A local innovator is developing a pilot project in Conception Bay South to determine the effectiveness of using seaweed as a filter for wastewater treatment.
HoldFastNL is developing the project with the help of funding provided by Equinor.
Michael Teasdale, who, along with Myrah Graham, is testing out the project, said the seaweed is local to the region and will act like a curtain to absorb and trap things like nitrogen and phosphorus, usually filtered out through multi-million dollar wastewater plants.
He said they’re looking at natural and less costly alternatives to that type of expensive infrastructure and hope to understand better how effective it is by the end of next summer.
“It’s like a biofilter,” said Teasdale. They just have to figure out a way to use locally occurring seaweed to form a curtain or net and filter out the things coming out of the effluent pipe.”
Not only does the seaweed filter toxins and carbon, but it can also be harvested for agricultural use as a natural fertilizer.