Founded just a few years ago, Carbonwave is a public benefit corporation dedicated to turning sargassum seaweed into high-value biomaterials.
The company has used this seaweed to develop different materials for different sectors. One of them is his SeaBalance 2000, a broad spectrum natural emulsifier.
“This is a very interesting emulsifier because it has a very wide range of applications where you can emulsify oils from 10% to 40% with different polarities, i.e. highly polar to non-polar oils. pH 3.5 to 9. You get a very broad spectrum, up to 100 centipoise up to 25,000 centipoise, although the natural tendency of emulsifiers is to reduce viscosity.” Product Manager August Schelin said:
Based in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Boston, the start-up attended in-cosmetics Korea in July, where its emulsifier was recognized as a co-winner in the Functional Ingredients category.
Sherin expressed excitement at the interest he has received from trade events in Asia.
“Our goal in Asia is basically to commercialize it as soon as possible.” He said Cosmetic Design Asia.na
One of the most attractive things about the beauty and personal care market in Asia is how fast it moves, says Schelin.
“For example, development cycles are very fast compared to other markets like Europe, which can lead to very long timelines. , I totally respect all sorts of things, but I want them to do it, and the faster we can move, the happier we are.na
He added that South Korea in particular has a much faster development cycle than other markets.
Furthermore, he emphasized that this ingredient is very suitable for the Asian market because it is seaweed-based.
“One of the attractions of this market is, first of all, the wide acceptance of seaweed as an ingredient not only in South Korea but also in other Asian countries. Seaweed has been used in food for decades. It is popular in many respects. That is why acceptance of it as a base material is very high compared to other areas where it can be seen as a dirty object or a nuisance to society.”na
The company also hopes to capitalize on the high interest in clean beauty trends, including demand for simple, natural cosmetic formulas. “We are certainly compliant with all these objectives.”Sherin said.
Upcycling the nuisance of the seana
Sargassum is a genus of seaweed used to create Sea Balance 2000. It floats in island-like masses and never sticks to the ocean floor.
“Sargassum is the only free-floating seaweed in the world, but this is because the Amazon is currently being drained of excess nutrients, such as through fertilizer use. There is now a band of sargassum that stretches from West Africa to the Caribbean Sea.It covers the entire Atlantic Ocean.” Sherin explained.
This is causing problems for the tourism industry in Caribbean islands where seaweed lands on beaches.
“Even before the pandemic, tourists were down 35% because they didn’t want to walk five meters of seaweed just to go to the sea. , they ended up putting the sargassum in a landfill, where it rotted and released methane, a greenhouse gas nearly 100 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.”Sherin said.
