AetnAsh: Exporting Mount Etna's volcanic ash as a multifunctional fertilizer

21-Mar-2026 - Published in preprint form the study providing the policy framework to start producing and exporting Etna's volcanic ash to MENA and European countries.

The team of Mario Pagliaro at Italy's Research Council provides therein a detailed policy framework for starting large-scale commercialization of this volcanic mineral whose natural stocks are continuously renewed thanks to frequent eruptions of Mount Etna.

In summary, the study:

Describes the fourfold mechanism identified over the past two decades by which volcanic ash is an exceptional fertilizer for a wide variety of crops, as well as a soil improver.
⁠Gives the name "AetnAsh" to the volcanic ash from Mount Etna, and explains why, among the various volcanic ashes, it is particularly suitable as a fertilizer.
Develops a comprehensive model for the Sicilian Region to regulate the production and export of AetnAsh, including the requirement for a logo indicating the Sicilian origin of the exported ash.
Describes for the first time the thriving yet largely unknown market for volcanic ash, sold in agriculture under the name of volcanic "sand" or basalt "flour."
Explains why the massive (hundreds of thousands of tons) and extremely high-value-added use of volcanic ash is in agriculture, and why Mt. Etna can literally fertilize the soils of the entire MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, centered on Sicily

"With AetnAsh and this study, Sicily is the first to have a policy and economic model ready to launch a production that will contribute to Sicily's annual wealth generation and bring enormous benefits to all countries that will import and use AetnAsh as multifunctional fertilizer" said Dr Pagliaro commenting the study.

"Name (AetnAsh), logo and study" concludes the Italian scholar "are donated to Sicily's government on behalf of its population, for the benefit of populations in Europe and in the vast MENA geographic area".

Learn more

Mario Pagliaro, Giovanna Li Petri, Giuseppe Angellotti, Rosaria Ciriminna,"AetnAsh: Exporting Mount Etna's volcanic ash as a multifunctional fertilizer", ResearchGate (2026) https://doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.31194.20169