Soil pollution with oil and its products is a global problem. The polluted environment is noxious for plants and animals for a long time. It also prevents industrial or recreational activities.
There are 3.5 million polluted spots in Europe alone, half of them are polluted with oil products. Around LTL 3.5 billion (EUR 1 billion) is spent on soil remediation. The cost is mostly affected by removal of soil and its transportation for cleaning.
The advantage of the technique is that the ground is being cleaned on site and is suitable for various types of soil. The three stages of purification use waste paper, bacteria and plants.
It is estimated that practical application of the technique would save European countries LTL 28 million (EUR 8 million) annually.
The technique was developed under project Sorbent. Of the total LTL 4.8 million (EUR 1.4 million) for project Sorbent more than LTL 3 million (EUR 0.9 million) were allocated under the EU Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7).
According to Biocentras General Manager Prof. Dr. habil. Saulius Grigiskis, the implementation of the project will bring much more benefit than simply a new soil remediation technique.
"The project supported by the European Union funding has opened new markets and enabled us to find partners with which we will successfully participate in future research projects. The knowledge gained allows us to develop ideas, utilize technical possibilities of Biocentras, develop technical research basis and create new products. In addition, the number of employees has grown highly," said Grigiskis.
