PHYTOMIN


	About The project INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL BIOREMEDIATION WITH BIOMASS VALORIZATION AND CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS RECOVERY BY PHYTOMINING (PHYTOMIN) proposes the development of an integrated laboratory technological, based on experimental demonstration in an in situ phytomining approach for recovery of high-value and critical metals from sub-economic sources such polluted sites, simultaneously with their bioremediation. The novelty and progress of the proposal consist in the development of a technological chain, which makes possible the recovery of heavy metals by using selected plants to phytoextract and bioaccumulate heavy metals, followed by biomass harvesting and valorization either for improving the quality of degraded soil, and metal recovery from heavy metal-enriched biomass by appropriate original methods (thermal or chemical extraction from biomass), in an inter, multi and transdisciplinary approach, beyond the state-of-the-art. PHYTOMIN will develop and validate a comprehensive, innovative and integrated laboratory process and model able to cope with the restoration of every possible contaminated soil or agriculture land, by combining innovative solutions, methods and technologies specific to environmental engineering and management, coupled with advanced algorithms for modeling, optimization and simulation. So, the current TRL of 2-3 is upgraded to 4-5. The sustainability of the validated technologies will be assessed in terms of technical-economical and environmental performance using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and sensitivity analysis. The main outcome of the project will be the laboratory phytomining technological flowsheet with scale-up potential and a detailed process description, including design, execution, exploitation and control, and other technical/technological information in a format specific to a know-how document, which will be the subject of a patent application. Implementation of the PHYTOMIN project The research carried out within the project INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL BIOREMEDIATION WITH BIOMASS VALORIZATION AND CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS RECOVERY BY PHYTOMINING (PHYTOMIN), based on an innovative and eco-efficient demonstrative experimental program, allowed the development of an integrated technological process, at laboratory level, for the recovery of some important critical metals for industry (nickel, cobalt, copper, zinc) through phytoextraction from various categories of polluted soils, using bioaccumulative plants (Medicago sativa (alfalfa), Brassica rapa (rapeseed), Sinapis alba (white mustard) and Amaranthus retroflexus (amaranth)). In this context, soil quality is improved by phytoremediation or its amending, under controlled conditions, with plant biomass with a low metal content. By processing the biomass obtained after phytoextraction by applying chemical processes (hydrolysis/digestion in an acid environment and processing of the liquid phase), thermal processes (incineration and processing of the resulting ash), critical metals are recovered. The technical-economic, social and environmental feasibility and sustainability of the laboratory technological process developed following the implementation of the PHYTOMIN project were demonstrated by applying the methodologies of life cycle assessment (LCA), cost-benefit analysis (CBA), multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). The implementation of the PHYTOMIN project results in a feasible experimental solution resulted through the development and validation of a laboratory technology with high potential for pilot-scale scale-up to enable the recovery of high-value metals from various secondary sources such as polluted soils, landfills. The results obtained within PHYTOMIN make it possible to continue and expand pilot-scale research to complete the phytomining chain and apply it on a large scale, on lands polluted with heavy metals. The results of the scientific activity, exploitation of research results, dissemination and protection of intellectual property achieved within the three stages of implementation of the PHYTOMIN project are materialized as follows: published papers/book chapters: 1 book chapter 10 papers published in journals included in Web of Science (ISI) 7 works published in journals included in international databases (BDI) 19 papers published in ISI Proceedings included in Web of Science communicated works: 65 papers presented at international scientific events in the form of oral or poster communications 10 papers presented at national scientific events in the form of oral or poster communications 1 patent request registered at OSIM 5 awards received at international scientific events Images from the implementation of the PHYTOMIN project: