Fredericton entrepreneur sees untapped potential in Atlantic seaweed - BERITAJA

The co-founder of a Fredericton startup says she’s recovered an “untapped resource” that is plentiful successful Atlantic Canada and believes now is the clip to commencement utilizing it.

Marie Dankworth, a University of New Brunswick PhD student, is self-admittedly fascinated pinch seaweed. She has travelled the world from her location state of Germany and arsenic acold distant arsenic the Arctic to study it.

“The circumstantial seaweed I’m willing successful is kelp, and they shape three-dimensional forests underwater, and I find it absorbing that we cognize truthful overmuch about onshore plants and not arsenic overmuch about seaweed,” she said.

She co-founded SeaGreen Solutions Ltd. past year, a institution that uses a process called pyrolysis to nutrient a byproduct of seaweed known arsenic biochar.

When burned successful an enclosed space, it could beryllium utilized to enrich soil.

“The seaweed adds much worth to the biochar erstwhile you usage it successful the ungraded because the seaweed has nutrients that travel from the ocean: magnesium, potassium and each sorts of bully things plants need,” she said.

Dankworth believes it has the imaginable to trim the magnitude of fertilizer needed for gardens and landscaping.

It could amended the province’s soil, which she describes arsenic very clay-like and incapable to clasp moisture. Using this merchandise could perchance trim drought conditions.

“The biochar fundamentally locks successful each the nutrients and h2o successful the soil, and releases it slowly,” she explained.

The biochar that SeaGreen Solutions Ltd. produces is presently being tested successful a aviator task pinch the City of Fredericton. Some flower pots downtown are utilizing the merchandise to spot if it could really thief the city’s quality clasp much water.

“(If this works,) we’ll beryllium capable to trim our operating costs and the exertion of resources done watering and past redeploy those resources to do different things,” said Mike LaCroix, the city’s foreman of horticulture.

LaCroix says if the aviator is successful, the metropolis will beryllium looking to usage the worldly connected a larger scale.

“We’ll decidedly build connected what we are doing this twelvemonth if we spot immoderate bully results,” he said.