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WOOLRES

Wool Recycle Eco System

COORDINATOR

Tecnomeccanica Biellese Srl

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Development of on innovative process which uses low value greasy wools for absorbing oil and other hydrocarbons accidentally spilled at sea.

PARTNERS

Erxa Srl
Politecnico di Torino

ABSTRACT

Thanks to the great oil adsorbing power of the wool fibers and water repellence due to the lanolin grease, it is possible to reduce the damage caused by oil spills at sea and onto surface water (seas, lakes, rivers). Wool con absorb up to 10 times its weight of oil and con be re-used several times. The process is very fast and the plani con be installed on already existing ships.
1 O tons of greasy wool con absorb up to 950 tons of oil (6,350 barrels).
Economie benefits:
- the recovered oil con be reused and refined
- the exhausted wool con be used as a fuel waste-to-energy plants
Ecological benefit:
- recovering oil from the sea without using chemicals
The process was patented. A first pre-industrial prototype was built, tested and patented.