Multifunctional hybrid material based on natural clays for environmental recovery and bioremediation (ArgiNaRe). ArgiNaRe products are able to adsorb environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, solvents and non-volatile organic substances, microparticulate and microplastics, but in particular they absorb and induce the degradation of hydrocarbons from matrices such as water, air and soil.
ArgiNaRe is an innovative nanohybrid or nanocomposite material, suitable for the absorption and/or degradation of oil, able to respond in an eco-sustainable and efficient way to the problems of the sites subject to hydrocarbon spills, but also other environmental pollutants (heavy metals, solvents and non-volatile organic substances, micro particles and microplastics) in polluted water, air and soil and to be reclaimed. The patent based on the development of new methodologies/products/prototypes for the protection and remediation of contaminated matrices, includes other products: ARGINARE@Textiles, @Sponge, @Foam (fabrics, sponges, polymeric foams as support for the developed materials), and ARGIFruit, ARGIWaste and ARGIAsh, obtained from fruit scraps, waste and fine ash to replace clays.
The ArgiNaRe products induce and accelerate the biodegradation of petroleum since it acts as a substrate for the activation and reproduction of silent bacteria (hydrocarbonclastic) naturally developed in seas polluted by oil, and which degrade hydrocarbons into harmless compounds (H2O ; CO2). This natural degradation can be exploited for in-situ and ex-situ bioremediation of oil spills. In fact, it is possible to regenerate ArgiNaRe products (in its various forms) biologically, once exhausted after oil adsorption, by immersion in tanks containing these bacterial cultures. The capacity of the ArgiNaRe material to adsorb oil in the form of powder is greater than 1: 1 by weight; in the case of combinations with other adsorbing substrates such as fabrics, sponges and functionalized foams, the adsorption capacity increases up to about 2 orders of magnitude.
Possible Applications
Reclamation company;
Sustainable manufacturing (chemical, petrochemical, oil, textile and furniture industries) using or producing waste (e.g. hydrocarbons, VOCs, dyes, solvents, waste oils, microparticles);
Institutional bodies.
Advantages
Based on natural or waste substances;
Sustainable production;
High oil-absorbing capacity;
Obtainable in various forms;
Induce the biodegradation of oil;
Easy recovery and recyclability through chemical or biological regeneration;
Easy to use products.
Discovery more on Technology Transfer System of the CNR, Italian National Research Council
