Multifunctional structure made with seagrass wrack: a Patent of the ge.ri.n project.

ENEA and the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA) have completed some experiments in order to recover and use seagrass wrack for the restoration of emerged and submerged coastal areas in Favignana Island (Western Sicily, Italy). A multipurpose facility built with beached biomass, comprising a casing made of biocompatible fibre and filled with wrack harvested from the beaches, has been implemented. The canvas has a mesh greater than a specific dimension, and biocompatible fibres have undergone transverse and longitudinal tensile strength. It is a structure made of natural materials and eligible for multi-purpose applications, that is used for the realization of “mats” stuffed with seagrass wrack, collected from emerged beaches. The results of such realisation under the GE.RI.N project were the increased carrying capacity of the beaches as the removal of beached biomass and the disposal of the structures on rocky shores enhance the available area for tourist recreation and bathing. The structures are also suitable as a substrate for the re-establishment of seagrass shoots on the sea bottom, which is essential for maintaining the presence of the meadow to reduce coastal erosion. As part of the GE.RI.N project, the patent number RM2014A000151, registered on March 24, 2014, has been deposited and is now available for licensing. A design implementation of the structure is under development in collaboration with the University of Rome Sapienza – Architecture Science in Product Design, as part of a degree thesis project, titled Medonia