A Deep Dive into the Future of Sargassum Innovation | ASME

MBL Associate Scientist Loretta Roberson, a collaborator on this project, is quoted. The team is establishing a research center called Sargassum BioRefinery (SaBRe) and Roberson is working on efficient methods for harvesting and processing Sargassum.

A team of researchers led by Princeton University with funding from Schmidt Sciences has embarked on an ambitious project to transform Sargassum seaweed into valuable resources. By developing a biorefinery process, scientists aim to convert the algae into a range of products, from biofuels to biodegradable plastics.

The Sargassum seaweed, native to the region and once a vital part of the marine ecosystem, has proliferated due to factors like pollution, deforestation, rising temperatures, and even dust from the Sahara reaching the atmosphere. Worse yet, due to climate change, the Sargassum growing season keeps expanding.

“These factors have created the perfect storm in which these endemic species of macroalgae have grown out of control,” explained José Avalos, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University and the principal investigator on the project. Read rest of the article here.

Source: A Deep Dive into the Future of Sargassum Innovation | ASME