Development of innovative system to contain the odourous impact of industrial plants

Il seguente progetto di dottorato si occupa dello sviluppo di sistemi innovativi per l'abbattimento delle emissioni odorose degli impianti industriali, concentrandosi su due settori industriali sviluppati nella Regione Marche: l'industria del legno e il riciclaggio dei rifiuti vegetali. L'impatto odorigeno delle attività industriali è un grave problema per le attività produttive stesse; anzi, spesso le autorità competenti per il controllo sono costrette ad agire. La causa principale di tali impatti non è sempre dovuta al superamento delle concentrazioni imposte dai limiti di legge; anzi, una pianificazione urbanistica inefficace in passato ha portato all'insediamento di stabilimenti industriali in prossimità di zone residenziali: le molestie olfattive diventano motivo di denuncia dei cittadini, che ostacolano lo svolgimento del lavoro delle aziende. In questo contesto è fondamentale lo sviluppo di sistemi innovativi efficaci, finalizzati al contenimento degli odori provenienti dai processi produttivi. Il presente progetto di ricerca di dottorato è stato cofinanziato da una società (Pan Eco srl), la cui missione è quella di supportare le diverse industrie presenti sul campo nel rispetto delle normative ambientali; in questo settore ottiene autorizzazioni e sviluppa progetti volti al rispetto di tutti i vincoli ambientali. Considerando lo scenario appena descritto e la mission aziendale, l'obiettivo generale del programma di ricerca è stato lo sviluppo di sistemi innovativi per il contenimento delle emissioni odorose in atmosfera da parte di diversi impianti industriali. L'obiettivo generale del progetto è stato raggiunto attraverso obiettivi e attività specifici: - definizione dello stato dell'arte dei sistemi attualmente applicati per l'abbattimento delle emissioni in atmosfera di composti organici, compreso il contesto legislativo. Attraverso la ricerca bibliografica è stata realizzata una sintesi delle principali tecniche di campionamento, analisi e abbattimento delle emissioni odorigene, anche facendo riferimento alle principali normative a livello nazionale ed europeo; - individuazione delle aziende marchigiane (almeno due) con problematiche legate all'impatto olfattivo della produzione industriale. Sono state individuate due società, una operante nel settore del legno e l'altra operante nel riciclaggio dei rifiuti organici; - progettazione e realizzazione di un sistema innovativo di abbattimento delle emissioni. In entrambi i settori presi in considerazione è stato individuato e implementato un innovativo sistema di abbattimento odori: verniciatura UV per il settore legno e vermicomposting per il riciclo dei rifiuti organici; - campionamento, caratterizzazione delle emissioni e valutazione degli eventuali miglioramenti. In entrambe le società è stato effettuato il campionamento delle emissioni utilizzando tecniche consolidate ed è stato valutato l'effettivo abbattimento delle emissioni odorigene con l'introduzione dei sistemi innovativi.This PhD project deals with the development of innovative systems for the abatement of odorous emissions from industrial plants, focusing on two industrial sectors developed in Marche Region: the wood industry and vegetable waste recycling. The odor impact of industrial activities is a serious problem for the production activities themselves; indeed, the competent authorities for control are often forced to take action. The main cause of such impacts is not always due to an overcoming of the concentrations imposed by the legal limits; indeed, an ineffective urban planning in the past has led to industrial plants located near residential areas: olfactory harassment becomes reason for citizens reports, that hinder the correct operation of companies. The problem of odorous emissions mainly concerns the following companies (Bertoni, 1993): - Companies in the industrial sector (wood industry, chemical industry, oil and gas refineries, foundries, plastic and paint production); - Agri-food companies (meat processing); - Companies that deal with waste and wastewater treatment (landfills and composting companies). In particular, the main odorous compounds are (Bertoni, 1993): - VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds): aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, aldehydes and ketons; - VSCs (Volatile Sulfur Compounds): hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and mercaptans (SH); - Nitrogen compounds: ammonia (NH3) and amines. The odorous emission from industrial facilities can be the cause of annoyance to the people living in the surrounding area. A long-term exposure may bring up serious damage to human health such as nausea, headaches and other related respiratory problems (Lebrero et al., 2011; Zarra et al., 2009b). In this context, the development of effective innovative systems is fundamental, aimed at containing odors from the production processes. The present PhD research project has been cofunded by a company (Pan Eco srl), whose mission is to support the various industries in the field compliance with environmental regulations; in this sector, it obtains authorizations and develops projects aimed at respecting all environmental constraints. Considering the scenario just described and the company mission, the general goal of the research program was the development of innovative systems for the containment of odorous emissions into the atmosphere by various industrial plants. The general goal of the project has been achieved through specific objectives and activities: - definition of the state of the art of the systems currently applied for the abatement of atmospheric emissions of organics compounds, including the legislative context. Through bibliographic research, a summary was made regarding the main techniques for sampling, analysis and abatement of odor emissions, also referring to the main laws at national and European level; - identification of companies in the Marche region (at least two) with problems associated with the odor impact of industrial production. Two companies have been identified, one operating in the wood industry and the other operating in the recycling of organic waste; - design and implementation of innovative emissions abatement system. In both sectors taken into consideration, an innovative odor abatement system was identified and implemented: UV painting for wood sector and vermicomposting for the recycling of organic waste; - sampling, characterization of emissions and assessment of the performance. In both companies, the sampling of emissions using consolidated techniques was carried out and the effective abatement of odor emissions was assessed

