Seaweed

Seaweed

Subject: Environment

Context:  Sea6 Energy, a seaweed farming and processing firm with operations in Tuticorin and Bali, has raised $9 million (approx ₹67 crore) from, a Netherlands-based investment fund on sustainable agriculture.

Concept:

Seaweed” is the common name for countless species of marine plants and algae that grow in the ocean as well as in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.

• Seaweed, any of the red, green, or brown marine algae that grow along seashores.
• Seaweeds are generally anchored to the sea bottom or other solid structures by rootlike “holdfasts,” which perform the sole function of attachment and do not extract nutrients as do the roots of higher plants.
• A number of seaweed species are edible, and many are also of commercial importance to humans. Some are used as fertilizers or as sources of polysaccharides.

Seaweeds are

• Microscopic, such as the phytoplankton that live suspended in the water column and provide the base for most marine food chains.,
• macroscopic like the giant kelp that grow in abundant “forests”

Application

• The fresh tropical seaweeds has applications in novel eco-friendly products for segments such as agriculture, animal health, food ingredients, bio-plastics and renewable chemicals
• seaweed based bio-stimulants for agriculture
• Animal health products for shrimps and poultry segment
• Seaweed is chock-full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and can be tasty
• Many seaweeds contain anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agents. Their known medicinal effects have been legion for thousands of years
• The ancient Romans used them to treat wounds, burns, and rashes. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the ancient Egyptians may have used them as a treatment for breast cancer.
• Certain seaweeds possess powerful cancer-fighting agents that researchers hope will eventually prove effective in the treatment of malignant tumors and leukemia in people.
• They are effective binding agents (emulsifiers) in such commercial goods as toothpaste and fruit jelly, and popular softeners (emollients) in organic cosmetics and skin-care products.

Sea combine

• A fully mechanised cultivation system that can simultaneously harvest and replant seaweed in deep ocean waters, enabling cost competitive production at scale.
• The sea combine has been deployed in Indonesia, where the tropical seaweeds are widely grown.
• Their Sea Combine makes sustainably farming the ocean a possibility, while capturing CO2 and transforming it into valuable products.