Collaborative U. research repurposes harmful seaweed into fuel

Researchers from Rutgers and other institutions are refining seaweed into eco-friendly alternatives to existing fuel sources, according to a press release.

Shishir Chundawat, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and co-leader of the Sargassum BioRefinery (SaBRe) team, said the project will research potential uses of sargassum seaweed. Sargassum can be sustainably used in feedstock, a manufacturing resource.

The project is a collaboration between multiple institutions, including Princeton University, the University of Puerto Rico and the Marine Biological Laboratory, a University of Chicago affiliate.

The Daily Targum spoke with student researchers involved in the lab.

Shrinivas Nandi, a Ph.D. student in the Microbial Biology Program, said the SaBRe team's goal is "turning something that is traditionally considered a waste product into something that's … useful."

According to an article by NASA, sargassum is a type of brown seaweed largely found in the Atlantic Ocean that floats on top of the water in large algal blooms.

Since 2011, scientists have noticed these blooms growing rapidly, leading to large amounts washing onto beaches in Florida and the Caribbean. According to NASA, this can disrupt marine ecosystems by overwhelming coral and marine animals. When it rots, it also releases chemicals that are toxic to humans and creates a foul smell that can negatively impact health and tourism in coastal regions.

According to Nandi, SaBRe could turn this overabundance into practical and sustainable products. 

Rebecca Garcia, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, said reusing waste could be influential for future projects.

"I hope this project can serve as a blueprint for turning waste into resources, using the negative effects of climate change to create a positive impact," she said.

Austin Seamann, a Ph.D. student at the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, attributed the project's intrigue to its appeal to conservation and economic possibilities.

"It's a problem that is caused by humans, and this is a human-favoring solution," he said. "If a solution is, or climate science, is economically valuable, then it's going to be solved first."

Chundawat wrote in the release that the project is funded by a grant from the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future, a partnership between Schmidt Sciences and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research.

Seamann said the degree of collaboration is unique for this kind of project.

"Even though science is about sharing your research, it's kind of (an) isolated moment of you doing the actual research," Seamann said. "We're actively having these meetings with collaborators all the time, and we're encouraged to share data and work together on a project."

Regarding the collaborative aspect of the project, Nandi described working closely with Princeton University researchers and receiving frozen sargassum samples from the University of Puerto Rico, where the seaweed frequently washes onto local shores.

"It's a lot of fun working with people all around the world and the United States," he said. "It's really nice to see people bringing skill sets that are night and day from yours."