Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — A sargassum processing machine that washes, dries and crushes seaweed, has been set up in Playa del Carmen. The processor is capable of reducing seaweed weight and volume by more than 90 percent.
Francisco de Luna, operations manager of the company Mar a Live who owns the processor, says the machine can process more than 40 tons of sargassum per hour.
De Luna says not only does the system wash, dry and crush the seaweed, it also aids in sand recovery. He says once crushed, the seaweed is left in a dry powder which allows the recovery of sand.
“With this, we solve many environmental issues, for example, from the beginning with the sand and then with the separation of leachates. After that, there is no contamination,” he said adding that “the powder can be used as a coastal dune.”
“The machine is created to decrease the seaweed from 100 percent to 5 or 10 percent in volume, weight and everything,” he added.
The processor is being tested by municipal authorities to determine if it could help reduce operating and environmental costs in the collection and treatment of sargassum.
