Task 2:Worksheets on the reucet project of the university of catania - etna's volcanic ash -

Thanks to this project, everything that comes from the mouth of the Sicilian volcano can be recycled and reused. Leaving the black hole of the waste, bulky, and entering the club of sustainable materials.

ETNA’S ASH

First of all there is the possibility of using it in concrete, in mortars, in plasters, and also to create the layers under the road and geothermal works. In all these cases, ash replaces polluting materials, innovates the product and guarantees excellent performance both in terms of solidity and safety.

CERAMICS WITH ETNA’ASH

A second line of reuse of Etna ash is that of ceramic products. The researchers found that the characteristics of the ceramics obtained from the ash of Etna are higher than those of conventional ceramics, which in Sicily involve a real production chain, between industry and crafts. And among the performance of ceramics is its lightness: about 20 percent less than other types of ceramics. This means considerable savings in terms of storage, transport and disposal.

RECOVERY OF ETNA’S ASH

But the recovery of Etna ash has an absolute value in terms of horizontal cutting of the costs of collection and disposal of this material. The ash is classified as waste to be disposed of in landfill, with a cost of about EUR 120 per tonne, or in recovery plants, with an expense of EUR 12 per tonne. Then there are the expenses for collecting ashes from public spaces. And instead, thanks to the recycling and reuse identified by researchers at the University of Catania, all these cost items disappear. And the Etna ash from waste becomes a resource. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, the project has been blocked for the moment. We look forward to its reboot.