Sargassum Inundations in Turks and Caicos: Methane Potential and Proximate, Ultimate, Lipid, Amino Acid, Metal and Metalloid Analyses

The Caribbean has been experiencing beach inundations of pelagic Sargassum, causing environmental, health and financial issues. This study showed variations in the composition and methane potential (MP) between the species of Sargassum. The MPs for S. natans VIII, S. natans I and S. fluitans (145, 6...

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Published inEnergies (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 6; p. 1523
Main Authors Milledge, John James, Maneein, Supattra, Arribas López, Elena, Bartlett, Debbie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.03.2020
Subjects
Algae
anaerobic digestion
Arsenic
Beaches
Biogas
Biomass
Calcium
Carbon
caribbean
Composition
golden tide
Health risks
Heavy metal content
Heavy metals
Laboratories
Lipids
Metalloids
Methane
Moisture content
Phenolic compounds
phenolics
Phenols
Potassium
s. fluitans
s. natans
Sargassum
seaweed
Speciation
Sulfur
Tourism
turks and caicos
Volatile solids
United States > US
St Lucia
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Summary:The Caribbean has been experiencing beach inundations of pelagic Sargassum, causing environmental, health and financial issues. This study showed variations in the composition and methane potential (MP) between the species of Sargassum. The MPs for S. natans VIII, S. natans I and S. fluitans (145, 66 and 113 mL CH4 g−1 Volatile Solids) were considerably below theoretical potentials, possibly due to the high levels of indigestible fibre and inhibitors. The mixed mats Sargassum composition was substantially different from the individual species, being higher in ash, calcium, iron, arsenic and phenolics. The mixed mats produced no methane, perhaps due to the high levels of phenolics. There was a strong correlation between MP and phenolic content. Heavy metals and metalloids were at levels that should not cause concern, except for arsenic (21–124 mg kg−1 dry weight). Further work on the speciation of arsenic in Sargassum is required to fully determine the risk to health and agriculture. Both protein and lipid levels were low. The ‘indispensable amino acid’ profile compares favourably with that recommended by the World Health Organisation. Lipids had a high proportion of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids. The use of Sargassum for biogas production could be challenging, and further work is required.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en13061523