Michoacán Biogas Firm Turns to Sargassum as New Source

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September 13, 2022

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(Bioenergy Insight) A Michoacán company that is already using the nopal, or prickly pear cactus, to produce biogas is now planning to do the same with sargassum, a genus of seaweed that washes up on Caribbean coast beaches in large quantities, reported Mexico News Daily.
Nopalimex, a Zitácuaro-based firm that in 2019 opened Mexico’s first nopal biogas plant, has already proved that sargassum can be converted into biogas and is now seeking a patent for its process. It is also preparing to open a plant in Quintana Roo, the state most affected by the seaweed during the annual sargassum season.

In an interview with the Milenio newspaper, Nopalimex’s technical director said that trials in 2019 demonstrated that raw biogas with a methane content of up to 72% can be produced from sargassum.

“We found that the [methane] content … is very acceptable, … which makes [sargassum biogas] ideal for energy generation,” said Miguel Aké Madera, an electrical engineer.

He said that biogas obtained from both sargassum and nopal has a methane content in the 64-72% range, whereas that obtained from avocado waste is in the 64-79% range. Another Michoacán-based company partly owned by Nopalimex’s owner produces biogas from avocado seeds and skins.

Aké explained that biogas is obtained from sargassum via anaerobic digestion. READ MORE

Michoacán biogas firm turns to sargassum as new source, plans plant in Quintana Roo — The raw gas can be used in boilers, or processed for use in generators and vehicles (Mexico News Daily)

Excerpt from Mexico News Daily: Aké doesn’t envisage that the supply of sargassum will be a problem considering the large quantities that have washed up on Quintana Roo beaches in the past months – and in recent years. He said that collecting sargassum and using it to produce biogas will help to alleviate an environmental problem given that the seaweed contains heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic.

One person eagerly awaiting Nopalimex’s commencement of operations in Quintana Roo is Arturo Tapia, owner of a company that converts vehicles’ engines so that they can run on natural gas and biogas.

Tapia, owner of Kawil Energéticos and an investor in Nopalimex’s Quintana Roo project, said that sargassum biogas plants could eventually be built in other municipalities in the Caribbean coast state. He explained that his company can convert vehicles to allow them to run on LP gas or biogas at a cost of about 30,000 to 38,000 pesos (US $1,500 to $1,900).

“We have the capacity to convert all the [tourism-oriented] vehicles in the hotel zone,” Tapia said. “And we [will] have the capacity to supply them with [sargassum] biogas,” he said. READ MORE

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