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- Title
From Inundations to Golden Opportunity: Turning Holopelagic Sargassum spp. into a Valuable Feed Ingredient through Arsenic Removal.
- Authors
Cisneros-Ramos, Karla Itzel; Gutiérrez-Castañeda, Montserrat; Magaña-Gallegos, Edén; Villegas-Pañeda, Alejandra G.; Monroy-Velázquez, Luz Verónica; Barba-Santos, María Guadalupe; Gaxiola-Cortés, Martha Gabriela; van Tussenbroek, Brigitta I.
- Abstract
For over a decade, numerous Greater Caribbean and Western African coasts have received enormous masses of holopelagic Sargassum spp. (sargasso). A promising use of this beached biomass as a feed ingredient in the animal industry is restricted by its high arsenic (As) content. This proof of concept aimed to demonstrate that simple, low-cost processes involving hot water (either fresh or seawater) and/or citric acid can remove arsenic from the sargasso. Sargasso collected from a Mexican Caribbean beach in December 2023 had a total arsenic level of 62.2 mg/kg, which decreased to 7.2 mg/kg after treatment with hot freshwater (90 °C for 15 min), and then further decreased to 0.8 mg/kg when followed up with a citric acid treatment. Sargasso collected in March 2024 had total arsenic of 89 mg/kg, which was lowered to 2.6 mg/kg by applying hot freshwater and citric acid sequentially. Employing only citric acid reduced the arsenic concentration to 8.0 mg/kg, while treating the sargasso only with hot seawater reduced the As level to 10.1 mg/kg. Thus, simply using hot water, either fresh or seawater, lowered the arsenic levels to acceptable levels for the animal feeding sector. These straightforward and potentially cost-effective methods may transform the restraint of high arsenic contents into a valuable opportunity to use these seaweeds as animal feed.
- Subjects
ARSENIC removal (Water purification); SARGASSUM; ANIMAL feeds; CITRIC acid; WASTEWATER treatment
- Publication
Phycology, 2024, Vol 4, Issue 3, p384
- ISSN
2673-9410
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.3390/phycology4030021