Identification number: LZP-2025/1-0464
Type: Latvian Council of Science Fundamental and Applied Research project
Duration: 01.01.2026. - 31.12.2028.
Project Leader: Dr. phys. Ansis Mežulis, Institute of Solid State Physics University of Latvia (ISSP UL)
Project partners: Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology, agency of Daugavpils University
Total funding: 300 000 EUR
Project summary:
Latvia, a country in North Europe, has a long costline and ten seaports. Various ships and vessels work at all ports. (Tugs, fishing vessels and service ships work at all ports.) Almost all of the ships operate on diesel, which occasionally has fuel or motor oil leaks during refueling and servicing.
Physical, chemical and biochemical oil spill removing techniques are known, but all of them have some disadvantages. In the Project we develop a method based on applying the ferroparticles and magnetic lifting force. This method requires producing hydrophobic/oleophilic shell arond the magnetic nanoparticles, usually achieved by pure organics acids, and is well proven by scientists at TRL4 level.
The original idea of the Project to create the hydrophobic/oleophilic shell is to use collagen from processing of caught fish instead of pure organics acids, which are much more expensive. We are encouraged to succeed in that task on known successful studies with animal collagen. A number of ports in Latvia are engaged in fisheries where the processing of caught fish is already in operation. That would allow fish collagen to be extracted locally from fish wastes, in line with the circular economy “less raw material, less waste”.
Keeping in mind that subjected diesel/oil spills are small or medium and found in sufficiently calm basins, we are putting forward the tasks to examine toxicity of the collagen-spion composite material and reaching TRL5 level with a 1 m wide magnetic bar with designed float stabilizers as the particle collector.