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Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
ENEA Atlas for development cooperation

Biotechnologies for cultural heritage: biorestauration

For achieving the objectives:
goal 3
goal 11
goal 12

Description

ENEA develops innovative biocleaning and bioconsolidation procedures and delivers advanced services for sustainable restoration interventions using non-pathogenic microbial strains and microbial or plant products.

Benefits and Advantages:

  • Use of original (spontaneous and non-pathogenic) microbial strains to develop innovative “tailored” procedures allowing a more sustainable restoration strategy.
  • Use of procedures characterized by selectivity, atoxicity, compatibility with constitutive materials and the environment
  • Replacement of toxic products commonly used in restoration practices .

ENEA Services:

  • Selective cleaning of artistic-historical surfaces using compresses of microorganisms trapped into a supporting matrix (micro-pack) to remove stratified deposits of various origin leaving no residues.
  • Production of microbial biocalcites to be used as novel materials for bioconsolidation of stone materials.
  • Accurate diagnosis of biodeterioration by microorganisms colonizing workpieces and monuments (biodeteriogens / secondary colonizers).
  • Definition of protocols for biodeterioration prevention and monitoring.
  • Accurate monitoring of biodeterioration using atoxic microbial or plant products.

ENEA Activities:

Sectors

410 - General Environment Protection
41040 - Site preservation

SDGs Target

11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
Preparing a micro-pack: microorganisms trapped into a supporting matrix
Application of a micro-pack on the painting on wood “Madonna della Cintola”, Musei Vaticani
Biocleaning by removal of wax residues on the workpiece ”A woman’s head” by E. Quadrelli, GNAM

Refecences

Department for Sustainability

Contacts

Published: 13/11/2018
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