Virtual Prototyping of a Compliant Spindle for Robotic Deburring

At the current state-of-the-art, Robotic Deburring (RD) has been successfully adopted in many industrial applications, but it still needs improvements in terms of final quality. In fact, the effectiveness of a RD process is highly influenced by the limited accuracyof the robot motions and by the unpredictable variety of burr size/shape. Tool compliance partially solves the problem, although dedicated engineering design tools are strictly needed, in order to identify those optimized parameters and RD strategies that allow achieving the best quality and cost-effectiveness. In this context, the present paper proposes a CAD-based Virtual Prototype (VP) of a pneumatic compliant spindle, suitable to assess the process efficiency in different case scenarios. The proposed VP is created by integrating a 3D multi-body model of the spindle mechanical structure with the behavioural model of the process forces, as adapted from previous literature. Numerical simulations are provided, concerning the prediction of both cutting forces and surface finishing accuracy

Geological map of the Tocomar Basin (Puna Plateau, NW Argentina): Implication for the geothermal system investigation

This paper presents a detailed geological map at the 1:20,000 scale of the Tocomar basin in the Central Puna (north-western Argentina), which extends over an area of about 80 km2 and displays the spatial distribution of the Quaternary deposits and the structures that cover the Ordovician basement and the Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic units. The new dataset includes litho-facies descriptions, stratigraphic and structural data and new 234U/230Th ages for travertine rocks. The new reconstructed stratigraphic framework, along with the structural analysis, has revealed the complex evolution of a small extensional basin including a period of prolonged volcanic activity with different eruptive centres and styles. The geological map improves the knowledge of the geology of the Tocomar basin and the local interplay between orogen-parallel thrusts and orogen-oblique fault systems. This contribution represents a fundamental support for in depth research and also for encouraging geothermal exploration and exploitation in the Puna Plateau regionFil: Filipovich, Ruben Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Baez, Walter Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Groppelli, Gianluca. CNR Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria; ItaliaFil: Ahumada, Maria Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Aldega, Luca. Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"; ItaliaFil: Becchio, Raul Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Berardi, Gabriele. Università Roma Tre III; ItaliaFil: Bigi, Sabina. Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"; ItaliaFil: Caricchi. Chiara. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia; ItaliaFil: Chiodi, Agostina Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Corrado, Sveva. Università Roma Tre III; ItaliaFil: De Astis, Gianfilippo. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia; ItaliaFil: De Benedetti, Arnaldo Angelo. Università Roma Tre III; ItaliaFil: Invernizzi, Chiara. Universita Degli Di Camerino; ItaliaFil: Norini, Gianluca. CNR Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria; ItaliaFil: Soligo, Michele. Università Roma Tre III; ItaliaFil: Taviani, Sara. University of Milano-Bicocca; ItaliaFil: Viramonte, Jose German. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Giordano, Guido. CNR Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria; Italia. Università Roma Tre III; Itali

