Commercial exploitation and valuation of the water constituting the clay of Manicouagan

AEM Lab Inc. (formerly Argile eau mer Inc.) is a Quebec company specialized in the extraction, upgrading and marketing of marine mud (marine clay) since 1994. This marine mud is exploited for its preventive and curative properties in cosmetics, cosmeceuticals and paramedical fields. Indeed, this clayey material is made up of a solid component (fine sand, clayey silt, etc.) and a liquid component made up of three waters (surface water / mid-deposit water / water located under the deposit). A physicochemical characterization of these three constituent waters of marine mud showed a unique organic richness and mineral diversity. As part of the diversification of its activities, AEM Lab Inc., has embarked on a process of upgrading water intended for the cosmetic sector. Thus, the project consists in enhancing 1) the toning properties of mid-field water for the cosmetics field, 2) the synergistic properties of the mixture of the three waters for manufacturers of cosmetic products and 3) the soothing virtues of the water located under the deposit. These soothing virtues are more felt at the end of a mud bath.

More specifically, the objectives of this project revolve around three (3) major components which are the extraction by mechanical pumping of the marine resource, the subsequent treatment which includes: filtration, purification, sterilization / non-sterilization, conservation and biochemical and microbial characterization.

In collaboration with CEPROQ, these analyzes will be carried out on the mixture of the three (3) waters according to the same sampling principle to determine their biochemical composition. Thus, a fraction of the samples will be sterilized and analyzed according to the same principle described above to determine: 1) the new biochemical composition, 2) the shelf life.

The objective of this sterilization is to eliminate harmful bacteria and to preserve useful bacteria. This technique is similar to the one used for the waters extracted from the mud of the Dead Sea (Israel) and for the thermal waters of the south of France (Dax).