Sargassum: solution for wastewater treatment

SANTO DOMINGO.-Sargassum, That brown seaweed that invades the Caribbean beachese, could be used in the sewage treatment, since the activated carbon produced from it is capable of remove caffeine from water, reveals a new study.

The research is a regional project of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), Dominican Republic; the University of the Antilles (L'Université des Antilles), from Guadeloupe; the University of Havana, Cuba; and the Quisqueya University and the State University, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; with the financial support of the National Industrial Property Office (ONAPI) and the French-Dominican company TECMALAB.

The study points out the concern about wastewater contamination, highlighting caffeine as one of the polluting agents, also present in natural sources of water, such as rivers, lakes and on the maritime coast.

One of the main conclusions of the study is that "activated carbon prepared with the invasive algae (sargassum) was used successfully as a sorbent to remove caffeine from the water."

Ulises Jáuregui-Haza, Doctor in Technical Sciences and coordinator of the doctorate in Environmental Sciences from INTEC, explains that, although the caffeine load found is not toxic to humans, it does represent an imminent danger for aquatic organisms that are continuously exposed to this pollutant. 

An available, renewable and sustainable resource

The use of activated carbon from sargassum for water treatment is considered a good alternative technique "due to its high efficiency, lower costs and simplicity compared to other methods," says Jauregui-Haza.

This is partly because this macroalgae has a higher level of pure carbon than other algae. "Sargassum contains more ash compared to other biomass raw materials, such as sugarcane bagasse," he adds.

"Activated carbon prepared with the invasive algae (sargassum) was used successfully as a sorbent to remove caffeine from water," concludes the study published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, a global forum for the publication of original research on the development of sustainable technologies.

This work is part of the efforts of INTEC researchers in the field of scientific research and innovation in the search for solutions to the situation that sargassum poses to both the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries.

The scientific academic article is titled “Activated carbon synthesized from sargassum (sp) for caffeine adsorption: understanding the adsorption mechanism using molecular modeling " (Activated carbon synthetized from Sargassum (sp) foradsorption of caffeine: Understanding the adsorption mechanism using molecular modeling).

The researchers who participated in the published study are Marckens Francoeur, Christelle Yacou, Corine Jean-Marius and Sarra Gaspard, from the University of the Antilles, Guadeloupe; Anthuan Ferino-Pérez, from the University of Havana, Cuba; Evens Emmanuel, from the University of Quisqueya, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Yvens Cheeremond, State University, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and Ulises Jáuregui-Haza, from INTEC, Dominican Republic.