{"id":18777,"date":"2024-11-25T08:51:16","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T08:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18777"},"modified":"2024-11-25T08:51:16","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T08:51:16","slug":"from-eyesore-to-asset-how-a-smelly-seaweed-could-fuel-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18777","title":{"rendered":"From eyesore to asset: How a smelly seaweed could fuel cars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Biologist Shanika Spencer was delighted when a test using sargassum to fuel a car was successful<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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When large swathes of invasive seaweed started washing up on Caribbean beaches in 2011, local residents were perplexed.<\/p>\n

Soon, mounds of unsightly sargassum \u2013 carried by currents from the Sargasso Sea and linked to climate change \u2013 were carpeting the region\u2019s prized coastlines, repelling holidaymakers with the pungent stench emitted as it rots.<\/p>\n

Precisely how to tackle it was a dilemma of unprecedented proportions for the tiny tourism-reliant islands with limited resources. <\/p>\n

In 2018, Barbados\u2019 Prime Minister Mia Mottley declared sargassum a national emergency.<\/p>\n

Now, a pioneering group of Caribbean scientists and environmentalists hope to turn the tide on the problem by transforming the troublesome algae into a lucrative biofuel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"RufusRufus Gobat<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sargassum has covered some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean, such as this on in Antigua<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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They recently launched the world\u2019s first vehicle powered by bio-compressed natural gas. The innovative fuel source created at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados also uses wastewater from local rum distilleries, and dung from the island\u2019s indigenous blackbelly sheep which provides the vital anaerobic bacteria.<\/p>\n

The team says any car can be converted to run on the gas via a simple and affordable four-hour installation process, using an easily available kit, at a total cost of around $2,500 (\u00a31,940).<\/p>\n

Researchers had initially looked into using sugarcane to reduce reliance on costly, imported fossil fuels and help steer the Caribbean towards its ultimate target of zero emissions.<\/p>\n

However, despite Barbados being one of few islands still producing sugarcane, the quantity was deemed insufficient for the team\u2019s ambitious goals, explains the project\u2019s founder Dr Legena Henry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Dr<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Dr Legena Henry says there is no shortage of sargassum to power cars<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Sargassum on the other hand, she grimaces, is something \u201cwe will never run out of\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTourism has suffered a lot from the seaweed; hotels have been spending millions on tackling it. It\u2019s caused a crisis,\u201d Dr Henry, a renewable energy expert and UWI lecturer, continues.<\/p>\n

The idea that it could have a valuable purpose was suggested by one of her students, Brittney McKenzie, who had observed the volume of trucks being deployed to transport sargassum from Barbados\u2019 beaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d just spent three weeks researching sugarcane. But I looked at Brittney\u2019s face and she was so excited, I couldn\u2019t break her heart,\u201d Dr Henry recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already had rum distillery waste water so we decided to put that with sargassum and see what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brittney was tasked with collecting seaweed from beaches and setting up small scale bioreactors to conduct preliminary research.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin just two weeks we got pretty good results,\u201d Brittney tells the BBC. \u201cIt was turning into something even bigger than we initially thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team filed a patent on their formula and, in 2019, presented their project to potential investors during a side meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York.<\/p>\n

Upon touchdown back in Barbados, Dr Henry\u2019s phone was \u201cbuzzing\u201d with messages of congratulation \u2013 including one from US non-profit Blue Chip Foundation offering $100,000 to get the work off the ground.<\/p>\n

Biologist Shamika Spencer was hired to experiment with differing amounts of sargassum and waste water to figure out which combination produced the most biogas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Shamika<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Shamika Spencer experimented with different ratios of seaweed and waste water<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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She says she leapt at the chance to take part.<\/p>\n

\u201cSargassum has been plaguing the region for several years,\u201d Ms Spencer, who is from Antigua and Barbuda, explains. \u201cI had always wondered about this new seaweed ruining the beaches in Antigua, and when I came to Barbados to study I noticed it here too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The algae do not just threaten tourism. They also pose a threat to human health through the hydrogen sulphide they release as they decomposes, along with native wildlife like critically endangered sea turtle hatchlings which get trapped in thick mats of beached seaweed.<\/p>\n

Water pollution and warming seas are credited with the upsurge in sargassum, another cataclysmic result of climate change that the Caribbean has done little to contribute to but often bears the brunt of.<\/p>\n

Calls for eco reparations from leaders including Barbados’ leader Mia Mottley and Antigua\u2019s Prime Minister Gaston Browne have been clamorous in recent years as the region battles ever-rising sea levels and worsening storms. <\/p>\n

While waiting for those to bear fruit, this project represents one example of the Caribbean taking its environmental future into its own hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realised it was important that after removing the sargassum from beaches, it doesn\u2019t just go to landfills,\u201d Ms Spencer continues. <\/p>\n

\u201cBy repurposing it in vehicles you protect tourism and prevent people from inhaling it. When we scale up to fuel more vehicles it will require a very large volume.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watching the successful test drive of a biogas-charged Nissan Leaf \u2013 supplied by the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency \u2013 was utterly exhilarating, smiles Dr Henry.<\/p>\n

The MIT-educated mechanical engineer knew she was risking her reputation should the venture fail.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t sleep the night before the test drive event,\u201d she admits. \u201cI was putting my whole life\u2019s work on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Henry and her husband, career data scientist Nigel Henry, created deep tech firm Rum and Sargassum Inc and are on a mission to change the face of energy production in the Caribbean. <\/p>\n

Both are originally from leading oil producer Trinidad, studied in the US and were determined to bring their skills back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to help build up this region,\u201d Dr Henry says. \u201cWe are now setting up a four-car pilot to demonstrate real life working prototypes to convince funders that this is workable and scalable.\u201d<\/p>\n

She estimates it will cost around $2m to display initial commercial activity and $7.5m to reach the point where the company is able to sell gas to 300 taxis in Barbados.<\/p>\n

Potential funders include the US Agency for Internationals Development, the European Union and international development banks through debt financing.<\/p>\n

The team plans to expand its work by setting up a biogas station to replace its small existing facility. <\/p>\n

UWI hopes to introduce other sargassum-based innovations too, such as pest control products.<\/p>\n

Ms Spencer says it\u2019s been “heart-warming\u201d to witness the results of the team\u2019s research.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing the actual potential is motivating me to keep working,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"TremaineTremaine Yearwood<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Brittney McKenzie says seeing her idea put into practice was “mind-blowing”<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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As for Brittney, five years after her eureka moment, she says she\u2019s still \u201cpinching\u201d herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see the car in action was mind-blowing,\u201d she grins. \u201cI would encourage all young scientists to press ahead with their ideas. You never know when you might make the next big discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s taken years of work, plenty of grit and pushing against walls to reach this point,\u201d Dr Henry concurs. \u201cIt\u2019s an example of UWI innovation and is exportable to the wider world, because it\u2019s not just the Caribbean that\u2019s affected; sargassum also impacts parts of West Africa, South America and Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese small islands have created technology that can benefit the rest of the world; this is a big win for the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Source: <\/em> www.bbc.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BBC Biologist Shanika Spencer was delighted when a test using sargassum to fuel a car was successful When large swathes of invasive seaweed started washing up on Caribbean beaches in 2011, local residents were perplexed. Soon, mounds of unsightly sargassum \u2013 carried by currents from the Sargasso Sea and linked to climate change \u2013 were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18777\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}