APCOM

Three former students of the University of Milano-Bicocca were awarded the special prize for the best entrepreneurial idea of the Milanese area by Milano's Chamber of Commerce. Alessandro Belfiore, Eleonora Fontanarosa and Mario Napoletano, all graduates in Environmental Sciences, conceived the project Bo. S. Co, which beat competition of other 55 works and on November 27th will take part in the National Prize for Innovation. The plan aims at founding a company which would deal with the bioreclamation of sites contaminated by hydrocarbons by taking advantage of a new drainage technology.

The three scientists suggest using a specific quality compost, which results from the decomposition and humidification of a mixture of organic substances through macro and microorganisms. According to the researchers, who have been carrying out theirs investigation for six months in the athenaeum's laboratories, the addition of this particular compost in a soil affected by hydrocarbon pollution strongly spurs biodegradation.

This technique makes use of microorganisms that are able to degrade the soil's pollutants, the latter being very dangerous both for the groundwater table and for human activities. The site is drained in a safe, quick and natural way, as no GMOs are used. The method proves to be effective and easily applicable, as it doesn't involve the contaminated soil's displacement, but only the on-site organization of bioheaps.