mexicos prickly pear cactus energy source of the future
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

in the middle of the national flag

Mexico's prickly pear cactus: energy source of the future?

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Mexico's prickly pear cactus: energy source of the future?

Believed by some to have healing powers, the cactus is also used in blood pressure medications
Mexico City - Arabs Today

The prickly pear cactus is such a powerful symbol in Mexico that they put it smack in the middle of the national flag.

It was considered sacred by the ancient Aztecs, and modern-day Mexicans eat it, drink it, and even use it in medicines and shampoos.

Now scientists have come up with a new use for the bright green plant: producing renewable energy.

Instantly recognizable with its jumble of spiny discs -- its bright red fruit protruding like fat fingers from each one -- the prickly pear cactus is farmed on a massive scale in Mexico.

Its soft inner flesh plays a starring role in a plethora of favorite national dishes: tacos, soups, salads, jams and even candies.

Believed by some to have healing powers, the cactus is also used in blood pressure medications, anti-hair loss shampoos, skin creams and diet juices.

"Since before the Spanish conquistadors arrived, we have eaten prickly pear cactus. It's our tradition and our culture," said Israel Vazquez, who has farmed the cactus for the past 20 years on a small plot in Milpa Alta, a neighborhood on Mexico City's south side.

The cactus's thick outer layer, with all those spines, has always been a waste product -- until researchers developed a biogas generator to turn it into electricity.

- Straight to the source -

The pilot project was launched in May at Milpa Alta's sprawling cactus market.

The far-flung neighborhood is a splash of green amid the smog and concrete of this Latin American mega-city, thanks in part to its more than 2,800 hectares (some 7,000 acres) of fields of prickly pear cactus, known in Spanish as "nopal."

Farmers in straw sombreros trickle into these fields every morning at dawn to work the long rows of cactus that flow from the lower flanks of the dormant Teuhtli volcano.

The area produces 200,000 tons a year of prickly pear cactus -- up to 10 tons of which ends up as waste on the floor of the cactus market each day.

A local green energy start-up called Energy and Environmental Sustainability -- Suema, by its Spanish acronym -- got the idea to develop a biogas generator to turn that waste into energy.

They decided to build it right at the source: the bustling cactus market, where hundreds of workers start each day by cleaning up the waste left from the day before.

- Cactus power -

Oil-producing Mexico has emerged as a green energy leader in recent years.

It won praise in 2015 when it became the first emerging country to announce its emissions reduction targets for the United Nations climate accord, ambitiously vowing to halve them by 2050.

To get there, it is seeking to generate half its energy from renewable sources.

Last year, green energy made up 15.4 percent of its energy mix -- though just 0.1 percent was from biogas.

Suema is looking to change that with its generator, which will ultimately produce 175 kilowatt hours -- enough electricity to keep some 9,600 low-energy light bulbs burning.

The generator -- a giant silver cylinder surrounded by an intricate web of pipes -- churns together organic waste with a special mix of bacteria and heats it to 55 degrees Celsius (131 Fahrenheit) to produce biogas.

The leftovers can then be used as compost.

When it reaches full capacity around November, the generator will be able to process three to five tons of waste a day, producing 170 cubic meters (45,000 gallons) of biogas plus a little more than one ton of compost.

The $840,000 project, funded mostly by the Mexico City government, is popular at the cactus market.

"It's a good idea, because now all this waste will do something productive," said vendor Evangelina Lara, 45, wearing a red apron and wielding the knife she uses to clean her stock.

The Mexico City government's scientific development chief, Bernardino Rosas, hopes the generator will be the first of many.

"Our vision is to reproduce this type of project" at each of the city's more than 300 produce markets, making them energy self-sufficient, he told AFP.

- Aztec legend -

In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli -- the god of the sun, war and human sacrifice -- tore out the heart of a treacherous prince named Copilli and threw it into a lake.

The first prickly pear cactus supposedly grew on an island in that lake -- its juicy red fruit symbolizing Copilli's heart.

According to the legend, Huitzilopochtli told the Aztecs to build a city at the spot where they found the cactus, which would have an eagle sitting atop it eating a snake.

The story has it that this is where the Aztecs built their capital, Tenochtitlan -- over whose ruins the Spanish conquistadors built Mexico City.

Today, the prickly pear cactus with the eagle eating the snake is a national symbol -- so much so that it appears at the center of Mexico's green, white and red flag.

This all makes the cactus a very fitting fuel for Mexico's future, said Horacio Chavira, deputy director for rural development in Milpa Alta.

"The prickly pear cactus is so Mexican that it's a symbol of our identity," he said.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

mexicos prickly pear cactus energy source of the future mexicos prickly pear cactus energy source of the future

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

mexicos prickly pear cactus energy source of the future mexicos prickly pear cactus energy source of the future

 



GMT 15:46 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Festive Fashion by Dubai-based designer ASMARAÏA

GMT 17:27 2017 Wednesday ,03 May

FBI translator married Daesh fighter she spied on

GMT 23:54 2017 Saturday ,08 April

South Africa has reached its Mugabe moment

GMT 07:46 2017 Monday ,24 April

Egyptian FM arrives the Country

GMT 05:22 2017 Thursday ,07 September

Civil activists protest tax hike in Zghorta

GMT 01:35 2017 Thursday ,28 September

EU headscarf ban ruling sparks faith group backlash

GMT 03:44 2016 Wednesday ,17 August

Malaysian Premier Meets Palestinian Foreign Minister

GMT 14:18 2017 Wednesday ,20 September

Deputy PM receives book copy

GMT 22:23 2017 Friday ,29 September

Lebanon says it is pursuing sleeper cells

GMT 04:29 2016 Tuesday ,15 November

Foreign ministry warns of fake recruitment agencies

GMT 14:54 2017 Thursday ,13 April

Assad: Syria firepower 'not affected' by US strike

GMT 05:21 2017 Thursday ,09 November

Pussy Riot attack 'police state' on Trump anniversary

GMT 10:58 2017 Saturday ,08 April

Electricity work plan contradicts cabinet agreement

GMT 17:39 2017 Tuesday ,10 January

Duncan appointed as Cote d'Ivoire vice president

GMT 21:00 2017 Wednesday ,31 May

Taiwan backlash over Emirates flag ban

GMT 11:44 2017 Sunday ,03 September

Kuwaiti leader on visit to the US

GMT 07:33 2016 Saturday ,19 November

Egypt gold prices drop 5 EGP

GMT 07:26 2017 Thursday ,27 April

Thai mother saw daughter's Facebook Live murder
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday