As Mardi Gras celebrations fill the streets of New Orleans, one scientist has proposed making the festival more eco-friendly by replacing plastic beads with ones made from algae.
Louisiana State University Department of Biological Sciences Professor Naohiro Kato has patent applications pending for the process of making biodegradable beads from the aquatic organisms.
'I believe we can change and do better. We have great resources to make our Mardi Gras celebrations more sustainable and to protect our environment and health,' Kato said in a statement.
Mardi Gras beads, thrown into the crowds by parading krewes on Fat Tuesday, add tens of thousands of pounds of plastic waste into the environment every year.
Members of the Krewe Of Saint Anne march down Royal Street Mardi Gras Day on Tuesday in New Orleans. A scientist has a proposal to make the festival more eco-friendly
Louisiana State University Department of Biological Sciences Professor Naohiro Kato poses with examples of his biodegradable beads and doubloons made from algae
Kato stumbled across his biodegradable alternative accidentally, after one of his lab assistants botched his assignment.
'My student was supposed to come into the lab three nights in a row to move our test tube samples of algae from the centrifuge to the freezer, but one night he forgot,' Kato said.
The next morning, Kato found a large glob of algae in the centrifuge accumulating oils, one of the ingredients used for bioplastic production.
After experimentation, Kato found that a gallon of microalgae culture could produce a few biodegradable beads.
The scientist's biggest hurdle is the high cost of his eco-friendly bead alternative.
Algae cultures grown in LSU biologist Naohiro Kato's lab. Microscopic algae, or microalgae, can be used to make nutraceuticals and biodegradable Mardi Gras beads
These biodegradable Mardi Gras beads and doubloons developed by Kato could help prevent tens of thousands of pounds of plastic from entering the environment every Mardi Gras
Kato estimates that it will cost about $40,000 to produce the first batch of 3,000 biodegradable bead necklaces, or about $13 per necklace. That is about ten times the cost of traditional plastic beads.
Kato claims a second batch could be produced for $1 or less per necklace, and has been raising money from grants and angel investors.
Meanwhile, Kato hopes another market for his algae products could offset the costs of making biodegradable beads.
From the diatoms he has grown, Kato has been able to extract an antioxidant called fucoxanthin, which is highly sought in the nutritional supplement industry.
Every year, beads add tens of thousands of pounds to the environment after Mardi Gras. Seen above is debris left behind at Mardi Gras last year
Kato claims that he can sell about one pound of the powered form of fucoxanthin for roughly $50,000.
The by-product after extracting fucoxanthin includes other proteins from the algae that would be used to make the biodegradable beads.
Kato said he is in discussion with a nutraceutical company and awaiting a contract in order to begin production of biodegradable Mardi Gras beads.
LSU Professor in Composites and Engineered Wood Products Qinglin Wu is also working on developing a variation of beads made with wood fiber, which also could be used to make Mardi Gras throws more environmentally friendly.
Link hienalouca.comhttps://hienalouca.com/2019/03/06/scientist-proposes-eliminating-plastic-mardi-gras-beads-and-replacing-them-with-algae/
Main photo article As Mardi Gras celebrations fill the streets of New Orleans, one scientist has proposed making the festival more eco-friendly by replacing plastic beads with ones made from algae.
Louisiana State University Department of Biological Sciences Professor Naohiro Kato has patent applications pending f...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/05/20/10618236-6774545-image-a-53_1551816735991.jpg
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