AlgaBioTec offers a fertilising bioplastic that cares about the environment and our farmers, and gives new life to the macroalgae that have accumulated on our coast.
The AlgaBioTec project, involving researchers CIIMAR, has won the third edition of the BluAct competition, proposing a fertilising bioplastic that cares about the environment and farmers and gives new life to the macroalgae that accumulate on the Portuguese coast.
AlgaBioTec is an entrepreneurial project that aims to solve two major current challenges on the Portuguese coast: the accumulation of macroalgae on beaches and the notable increase in plastic pollution. In response to these problems, the project, which involves two researchers from CIIMAR, aims to transform macroalgae from coastal areas into sustainable and valuable resources for society, particularly in the area of agriculture. To this end, it aims to create a biodegradable bioplastic through minimal processing of these macroalgae, whose inherent source of nutrients creates the possibility of it also being used as a low-cost fertiliser.
Developed by researchers Isabel Cunha and Isabel Oliveira from the Blue Biotechnology, Environment and Health research group, in collaboration with Raquel Vaz, a PhD student at the University of Coimbra in the area of Biosensors and Biomaterials, and Paulo Patrício, a manager, the project has developed a simple and economical technology that uses marine waste and minimal processing of macroalgae that does not require the extraction of biopolymers or bacterial fermentation. The project also resulted in the creation of a degradable bioplastic with inherent bioactivity which, when used in agriculture as a fertiliser, promises a prolonged release of nutrients into the soil, improving the growth of crops.
About BluAct
With three editions under its belt, BluAct is an initiative of Matosinhos City Council aimed at people with entrepreneurial projects/business ideas and companies already legally incorporated, up to five years old, that have a significant impact on the blue economy. It rewards business ideas related to sustainability in the water sector; fishing, fish processing, conservation and marketing; aquaculture, bio-resources and blue biotechnology; ports, transport and logistics; naval industries and marine energies; nautical and nautical tourism, as long as they have an effect on the economy of the sea, among others.
