Executive Summary

Innovation

This project is about solving the Sargassum problem which is found in the Caribbean countries negatively impacting the tourism industry big time and hurting the natural ecosystem on its settlement in the oceans all over the world which will play big role on climate change big time. The best solution for such kind of problem is a long term solution but the Caribbean economy depends upon tourism big time that it needs an urgent solution other than cleaning up the algae on a normal or standard method. Since the basic problem is the fact that the algae float, pile up and decay on the shore: we will give it no time to pile up and decay by using a smart device to cleanly and effectively collect the Sargassum within few hours if not minutes at very lower cost and least effort with no human interaction. After the collection of the Sargassum has taken place we will use the Sargassum as an input for other purposes like construction of brick and other purposes. This will create a circular economy in the Caribbean by creating new economy that creates harmful waste in to a value input for other industries. This will transform the Sargassum from being a major problem to become a very advantageous or profiting raw material that helps create new industry. 

The main goals of the project are

The outcomes from the implementation of this project are

 The Problem

Record-breaking amount of Sargassum is in the Caribbean resulting in the highest problem ever gotten. The major problems it has brought are it piles up on beaches, sometimes many feet thick and begins to decay. The hydrogen sulphide that gets released smells like rotting eggs and many resorts had to close their doors. Since the species are Sargassum natans and Sargassum fluitans float they block sunlight creating dead zone beneath them because plants under need sunlight to survive and the cleanup and removal of sargassum is an expensive task.

Sargassum is a natural, even essential, part of the Caribbean's ecosystems but these recent blooms are having a devastating impact on the region, both ecologically and economically. Many tourist areas and islands were inundated this year. It piles up on beaches, sometimes many feet thick and begins to decay. The hydrogen sulphide that gets released smells like rotting eggs and many resorts had to close their doors. Hydrogen sulphide is dangerous to humans in large quantities, causing headaches, dizziness, nausea and even asthma has been reported in some local communities. It is also extremely corrosive to metals and concrete. Barbados was hit particularly hard, and even found dead dolphins stuck in the weed, as well as turtles and many other fish species.

Our Solution

This project proposes new way to solve this problem. The best solution is a long term solution but the Caribbean economy depends upon tourism that it needs a quick solution other than cleaning up the algae on normal or standard method. Since the basic problem is for the algae float, pile up and decay: we will give it no time to pile and decay by using a device seen above. Since the algae have considerable volume and we have the advantage of the current, we use the green structure to direct Sargassum into the red blade. The green structure is stationary fixed with the ground depending on the direction of the current of the shore. Then the blade will force the Sargassum to be collected in the holding storage made up of a flexible hard net that can pass the water but not the algae. The storage will prevent the Sargassum from decaying. Then regularly we change the holding net.

There are two main concerns of this product which are

As seen in the picture below there is space that is between the devices for the aquatic animals to pass through. My calculations gave me if we clean/ sort 35,000 gallons (US) in 8 hours we need a minimum flow rate of 73 gallons (US) per minute turbine for 20-inch intake line. Since there are multiple devices installed in the Caribbean beach it is enough to get the job done. From my research, this much sargassum will be cumulated in a matter of days and from my calculation every week the net must be changed.

After successful collection of the Sargassum in a clean and efficient way the second step is creating a circular economy using the Sargassum as a raw material for industries that process and utilize Sargassum to produce some products. According to my resources there are number of small scale manufacturers that uses Sargassum to manufacture products like bricks, furniture, home use equipments and even building houses made from Sragassum. By connecting the people who regularly change the net holding the collected Sargassum in the shore with the manufacturers who utilize the Sargasumm, we can create new market where the collectors will get paid per volume of Sargassum depending on the market rate of the manufacturers. This is will create a new circular economy and transform the Sargassum from becoming a major problem to big opportunity that generate profit.    

Market Feasibility

In order to fully understand the market feasibility of this project, we need to grasp who are the stakeholders that will be benefited from implementation of the project first. This project has two major stakeholders that are benefited from the outcome of the implementation of the project. The major two stakeholders of this project are

When transitioning to the implementation stage, the direct clients will be the authorities because it will be easier for management for the project, construction of the infrastructure and money flow if my company has one point of contact instead of many. The government can deal with the local resorts how they can pay and implement the project.    

Management Feasibility 

The world as we know it has been changed because of the new crisis of the Coonavirus (COVID-19) and it is going to change how projects are managed and implemented for a long time to come. So our company is forced to design new approach that can cope up with this reality. This project also have developed an implementation mechanism for the project that considers the new reality of Coronavirus (COVID-19) because while solving this problem is very critical for the economy of Caribbean and fighting climate change for the world, peoples should not have to risk their health while implementing the project. This is done by allocating local engineers in different locations, provide product specifications based on site conditions and make the installation without personals moving from one site to another. This will avoid the infection risk of Coronavirus (COVID-19) big time.

In terms of technical management, this project is supported by the full personals of the Digital Makers Space community composed of leading experts in conservation, marine tech, Sargassum farming, marine engineering and many others from all over the world. The community manager Tom Quigley and Dr. Anrew Thaler are my advisor and they have been helping me curate the team because I got awareness about the problem through a platform called the digital maker space by conservation x labs. The community manager tom posted the problem and I started proposing many solutions and I remember the community saying   no to my different design ideas and big yes to this design finally. I have brilliant Jamaican engineers who supports in design of the turbines and among other things.

The product supply for clients will be done in two ways which are

To say few words about my background, I have dedicated my life for invention and research because not only I have big dreams but also it is my only way out of poverty. We all have a talent we know or did not find out yet. Mine happens to be inventing. I discovered this talent of mine when I was in second year student during my university life. Starting from that point everything seemed not important except creating new ideas. So, until now I have invented more than 70 inventions.

You can find some of my inventions via https://contest.techbriefs.com/profile?user=89682  https://www.herox.com/crowdsourcing-community/antenehgashaw-123126   https://desall.com/User/AntenehGashaw/Portfolio  https://challenges.openideo.com/profiles/antenh.g/contributions#recent-contributions

My latest big international honors are

I believe that I have made many contributions to science so far and just to mention some, 

Financial Feasibility 

The financial sustainability of this project follows simple procedure which bases on prototype demonstration for clients and supply product specifications based on site condition of the implementation area.  In order to build the prototype the first thing I did was to apply in many seed funding platforms for conservation projects, sustainable project supporters listed below

In terms financial projections, it depends on site conditions and the cost of one product may not be the same for different locations but if we considered only for one specific site of implementation and have a cost of X value, we can forecast the overall cost. All we need to do is make mathematically calculated estimation how many would be needed per kilometer of coastline, and from there we can have a cost estimate on what it would cost governments to purchase. It may sound high at first but the device should last for multiple years, so it should be divided by the life span of the product. Plus, as we begin building in bulk, the overall cost should go down.    

The return of investment from implementation of this project is seen with minimal time because the tourism industry of the Caribbean generate large amount of income at normal condition before Sargassum and the tourism industry has showed major decrease in income because of the Sargassum. Solving the Sargassum will restore the previous income showing instant return of investment.