{"id":10146,"date":"2026-04-24T15:06:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/?p=10146"},"modified":"2026-10-27T15:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T14:02:13","slug":"from-mineral-to-market-research-driven-innovation-revives-polands-only-diatomite-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/en\/from-mineral-to-market-research-driven-innovation-revives-polands-only-diatomite-mine\/","title":{"rendered":"From Mineral to&nbsp;Market: Research-Driven Innovation Revives Poland\u2019s&nbsp;Only Diatomite Mine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7387b849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/ProfMichalLach1-1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Professor Micha\u0142 \u0141ach\" class=\"wp-image-10147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/ProfMichalLach1-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/ProfMichalLach1-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/ProfMichalLach1-1-767x511.jpg 767w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/ProfMichalLach1-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/ProfMichalLach1-1.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A&nbsp;strategic partnership between the PK&nbsp;Krakow University of&nbsp;Technology and the mining sector has helped transform the diatomite mine in&nbsp;Jawornik Ruski into a&nbsp;modern and competitive production facility. Through advanced R&amp;D, scientists supported the implementation of&nbsp;new technologies that strengthened the market position of&nbsp;a&nbsp;unique domestic resource and contributed to&nbsp;a&nbsp;65% increase in&nbsp;company revenue.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<nav class=\"pkng-toc\" aria-label=\"Contents\"><p class=\"pkng-toc__title\">Contents<\/p><ul class=\"pkng-toc__list\"><li class=\"pkng-toc__item pkng-toc__item--h3\"><a href=\"#h-breakthrough-products-for-industrial-applications\"><span class=\"pkng-toc__nr\">1.<\/span> Breakthrough Products for Industrial Applications<\/a><\/li><li class=\"pkng-toc__item pkng-toc__item--h3\"><a href=\"#h-efficiency-and-sustainability-in-production\"><span class=\"pkng-toc__nr\">2.<\/span> Efficiency and Sustainability in&nbsp;Production<\/a><\/li><li class=\"pkng-toc__item pkng-toc__item--h3\"><a href=\"#h-future-directions-circular-materials-and-resource-efficiency\"><span class=\"pkng-toc__nr\">3.<\/span> Future Directions: Circular Materials and Resource Efficiency<\/a><\/li><li class=\"pkng-toc__item pkng-toc__item--h3\"><a href=\"#h-bridging-science-and-industry\"><span class=\"pkng-toc__nr\">4.<\/span> Bridging science and industry<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For years, Poland\u2019s&nbsp;only diatomite mine struggled to&nbsp;compete with imported raw materials. Despite growing global demand for diatomite, a&nbsp;sedimentary rock valued for its filtration and absorption properties, local production lacked the technological capabilities required to&nbsp;enter higher-value market segments. This situation finally changed through a&nbsp;collaborative EU-funded research project led by&nbsp;Prof. Micha\u0142 \u0141ach from the Faculty of&nbsp;Materials Engineering and Physics at&nbsp;the Cracow University of&nbsp;Technology. By&nbsp;leveraging advanced laboratory infrastructure, the research team developed innovative processing technologies that expanded the industrial applications of&nbsp;Polish diatomite and improved production efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Breakthrough Products for Industrial Applications<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cooperation between university researchers and the mine operator G\u00f3rtech&nbsp;led to&nbsp;the development of&nbsp;several specialised product lines, thereby opening access to&nbsp;new industrial sectors. High-efficiency sorbents were developed to&nbsp;absorb oil-derived substances and hazardous liquids. Thanks to&nbsp;absorption capacity exceeding 100% of&nbsp;their own mass, these materials are used in&nbsp;environmental protection, industrial safety, and spill-response operations and are currently applied by&nbsp;major industrial users, including such well-known companies such as&nbsp;ORLEN and KGHM, as&nbsp;well as&nbsp;railway and highway infrastructure operators Multifunctional diatomite additives are also used in&nbsp;paints, varnishes, and environmentally friendly agricultural products. They improve corrosion resistance, durability, and support soil water retention, making them suitable for both industrial coatings and agricultural applications. Diatomite-based components for construction materials, including geopolymer systems, were also developed. These materials improve durability and compressive strength and support the development of&nbsp;low-carbon and sustainable building solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Efficiency and Sustainability in&nbsp;Production<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research team also developed a&nbsp;pilot calcination system equipped with heat recovery, enabling even more energy-efficient processing of&nbsp;diatomite. The implementation of&nbsp;these solutions allowed to&nbsp;lower operational costs and reduce environmental impact. The obtained results speak for themselves. Between 2023 and 2025, G\u00f3rtech recorded a&nbsp;revenue increase of&nbsp;more than 65%, expanded its product portfolio, and entered new market sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/PKKopalniaDiatomit3-1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Light brown diatomite samples collected from a mine.\" class=\"wp-image-10148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/PKKopalniaDiatomit3-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/PKKopalniaDiatomit3-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/PKKopalniaDiatomit3-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/PKKopalniaDiatomit3-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pk.edu.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/PKKopalniaDiatomit3-1.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Future Directions: Circular Materials and Resource Efficiency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The collaboration between science and business continues through international initiatives such as&nbsp;the GEOSUMAT project, aimed at&nbsp;developing sustainable geopolymer composites based on&nbsp;industrial byproducts. Research efforts are currently exploring the use of&nbsp;waste-derived materials\u2014e.g. fly ash, metallurgical slag, and recycled reinforcement components\u2014as&nbsp;raw materials for modern construction systems. More than ten types of&nbsp;industrial byproducts have already been evaluated, leading to&nbsp;the development of&nbsp;prototype construction elements such as&nbsp;indoor wall cladding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bridging science and industry<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The succesfull transformation of&nbsp;the Jawornik Ruski mine confirms how effective cooperation between researchers and industry can strengthen the competitiveness of&nbsp;domestic resources. By&nbsp;translating laboratory research into industrial-scale solutions, CUT continues to&nbsp;demonstrate the role of&nbsp;science as&nbsp;a&nbsp;driver of&nbsp;technological progress, economic growth, and sustainable development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A&nbsp;strategic partnership between the PK&nbsp;Krakow University of&nbsp;Technology and the mining sector has helped transform the diatomite mine in&nbsp;Jawornik Ruski into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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partnership between the PK&nbsp;Krakow University of&nbsp;Technology and the mining sector has helped transform the diatomite mine in&nbsp;Jawornik Ruski into 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