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Download Sargassum Uses Guide Draft working copy submitted to the CC4FISH Project Draft working copy submitted to the CC4FISH Project Inside front cover – intentionally blank Draft working copy submitted to the CC4FISH Project Sargassum Uses Guide: A resource for Caribbean researchers, entrepreneurs and policy makers Lead author Anne Desrochers Contributing authors Shelly-Ann Cox, Hazel A. Oxenford Brigitta van Tussenbroek Draft working copy submitted to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) by Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados September 2020 Draft working copy submitted to the CC4FISH Project Disclaimer and copyright This communication was assisted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). All intellectual property rights, including copyright, are vested in FAO. FAO has granted to UWI-CERMES a non-exclusive royalty-free license to use, publish and distribute this output for non-commercial purposes, provided that FAO is acknowledged as the source and copyright owner. As customary in FAO publications, the designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Acknowledgements The development of this information product has benefited from the generous support of the Climate Change Adaption in the Eastern Caribbean Fisheries Sector (CC4FISH) project of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). In particular, we wish to acknowledge the generosity of all sargassum business stakeholders, entrepreneurs and researchers from across the Caribbean who took the time to share their experiences and knowledge with us to make this guide as comprehensive and useful as possible. We also acknowledge Iris Monnereau (FAO) for her significant contributions and support, and Carla Daniel (UWI) for her initial work on this topic. Citation: Desrochers, A., S-A. Cox, H.A. Oxenford and B. van Tussenbroek. 2020. Sargassum uses guide: a resource for Caribbean researchers, entrepreneurs and policy makers. Report prepared for the Climate Change Adaptation in the Eastern Caribbean Fisheries Sector (CC4FISH) Project of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Bridgetown: Barbados. 159 pp Cover: Photographs by authors i Draft working copy submitted to the CC4FISH Project TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Context ......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Development of the guide ............................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Pelagic sargassum species ............................................................................................................ 3 1.4 Chemical composition .................................................................................................................. 4 1.4.1 Main components ................................................................................................................. 6 1.4.2 Minerals and nutritional components .................................................................................. 8 1.4.3 Heavy metals ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.4.4 Secondary metabolites ....................................................................................................... 11 2. Potential uses of sargassum biomass ............................................................................................... 13 2.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.1 Scalability: Biomass index (BI) ............................................................................................. 13 2.1.2 Warning ............................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Animal husbandry ....................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Feed supplement ................................................................................................................ 15 2.3 Crop production .......................................................................................................................... 21 2.3.1 Soil amendments ................................................................................................................ 21 2.3.2 Mulch .................................................................................................................................. 23 2.3.3 Compost .............................................................................................................................. 24 2.3.4 Fertilizers and biostimulants ............................................................................................... 26 2.3.5 Crop protection ................................................................................................................... 28 2.3.5 Mushroom substrate .......................................................................................................... 29 2.4 Antifouling .................................................................................................................................. 31 2.5 Bioenergy .................................................................................................................................... 33 2.5.1 Bioethanol ........................................................................................................................... 33 2.5.2 Biodiesel .............................................................................................................................. 34 2.5.3 Biogas (biomethane) ........................................................................................................... 35 2.5.4 Biopellets ............................................................................................................................. 37 2.6 Bioplastics ................................................................................................................................... 39 2.7 Bioremediation and purification ................................................................................................ 42 ii Draft working copy submitted to the CC4FISH Project 2.7.1 Water and wastewater treatment ...................................................................................... 42 2.7.2 Air and gas purification ....................................................................................................... 43 2.7.3 Bioremediation ................................................................................................................... 43 2.8 Clothing, footwear and accessories ............................................................................................ 44 2.9 Construction materials ............................................................................................................... 46 2.10 Cosmetics .................................................................................................................................... 49 2.11 Electrochemical industry ............................................................................................................ 52 2.12 Environmental restoration ......................................................................................................... 54 2.12.1 Coastal vegetation .............................................................................................................. 54 2.12.2 Climate change mitigation .................................................................................................. 56 2.13 Food and beverages.................................................................................................................... 58 2.13.1 Direct consumption ............................................................................................................. 58 2.13.2 Alcoholic beverages ............................................................................................................ 59 2.13.3 Food additives ..................................................................................................................... 60 2.13.4 Activated carbon ................................................................................................................
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