolutely thrilled about our collaboration with the Department of Analytical Services in Antigua & Barbuda. The UNOPS GIC both in Lund, Sweden and in Antigua & Barbuda have made this cooperation possible. We, as a startup, are happy to be able to enjoy the synergy effects of the multiple locations that the UNOPS GICs can offer.
Now we are preparing a second, even larger batch of sargassum, to be shipped. This next shipment will be used to start the initial trials of how we can use sargassum going forward.
We are so excited by the opportunities these studies bring.
They allow us to investigate and research how this invasive sargassum seaweed can be used as an alternative feedstock alongside blue-green algae and Bladderwrack.
