Industries find a hidden value in oyster shells and neglected fishing networks
In the Gulf of Arcachón for several centuries, the cultivation of the senses was practiced, which produces some of the best mollusks in the world. But this sector faces an important challenge: most of the oysters die before collecting them, and the predictions of Benjamin Legron have made clear: “From a group of oysters that I classified yesterday, I had a 50 % death rate, which is already great.
These deaths generate thousands of tons of coincidences annually. Instead of treating them as a garbage, the Marisco Regional Committee collects and reused.
“We are looking for new exits to constantly increase the added value of the product,” says Matteo Kabaysel, director of the Marisco Regional Committee at Arcachón, Aquitaine. “We are also trying to develop innovative projects with an increasing local supply chains whenever possible, with real reuse at the local level.”
An innovative application comes from Professor David Gregor, from the University of Pao and Pays de l’ungour. They have developed an environmental concrete that relies on crushed marine shells instead of traditional sand and gravel, along with the without a cement, from which 75 % of CO₂ of traditional cement is emitted.
“They are in nature,” explains Professor Gregor. “While traditional concrete, when pressed, is shattered, we will gradually break the concrete and maintain its shape after the fracture.
Breaking shells on seafood
Visitors to the highest sand dunes in Europe, Dune du Pilat, are already running along the paths made of this oyster concrete, obtained and produced 20 km from the place. CATWALK is 100 scale, which receives millions of tourists every year, is the ideal place to prove the durability of materials in severe conditions.
Professor Gregor says: “We have a real circular economy approach by recycling the waste that was produced in this region on this site, which also helps to highlight this approach to the general public, because this place is very popular with visitors.”
The team is now expanding its tests to more difficult environments. In the historic Puerto de Sokua, on the coast of the French Atlantic Ocean, they suffer from a low -carbon mortar containing shells of oyster processing to boost the port walls of the port.
The development of a mixed mixture to withstand harsh coastal conditions is not a trivial task. Professor Gregory explains: “With the tide height, the level of water will be above me, so the material will be immersed within two or three hours. During that time, you should be determined to resist the next tide.”
Even promising applications are also evolving. In the Media region behind the seventeenth century fortress of SOCOA, the researchers developed dozens of small concrete blocks made of shellfish shells to study how marine life interacts with these materials.
“If there is a great colonialism in this new concrete of biological – equal or better than it was in the natural substrate – we can conclude that there can be an advantage in using this concrete.” Elsa Pianilo, a biologist who works in the project, says he is very similar to outdoor.
If it succeeds, these materials may become the blocks of artificial coral reefs, as they prefer maritime biological diversity and at the same time helps to protect the coast of erosion and sea level rise.
Net heritage
Meanwhile, on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, old hunting networks receive a second life thanks to a project funded by European funds. In Gandía, Gravity Wave is linked to local fishermen to collect neglected networks that, in contrast, will end up in the landfill or drifting dump in the sea.
“It is a very criticized sector, so whenever you deal with them and explain the reasons, there is a good behavior of cooperation and is part of the solution,” says Ignacio Martí, responsible for public resources and public gravitational issues.
These solid seafood materials are classified and transferred to the water -resistant, sun -resistant and durable dishes. The final products include design office tables, street banks and stadium seats.
“Customers are really fascinated when they realize that the end creates this contact with the sea directly through its colors, such as this turquoise or this blue color that takes you directly to the sea,” explains Maria Harro, responsible for supplying the wave of gravity and the circular economy chain.
From oyster shells to fishing networks, European researchers convert marine industry waste to tomorrow’s brick.
