Двум профессорам из Индии присвоили патент на производство тротуарной плитки из отходов биомининга

A patent has been granted to two professors of National Institute of Technology – Tiruchi (NIT-T) for the invention of paver blocks using Soil-Like Material (SLM) obtained from landfill biomining, it was announced on Tuesday. According to an official press release, the patent has been granted to the institute recognising the inventive method on September 3, 2026. The patent is valid for a term of 20 years from April 29, 2025, in accordance with the provisions of the Patents Act, 1970. Led by civil engineering professor S. T. Ramesh and Prime Minister’s Research Fellow G. Saravanan, the initiative provides a circular-economy answer to using up remains of biomining legacy waste. While plastics and combustibles find downstream uses as Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF), the process leaves behind an overwhelming volume of SLM. The research was carried out in collaboration with the Tiruchi City Corporation and biomining contractor Zigma Global Environ Solutions Pvt. Ltd. For long, SLM has had no steady commercial market as most municipalities resort to depositing it into low-lying land, risking persistent groundwater and soil contamination as residual pollutants leach out over time, said the researchers. “Finding a safe, structurally viable outlet for fine landfill soil has been the missing link in remediating urban dump sites,” they noted. Rather than treating this fraction as an environmental hazard, the NIT–T team examined its geo-environmental behaviour and found that it mirrors standard construction-grade fine sand. Through intensive trials, the team developed specialised building units named ‘SLiM Blocks’. According to laboratory tests, replacing conventional sand with processed SLM at an optimum 15% ratio delivers the necessary compressive durability for pedestrian and light-vehicular traffic. The fabrication process stabilises the material matrix, dramatically arresting the leaching of heavy metals and toxins that would otherwise escape into the ecosystem. Over 130 dumpsites are currently undergoing active bioremediation in Tamil Nadu. If adopted by municipal corporations for municipal sidewalks, civic parks, and pedestrian plazas, the patented innovation could substantially lower consumption of virgin river and manufactured sand while clearing the very dumpyards suffocating Indian cities, said the NIT-T researchers.