Objective
The aim of this project is: To develop and investigate an innovative formulation (silicone + biocide) to confer water repellency and to control growth of bacteria, fungi, algae and lichens in mortars and mortar monuments. The combination is based on environmental friendly water compatible formulations, to avoid the problem of using aromatic or chlorinated solvents. The performance of this new surface treatment will be evaluated and compared with those of conventional surface treatments. Special attention will be paid to:
i) the stability (chemical and thermal processes of degradation) of silicones
ii) the study of the interface silicone-biocide/mortar
iii) the effects and transformation processes in silicones and mortars induced by biofilms and testing of the efficacy of the biocide in the formulation.
The last two tasks will be accomplished using the recently introduced techniques of environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), specially suitable for observing both biofilms and inanimate surfaces, but not yet applied to the study of monument deterioration and protection.
The objectives of this project are summarized as follows:
1. To develop a new combined silicone/biocide surface treatment for mortar monuments, based on water compatible formulations, conversely to most freque commercial silicones and biocides, dissolved in aromatic or chlorinated solvents.
2. To establish the performance and durability of this innovative formulation, both laboratory (accelerated tests) and field exposure (a minimum of 10 years is guaranteed) studies will be carried out and compared with those of other commercially available silicones. A survey on monuments, treated in the last two decades either with silicones or separate applications of silicone/biocide, will be directed to obtain information on the performance of past treatments and the efficiency of biocides in different environments.
3. To know the biocidal properties of the formulation and to ascertain their possible application to solve the problem of biodeterioration of water repellent-treated surfaces.
4. Assessment of the effective distribution of the new formulation on mortar surfaces by using modern surface analyses (environmental scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, grazing angle Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), and to investigate the formation of microbial films (biofilms), their effects and transformation processes on the different mortars with and without silicones and biocides.
5. To investigate the chemical stability, hydrolysis, and biodegradation processes of different commercial silicones in the environment, and, specifically, testing of the hypothetical failure of silicone-treated surfaces with clay-containing materials.
6. To develop or modify existing procedures for obtaining simple, fast and reliable analytical methods suitable for characterization of biocides, silicones and their degradation products in monuments.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology mycology ethnolichenology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology phycology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy electron microscopy
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy absorption spectroscopy
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
41012 SEVILLA
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.