BBC: From eyesore to asset: How a smelly seaweed could fuel cars

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czr71vpz4ypo

From eyesore to asset: How a smelly seaweed could fuel cars
Gemma Handy Reporter
Reporting from St John’s, Antigua

When large swathes of invasive seaweed started washing up on Caribbean beaches in 2011, local residents were perplexed.

…

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.


Sargassum has covered some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean, such as this one in Antigua

…

“Sargassum has been plaguing the region for several years,” Ms Spencer, who is from Antigua and Barbuda, explains. “I 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.”

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.

…

[eppur_se_muova]

1. An inpiring read ! I'm just curious -- what happens to the sulfur ?

Is there really all that much of it ? It only takes a very small amount to cause toxic effects.

[Irish_Dem]

2. Don't the global oil billionaires stop cold any alternative energy source?

[Caribbeans]

5. Of course. They are trying to stop Hydrogen right now

"They" decided on batteries long ago and no alternative will be discussed or tolerated. Thank God the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese don't give a flying F.

Federal Report Favors Battery EVs Over Hydrogen

Hundreds of Energy Department Officials Hold Stocks Related to Agency’s Work Despite Warnings

The US is in competition to see if they can become the most corrupt country in the world!

Usually, when you hear the term "Stakeholder" it really means GRIFTER

[Irish_Dem]

8. There is huge corruption in China and Russia.

You have to bribe people to get anything done.
Anyone in power demands a cut of bribes.

And no regulation, in China houses and buildings just fall apart and there is no recourse.
People have to continue to pay the mortgage on a building that no longer exists.

I read a story about corruption in the Russian Army.
An officer learned that a private had striped an Army jeep and sold the tires
and parts. The officer beat the private, not because he had stolen Army property,
but because he didn't give the officer the obligatory cut of the theft profits.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Sargassum Sustains Inventors and Innovators

https://cavehill.uwi.edu/research/research-impact/areas-of-research/environmental-stewardship/sargassum-sustains-inventors-and-innovators.aspx

Sargassum Sustains Inventors and Innovators
Environmental Stewardship
Sargassum seaweed has the potential to become an invaluable resource, according to a growing body of research at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill.

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.”

…

[bucolic_frolic]

4. If it's offgassing hydrogen sulfide, isn't it toxic to harvesters? /nt

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. They're harvesting it before it hits the shore and starts to rot

(That may help with the offgassing.)

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Thanks I missed that, but I do watch videos at 1.5x speed /nt