On April 23-24, 2017, the BlowUp team have visited the location of the pyrophyllite mine in Parsovići village near the Konjic city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mine is currently under the concession of the „Harbi“ company. The pyrophyllite is quite rare mineral and is interesting from many points of view. This company is focusing on it research as an additive in fertilization of the soil (BlowUp results show that it contains a lot of Mg, K, Ca and there is no measurable quantities of any toxic metal). Also one of the promising application is in SO2 adsorption, which is extremely important since Bosnia as numerous thermal plants and city heating systems which generate the sulphur dioxide. The principle is similar to that of lime, since pyrophyllite also contains a lot of Ca, therefore it generates the CaSO4 (a gypsum). BlowUp team is wondering how this waste material could be turned again into something even more useful.
After the visit of the mine, the team had a seminar with the company and with the representatives from the famous “Vinča” institute from Belgrade who are testing the possibilities for application of pyrophyllite in hydrogen storage.
Photos of the mine on the day of the visit, photos with the “Harbi” company team, photos from the trial agricultural plant (testing of the pyrophyllite in agriculture) are shown below.
