Researchers from the city of Catania in the Italian region Sicily have found a sustainable and eco-friendly way to recycle volcanic ash as renewable materials that can even be used in restoring cultural relics.
On the eastern side of the island of Sicily stands Europe's most volatile volcano – Mount Etna – which began erupting again in February 2021 and is still sending ash, smoke and sparks into the sky.
At an elevation of over 3,300 meters, the volcano erupted several times from July to September this year, which dumped a large amount of ash to nearby cities and towns.
Of these towns, Zafferana Etnea, a municipality in the city of Catania and located southeast of Mount Etna, is the worst affected.
"Zafferana Etnea was hit by falling volcanic ash four times from July to September, with the worst case on Aug. 4. In some places, the cumulative ash per square meter weighs about 10 kilograms. We've spent some 840,000 euros in collecting and treating the volcanic ash across our city," said Salvatore Russo, mayor of Zafferana Etnea.
Russo said they have now completed cleanup work in 70 percent of the city's area, including streets and public buildings, with about 11 tons of ash being collected.
To reduce the cost of volcanic ash treatment, a research team from the University of Catania is developing a technology that can turn the ash into useful materials.
"We want to find a sustainable, carbon-neutral and eco-friendly way to make use of the huge amounts of ash that Mount Etna continues to spew out. The method used by us is a process called geopolymerization," said Paolo Mazzoleni, a professor from the Department of Geology at the University of Catania.
Through this method, researchers can turn volcanic ash into building materials, such as bricks and tiles, which are even used in the local restoration projects for cultural relics.
"The research is going very well with many important results achieved from the first batch of products developed by us. We'll continue to assess the strength and durability of these materials, and we are ready to work with relevant enterprises to jointly advance the development of this technology," said Germana Barone, a colleague of Mazzoleni.
Italian researchers recycle volcanic ash as renewable building materials
A severe hunger crisis continues to afflict the massive displaced population in the war-torn Gaza Strip, as the year-long Israel-Hamas conflict persists and humanitarian access remains largely restricted.
On the World Food Day, which falls annually on Oct 16, Palestinians in the Strip, who have endured a brutal year of conflict, still face a desperate lack of food and are forced to cope with hunger every day.
The Israeli military launched another large-scale assault on northern Gaza on Oct 6, ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate. Meanwhile, a strict siege and blockade were imposed on the area. According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the main crossing into northern Gaza has been nearly closed, with no food aid allowed in since Oct 1.
At present, many WFP-supported local bakeries are forced to close due to food shortages. The WFP warns that remaining supplies in northern Gaza are extremely limited and uncertain in duration, especially for local residents who fled sudden attacks by the Israeli military, carrying very little food with them.
"The entire world is calling for an end to hunger, but we're dealing with famine and being hungry every single day, and things are getting worse. We hope things will get better, but we always find ourselves back in famine. More than 10 days ago, the Israeli army took over northern Gaza again, making the famine even worse. We had to leave Beit Hanoun (a city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip) and walk to Gaza City with our children, women, and seniors to find shelter," said Walid, a displaced Palestinian in northern Gaza.
Fahd, another displaced man, expressed his anger and helplessness, saying he has survived on canned food for months without any fresh vegetables or meat. With food aid access closed and famine looming, the situation in Gaza is worsening.
"I am suffering from hunger right now. It has been eight months since I last ate a tomato or any other vegetables. I have forgotten their taste. Without vegetables and fruits, I can't even remember if bananas are yellow or red anymore. We only have canned food, and haven't seen any vegetables and meat," said Fahd.
Now, malnutrition is rising sharply among young children and breastfeeding mothers in Gaza, with infants being the most vulnerable victims of the ongoing food crisis.
"Last week, I completed a survey on 600 children and their mothers. Sadly, I found out that 20 percent of the children are mildly malnourished, 10 percent are severely malnourished, and 16 percent are moderately malnourished. It's not just about numbers. We're talking about a childhood disaster here. We're discussing children who can't find food daily, who go to bed hungry and in tears," said Saeed Saleh, medical director of Patient's Friends Hospital in Gaza City.
Alongside the high risk of famine, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has reached 42,344 since the outbreak of the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7, 2023, according to a statement from health authorities in the region on Tuesday.
Hunger crisis haunts Gaza's displaced
