CIM research staff participates in the project by designing a material analysis system to determine if they are friendly to the marine environment.
A total of 22 researchers from nine European countries will participate in the annual meeting of the Glaukos project, which is being held today and tomorrow at the Visitor Center of the Atlantic Islands National Park in Vigo. Staff from the Marine Research Center of the University of Vigo (CIM) are organizing the meeting in which the latest advances of the project will be presented, which, within the framework of the Horizon 2020 (H2020) call, seeks circular solutions for the textile industry. Specifically, the Ecotoxicology and Marine Pollution Laboratory (Ecotox), led by Ricardo Beiras, professor at the CIM, is the only Spanish representative in this initiative that aims to develop biodegradable and biorecyclable textile fibers and coatings for fishing gear and clothing.
Ecotox has developed a faster method for marine assessment of the biodegradability and ecotoxicity of microplastics in the laboratory and in mesocosms. The vast majority of additives and ecological coatings for fishing gear and textiles are derived from petroleum, and one of the final objectives of the Glaukos project is to produce coatings with a minimum biobased content of 30%, which would represent a major advance in this field. To do this, the CIM research staff designed a materials analysis system that includes three different tests: biodegradation test, mechanical degradation test and ecotoxicity test. According to the results of these tests, we could classify a material as friendly or not to the marine environment. In addition, these tests can be extrapolated to other plastics and used in different material analyses. In this way, progress is being made in the standardization of methods to assess the biodegradability and ecotoxicity of microplastics in marine environments.
The ultimate goal is to drastically reduce plastic pollution in the ocean, as abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear represents approximately 27% of all marine litter found in European seas, around 11,000 tonnes per year entering the marine environment each year. In addition to the remains of nets and other gear, synthetic fibres from which much clothing is made are also a major source of microfibre pollution in marine environments, as the use and wear of garments cause the fibres to end up in the sea.
Working since 2020
The project, which started in 2020 and will last four years, has a total budget of 4.8 million euros, of which the European Commission is funding 4.1 million through the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), a public-private entity between the EU’s H2020 program and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). The grant corresponding to UVigo is 411,500 euros. The consortium is coordinated by the Belgian entity Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant and includes companies, associations, clusters, research centers and universities from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey.
Source: DUVI
