Sargassum seaweed is a huge environmental problem in the Caribbean area. The plan is to convert the weed into carbon-neutral biogas and proteins by technology developed by the Norwegian company Hyperthermics AS.
The biotechnology company Hyperthermics has signed a letter of intent on the testing and development of two biogas plants or protein plants. The letter of intent is seen as an important door opener for the Norwegian company.
The environmental problem is called Sargassum, a type of seaweed that is being washed ashore in Mexico and Central America in huge quantities. The seaweed rots and accumulates in ever-increasing piles because it never stops coming. Now it will be converted into biogas, protein and fertiliser using Norwegian technology.
“Our technology is based on extremophile bacteria that thrive at high temperatures,” says Erlend Haugsbø, CEO of Hyperthermics. “Using our solution to start the process that converts the organic waste into biogas or protein, you shorten the conversion time and get more biogas. In brief, you increase capacity and profitability.”
Its contractual partner is London-based Ultramar Energy Ltd, with which Hyperthermics already collaborates. Ultramar has significant knowledge of Mexico and Mexican conditions.
Ultramar’s founder and owner, Salvador Rivero, comes from Mexico:
“Sargassum is a terrible pollution problem over there,” he says. “The smell of rotting seaweed is intolerable. The beaches are unusable, and large quantities of methane are emitted straight into the atmosphere. By making biogas, protein and fertiliser, we get climate-neutral energy, a circular economy and better food production.”
One of the challenges is to customise the new plants for a raw material, seaweed, with high water and salt contents. It can be done but it requires more energy for heating. The advantage is that some of the biogas produced can be used for heating. Approximately 5% of this energy is used to operate the plant itself.
Hyperthermics will start planning the plants and testing the seaweed immediately. The aim is to convert the letter of intent into a contract in 2021.
Haugsbø and Rivero see great potential. Mexico’s cities have serious pollution problems from the use of fossil fuels such as petrol, diesel and gas. The same is true of several Central American countries.
“Less waste, increased food production and reduced CO2 emissions are a combination that it should be difficult to turn down,” conclude Haugsbø and Rivero.