The Patarlagele diatomite quarry, Buzau County, could get a new lease of life thanks to a project through which the mineral - previously used locally to produce building blocks, will be transformed into a wool-based biostimulant and a natural mulch rich in siliceous nanomaterials - a powder that protects crops from excessive sunlight and hot temperatures above 32-34 degrees Celsius.

Diatomite, also known as diatomaceous earth, is a sedimentary rock formed from the deposition of the shells of diatoms - microscopic unicellular algae (Bacillariophyceae). According to experts, diatomaceous earth-based products have a content of between 85-96% amorphous silicon dioxide and are acknowledged for their ability to limit the development of harmful insects and mycotoxigenic fungi in stored cereals, having a significant insecticidal and fungicidal action even in foliar application.

Bajdu Stere, the owner of the diatomite quarry in the town of Patarlagele, intends to transform the material into agricultural usage products.

For decades, the quarry represented an important resource for the local community, and operated for more than a century until the 1990s, when it was abandoned; later on it drew the attention of several investors who tried to bring it back to life.

'I took over this quarry four or five years ago and, together with the local authority, I managed to get it up and running. It is a unique resource nationwide. After receiving the necessary approval, together with the National Institute for Chemistry and Petrochemistry Research and Development - ICECHIM Bucharest, we conducted research and took out two innovation patents for the Patarlagele diatomite. We are now working on another two patents. We want to combine diatomite with wool and make pellets for agriculture, but also a foliar fertilizer, we have the innovation patent but unfortunately there is no public institute competent to certify our product, for us to get it labeled as a EU product. We need to get in contact with a private company to be able to certify our product. In parallel, we also conducted a campaign together with the National Soil Science, Agrochemistry and Environmental Protection Research and Development Institute - ICPA Bucharest, we want to enhance the silicon content of poor soils by using diatomite, especially in the desertification-prone areas of Buzau, Dobrogea and Oltenia. We want to use it for bioproducts,' quarry owner Bajdu Stere told AGERPRES.

With these plans, the diatomite could re-enter the country's economic circuit. Plant sunblock powders are made of materials that form particle films on the surface of the leaves, protecting their photosynthetic apparatus from excessive sunlight and high temperatures, above 32-34 degrees Celsius, which inhibit the carbon dioxide fixation phase.

The novelty resides in the use of diatomite for the generation of these particle films on the surface of the treated leaves: due to their complex microscopic structure, which includes nano-pores and nano-channels, the role of diatomite-based sunblock powders is not limited to protecting the leaves from solar radiation. According to the investor, the diatomaceous earth-based sunblock powder has been successfully tested on various crops, from apple, peach, apricot, almond to tomato and eggplant, with crop increases achieved of up to 20% and a significant improvement in the quality of the harvest.

According to Bajdu Stere, the investment will amount to approximately 1.5 million euros, and the grinding and bagging process alone will create 10-12 jobs in the first phase at the quarry. 'We need a small factory that will bring about development both vertically and horizontally. The local community now receives 45% of the royalties, 35% goes to the County Council and 20% to the consolidated state budget, in addition to other taxes and duties, depending on the quantity extracted. So far, small amounts have been mined for industrial and laboratory samples,' the investor specified.

The entrepreneur also presented his plans at a recent symposium organized by ICECHIM on the use of the national diatomite resource for boosting the potential of agriculture.

According to ICECHIM, the use of diatomite-based products, either in combination with renewable resources or for enhancing their production, constitutes one of the axes of the priority areas of the National Research, Innovation and Smart Specialization Strategy 2021-2027: Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment, and Climate, energy and mobility. Until the mid-1990s, Romania was the largest diatomite producer in Europe. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Florin Zafiu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)