Not only to ... eat, cacti can also produce clean energy

Green cactus is Mexico's iconic plant. Not only are raw materials used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics, cacti are also used today to create clean energy.

Green cactus with many spines is a symbolic tree and is an inseparable part of the life of Mexican people. Cactus flowers are chosen as the national flower, symbolizing the Mexican nation and their indomitable spirit. It is no coincidence that the image of a cactus appears on the flag of this country.

Ancient Aztecs considered cacti to be a sacred plant, and modern Mexicans not only used cacti to process food and drink but also used it as a raw material in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Now, scientists also use them to a higher purpose: producing renewable energy .

Mexican farmers are harvesting cacti.

Mexico is one of the most cactus growing countries in the world with an output of 812,000 tons per year. The soft "meat" inside the shaggy spikes is an important ingredient for a wide range of Mexican favorites: tacos, soups, salads and even candies.

Believed to have healing powers, cactus is also used as a medicinal ingredient in antihypertensive drugs, anti-hair loss shampoos, lotion and juices for dieters.

"Since being a colony of Spain, we have been eating cacti. It is our tradition and culture," said Israel Vazquez, who has been growing cactus for the past 20 years. said. However, before being used to eat, the cactus must be prepared and removed from the thick outer layer. This waste pile will be the material for the biogas plant to generate electricity.

Power plant from cactus waste in Milpa Alta

The distillation tower is located right at the cactus field.

The pilot project of cacti production was conducted at Milpa Alta, a town south of Mexico City in May. Out of the cramped area of ​​one of Latin America's largest cities is the 2800-hectare field of cacti - known as the "nopal" in Spanish.

The peasants worked from dawn on the fields stretching under the volcanic slopes of the sleeping Teuhtli. This field produces more than 200,000 tons of cactus every year and every day it releases tons of tons of waste products.

And the idea of ​​green energy development was introduced to turn this huge pile of waste into clean energy. They decided to build a factory right in the bustling cactus market of the city, where hundreds of workers started a new day by cleaning cactus waste from the previous day.

Electromagnetic . cactus

In recent years, Mexico - the oil-producing nation has emerged as a pioneer in green energy. In 2015, the country won many compliments when it became the first emerging economy to announce the implementation of emissions reduction targets under the UN Agreement on Climate Change, to reduce by half. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

To achieve this, Mexico is seeking to produce half of its energy consumption from renewable sources. Last year, green energy accounted for only 15.4% of the energy consumed in this country. And the Suema plant is looking to improve this number with its power plant, producing 175 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to light 9,600 bulbs.

The plant has distillation towers connected to the pipe storage system, where the waste of cactus is pureed, mixed with a bacterium and then incubated at 55 degrees C to produce biogas. . The remaining residue is then used as organic fertilizer.

The plant will be operated at full capacity in November, when it can handle about 3-5 tons of cacti waste per day to produce more than 1 ton of fertilizer and 170m ³ of biogas. This $ 840,000 project is funded by the Mexico City government for the largest cactus growing area in the city.

Evangelina Lara, 45, a cactus processing worker, said: "It is a good idea, because now all this garbage will do more useful things."

Mr. Bernardino Rosas, head of the city's scientific development department, hopes this will be the first cactus power plant of many similar factories in the future."Our vision is to develop a plant in more than 300 cactus growing areas across the country, contributing to providing clean energy for people's lives , " he added.

Legend of the Aztecs

Bright red dragon bones symbolize the heart of Prince Copilli.

In Aztec mythology, the sun god Huitzilopochtli ripped apart the heart of a dangerous prince named Copilli and threw him into Lake Texcoco. Years later, god Huitzilopochtli ordered the Aztecs to find Copilli's heart and build a city there. The sign to identify that location was an eagle that was kneeling at the foot of a snake and parked on a cactus. The bright red fruit of cactus symbolizes the heart of Copilli.

After years of searching, the Aztecs finally found the place the Sun god described. It was a place in the middle of Lake Texcoco and there, the Aztecs built a large city, called Technoctitlán and since then, the Aztec civilization began.

This image is depicted in the front page of the Mendoza script, a book about the history of the Aztecs and today appears in Mexico's flag and emblem. According to Horacio Chavira, deputy director of rural development at Milpa Alta, it is history and importance that made the cactus become the perfect fuel for Mexico's future.