QUINTANA TOO STARTS INSTALLATION OF FLOATING BARRIER AGAINST SARGASSUM.

Real Estate Riviera Maya

QUINTANA ROO STARTS INSTALLATION OF FLOATING BARRIER AGAINST SARGASSUM.

Christian C

An installation of 27 kilometers of floating anti-scaring barrier began in Quintana Roo, and more than 135 thousand cubic meters of this seaweed have already been removed from the beaches, said the head of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
The installation of the 27 kilometers of barrier that will allow the sargassum to reach the coast of the state has begun, announced by the company from Chetumal Comercializadora Chactumen of Quintana Roo, S. de RL de CV, representing the company Ar.Co .

The works will not be limited only to the placement of barriers, but also in permanent cleaning, collection and conduction of organic material to land, with vehicles equipped with vacuum suction to capture the algae without affecting the marine fauna, they assured.
The company mentioned that sargassum could be used in the production of Biodisel and derivatives, as it is sought by the Superior Technologist of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, as well as other university institutions.

Among the critical points where this anti-sargassum barrier will be placed is the old town of Playa del Carmen to the south of Punta Venado. In municipalities such as Cancún, Puerto Morelos, Tulum and Mahahual, the places will not be decided yet.
The 27 kilometers covered by the containment meshes are not continuous — it was specified — but they will be placed in sections of 500 or 1,000 meters in front of the most affected beaches. The set of stretches deployed total the 27 kilometers contracted by the state government.

Alfredo Arellano Guillermo, Secretary of Ecology and Environment (SEMA), announced that from June 19 until this week is a volume of more than 135 thousand cubic meters of sargassum collected on the beach.

Operative placement

Once the zones have been defined, the first mesh is placed parallel to the most affected beaches. Vacuum suction units are capable of capturing the algae from the shore of the beach and up to 15 or 30 meters offshore so that the cleaning is integral.
The material captured by suction will be deposited on a flat bottom boat or vessel that is used for transport in shallow waters. These boats are the ones that will lead the sargassum to land, to load collector trucks that will drive the seaweed towards its final confinement.

The second phase of the process will be carried out 250 meters away from the first barrier, that is, offshore. On this site, the same cleaning procedure will be carried out with the boats sucking the sargassum and depositing it in the barges that will lead the alga to trucks on the mainland.

Beyond the second barrier, more vacuum suction vessels will be deployed, practically in the open sea, where they will capture as much sargasso as possible.
The intention is that in each of the three phases of the procedure, as much algae as possible be captured, so that only a minimum quantity that can be collected by hand and does not involve the mobilization of a large number of workers or machinery on the sand.

The company Comercializadora Chaktumen of Quintana Roo S of RL de CV mentioned that the containment meshes have a useful life of one to three years, with the respective maintenance.
In addition, the sites chosen this year for the placement of the meshes may not be the same as next year, because marine currents and other climatic factors could lead the patches of sargassum to other beaches that this year were not affected.