Edible drinking straw from Guso: A research study of CSU-ABE graduates

It’s as green as fresh seaweed for two Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering student researchers, now newly-licensed engineers, Shiella Grace Polongasa and Marjun Alvarado, together with their adviser, Engr. Donald Philip Sanchez, when their research paper titled "Evaluation of Guso Seaweed as Potential Material for the Development of Edible Drinking Straw" was published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Science & Technology (APST)—a Scopus-indexed journal specializing in agricultural and biological sciences, engineering, and medicine.

In their own pitch for climate action, the team came up with the idea of using guso, or local seaweed, as their subject because of its biodegradability and availability. It was Engr. Sanchez who suggested the idea of making guso as their primary subject as it is edible, safe and sustainable.

“We can help the fisherfolk who farm guso and add value to it aside from the usual food products made out of it,” said Engr. Philip Donald Sanchez, research adviser, in an exclusive interview.

Their sweet harvest did not come easy, Engr. Polongasa revealed that there’s been a lot of hardwork. It was a teamwork, with the help from fellow researchers, the faculty, and their peers. The team also participated in the ASEAN Engineering International Convention hosted by Malaysia and the Philippines, where they bagged the Best Technical Paper award.

The team was funded by CSU’s Regular Agency Fund (RAF) 2022, helping students realize their theses by allocating grants for travel in their data gathering up to the completion of the entire research. CSU is truly breaking the mold to quality education. Student achievements such as this one manifest the efficient input-process-output that the institution embeds in the students with the goal of realizing its vision, mission, goals, and objectives. Melede S. Ganoy and Devorah Esguerra/Gold Panicles/pico