While it is viewed as a disruptor and smelly nuisance in some circles, ongoing research identifies the brown algae as a key component in an alternative to fossil fuels and in products that boost plant production. This has major implications for the energy and agricultural sectors in Caribbean states.
The biofuel and agrochemical solutions complement past research conducted at the Cave Hill campus that has seen the seaweed being incorporated into cosmetics and personal hygiene products.
In one of the latest and most successful developments, the organic material has been used to help create a biofuel to power vehicles. Visionary Dr. Legena Henry, a Cave Hill lecturer, has since established a business – Rum and Sargassum Inc. The Barbados-based biofuel company was founded in 2021 and utilises rum distillery wastewater and Sargassum seaweed, among other local waste materials, to produce fuel.
“We’re taking Sargassum seaweed with rum distillery wastewater in specific ratios and adding some kind of inoculum (a source of bacteria) and have it run through a process over time (anaerobic digestion), and at the end of 30 days, we see our gas levels increasing. Different formulae produce different amounts of biomethane per gramme,” the founder and Chief Executive Officer explained.
The intention is to harvest the Sargassum before it reaches the shores via a system that uses catamarans equipped with conveyor belts.
“We need to have a sustainable way of collecting Sargassum, and so for us, that’s out in the deep. We’re not using beached Sargassum. We wash and weigh and pretreat it … From the biogas, you can upgrade and inject into generators that will send electricity to the national grid, [a system] Barbados already has, or you can upgrade and drive cars and trucks.”
The renewable energy expert said a provisional patent has been secured for the fuel with the application process underway for a full patent. In the meantime, the company has been collaborating with the Barbados National Oil Company Ltd. (BNOC) to set up a four-car pilot to display the product’s effectiveness.
The initiative has secured support from a number of agencies, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Venture For ClimateTech, and HIT RESET Caribbean (Harnessing Innovative Technologies to Support Resilient Settlements on the Coastal Zones of the Caribbean).
The innovation was one of four presented at the 3rd UWI Sargassum Symposium held in March 2023 that featured presentations by experts and interactive sessions.
Another expert was researcher and entrepreneur, Dr. Nikolai Holder, who is known for his groundbreaking doctoral research on the creation of biomethane from landscaping waste that was used to fuel Bunsen burners in the Biology Extension Laboratory for a semester in 2018.
Dr. Holder gave insight into that research and indicated that his interest has segued into the potential of Sargassum to boost the agricultural potential of plants.
Innovators Joshua Forte and Kerri-Ann Bovell have similar interests. Forte, an entrepreneur and sustainable environmental management practitioner, created Supreme Sea Horticultural Biostimulant from the algae, earning the Commonwealth Innovation Award in 2021 and the Canewood Award in the Barbados National Youth Awards 2023.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Red Diamond Compost Inc. said it was in 2016, the year after massive piles of Sargassum began washing up on beaches and shorelines, that he thought of its potential.
After developing the product, he approached experts at the Cave Hill campus to conduct a 39-day trial on plants. The results showed that the biostimulant, combined with reduced rates of synthetic fertiliser, resulted in a significant increase in leaf production.
Forte then gave the product to acquaintances and small farmers to test. But with costs rising, he decided to return to the drawing board to redesign and re-engineer the product. He later received support from the Bloom Barbados CleanTech Cluster hosted by Export Barbados (Barbados Investment and Development Corporation) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
In 2022, he undertook another trial. This time, it was done over an 84-day period on lawn turf in the United Kingdom. The entrepreneur said around the 42nd day, they started to see variations in the results, although all were positive.
Further trials were undertaken with other food crops such as tomatoes and cucumbers.
“For me, Sargassum is a biological material with so much potential to unlock; this is only the beginning. I would encourage people to look past the initial negative effect of the influxes and explore the reaches of what it can be safely and sustainably used for, because that’s what innovation demands,” he said.
Bovell, a Cave Hill alumna, is also keen on conducting further research into the potential of the seaweed.
The Chemistry graduate successfully developed a biobased and biodegradable film-like material from Sargassum and agricultural waste as an alternative to plastic wrap during her final year on campus. She said it can be used in the agricultural sector as a weed suppressant or mulch and in the cosmetic industry.
The operator of EcoMycö, a biomaterials packaging company, said practical solutions were needed to encourage innovation.
“It’s one thing for ministerial bodies to speak of the need for innovation and the need to utilise the resources that we have here, which are invaluable, but we need a way to test them, make them, [and] to get products to the local and regional markets.”
Many of the presentations during the two-day symposium centred on research and capacity-building linked to the SargAdapt project, Sargassum management, and hearing from innovators.