Design Optimization of Cutting Parameters for a Class of Radially-Compliant Spindles via Virtual Prototyping Tools

The widespread adoption of Robotic Deburring (RD) can be effectively enhanced by the availability of methods and integrated tools capable of quickly analyzing the overall process performance in a virtual environment. On the other hand, despite the current availability of several CAM tools, the tuning of an RD process parameters is still mainly based on several physical tests, which drastically reduce the robotic cell productivity. The reason is that several potential sources of errors, which are unavoidable in the physical cell, are simply neglected in state-of-the-art CAM software. For instance, the effectiveness of a RD process is highly influenced by the limited accuracy of the robot motions and by the unpredictable variety of burr size/shape. In most cases, it is strictly necessary to maintain a uniform contact pressure between the tool and the workpiece at all times, despite the burr thickness, so that either an active force feedback or a passive compliant spindle must be employed. Focusing on the latter solution, the present paper proposes a Virtual Prototype (VP) of a radially-compliant spindle, suitable to quickly assess deburring efficiency in different case scenarios. The proposed VP is created by integrating a 3D multi-body model of the spindle mechanical structure with the behavioural model of the process forces. Differently from previous literature and from state-of-the-art CAM packages, the proposed VP allows to quickly estimate the process forces (accounting for the presence of workpiece burr and tool compliance) and the optimal deburring parameters, which are readily provided as contour maps of the envisaged deburring error as function of the cutting parameters. As an industrial case study, a commercial compliant spindle is considered and numerical simulations are provided, concerning the prediction of the surface finishing accuracy for either optimal or sub-optimal parameter tuning

Sustainable Reduction of the Odor Impact of Painting Wooden Products for Interior Design

The construction and building field represents a key sector for the recent Circular Economy Action Plan (March 2020). Therefore, the production of low impact materials represents an essential step towards the implementation of a sustainable market. In this regard, the present paper focused on the production of painting wooden products for interior design. These industrial processes include an essential phase consisting of the reduction of odor emissions, which produce negative impacts on the environment and a persistent annoyance for the population close to the facilities. The main cause of the odor emissions in wood painting manufacturing is the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this context, the present research aimed to develop an innovative process able to combine the use of lower impact paints with a more efficient UV system for the abatement of the emissions

CHABAZITE-MG: A NEW NATURAL ZEOLITE OF THE CHABAZITE SERIES.

Chabazite-Mg, (Mg0.67K0.52Ca0.48Na0.08Sr0.03)Σ1.78[(Al3.16Si8.89)Σ12.05O24]·9.68H2O, is a new zeolite species of the chabazite series, occurring in basalts of the Karikás-tető area of Prága Hill, Veszprém County, Balaton Highland, Transdanubia, West Hungary. It crystallizes as single, colorless rhombohedra up to 0.4 mm in size. The streak is white and the luster is strong vitreous. Mohs’ hardness is about 4. The observed density is 1.98(1) g/cm3 and the calculated density is 1.964(7) g/cm3. Chabazite-Mg is anisotropic, uniaxial (+), ω = 1.465(5), ε = 1.469(5) (546 nm). In its chemical composition, a predominanceof Mg is observed among the extraframework cations. However, K and Ca are also very abundant, while Na and Sr levels are very low. The ratio Si/(Si+Al) is among the highest found in chabazite of hydrothermal genesis. Chabazite-Mg is rhombohedral, R3m space group, a = 9.3433(5) Å, α = 94.894(4)°. The six strongest X-ray lines measured in the powder pattern [d in Å (I) (hkl)] are: 9.306 (60) (100), 5.537 (37) (11 1), 4.958 (25) (111), 4.315 (100) (201), 2.924 (78) (31 1), 2.869 (41) (310). Single-crystal structure refinement of chabazite-Mg indicated that the extraframework occupation is distinct from other chabazite-series minerals. In particular, the Mg site (C3a) and one water site (W6a) are displaced from the threefold axis parallel to [111]