77 research outputs found
State of the art and prospects of Italian biogas production from animal sewage: technical-economic considerations
In the last few years, the recent regulations of the Energy and Environment Policy of the European Union
(EU) Energy Policy, together with the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) have been aiming to increase
the integration of renewable resources, and in particular of biogas, into the EU energy system
thanks to the adoption of new tools for their promotion. The production of biogas from animal waste,
both on a European and national level, still represents only a small percentage of the total amount
deriving from anaerobic digestion of organic matter. In this context, it was deemed opportune to evaluate
the state of the art in the use of biogas in Italy and its production potential, with regard to animal sewage,
in the light of the current technical-economic and legislative obstacles
Householdsâ Food Waste Behavior at Local Scale: A Cluster Analysis after the Covidâ19 Lockdown
Abstract: The reduction of food waste, especially in households where more than half of its global
quantity is generated, has become an increasing economic, social and environmental concern, and
represents one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals within the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable
Development. In this context, the Covidâ19 lockdown has significantly changed life, work and food
consumption habits all over the world, highlighting food waste as a multiâsectorial issue. This paper
explores current attitudes, perception and behavioral patterns related to food waste reduction at
domestic consumption at the local scale (Apulia region, Italy), with the aim of identifying different
types of âfood wastersâ. Through an online questionnaire and the application of a kâmeans clustering
model, the authors focus on four emerging constructs in terms of food consumption and food
waste habits after the Covidâ19 lockdown at household level. Among three theoretical clusters, results
have highlighted: (i) the paradox of the âgreen wastersâ, which declared a high level of awareness
of the food waste issue but also generates huge amounts of thrown away food; (ii) the âpositive
unawarenessâ of the âred wastersâ, which have a slight notion of environment and sustainability
but waste low quantities of food; (iii) the consistency of the âblue wastersâ, which know of the food
waste issue and convert theory into practice
"Effetti ambientali delle innovazioni nel mercato dello zolfo"
Lo zolfo, una materia prima nota sin dallâantichitĂ ed estratta dalle miniere,
viene ora ottenuto sotto forma di biossido di zolfo dal recupero di vari materiali.
La crescente attenzione verso i problemi ambientali vedono il ruolo primario di numerosi
accordi a livello internazionale e la messa a punto o lâapplicazione di nuove
tecnologie per ridurre le emissioni di biossido di zolfo,
responsabili del fenomeno delle piogge acide che determinano effetti negativi sugli ecosistemi
Economic Analysis of the Barley Market and Related Uses
Barley is an important cereal worldwide cultivated since about 10,000Â years. Barley crop is the fourth most important cereal in the world, after wheat, corn, and rice. It could be a food source for millions of people even though today it is mainly used as animal feed and brewing. So, recently, more than 70% of barley crop has been used for feed; about 21% has been intended to malting, brewing, and distilling industries; lesser than 6% has been consumed as human food. In addition, a growing interest in renewable energy has led to the modest use of barley grain for the production of fuel ethanol. The prominence of barley as food is mainly due to its potentialities in the production of healthy food, as an excellent source of dietary fiber, and a functional food ingredient such as ÎČ-glucan. The purpose of this chapter is to carry out an analysis of barley market and to present, in summary, its principal uses
Carbon Footprint of Surgical Masks Made in Taranto to Prevent {SARS}-{CoV}-2 Diffusion: A Preliminary Assessment
The international outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 infection has put pressure on governments to
find immediate solutions to the shortage of surgical masks and other protective equipment. To allow
textile manufacturers producing surgical masks to avoid usual restrictions imposed on personalprotective-
equipment producers, the Italian government issued a ministerial decree that was followed
by technical guidelines provided by several universities. Starting from a hypothetical composition
and design, we calculated the carbon footprint of surgical masks manufactured following technical
guidelines, with the city of Taranto hosting the production facility. Results show that the production
of textile sheets composing the masks and their disposal were the main contributors to emissions,
followed by packaging and transportation. A strategy of reuse based on laundry operation was
modelled, and the balance between disposal strategy and reuse with the laundry operation (which
has environmental issues due to detergents and water use) was in favor of the second option. To
reduce the carbon footprint, a minimized textiles area (by smart shaping) and reuse strategies result
in the best options. Further reduction may be achieved by building up a recycling chain of disposed
masks, activated by municipalities
The use of basalt aggregates in the production of concrete for the prefabrication industry: environmental impact assessment, interpretation and improvement
This study aims at environmentally assessing the most significant input and output flows related to the production of concrete using basalt aggregates. For this purpose, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied according to the ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006. All data used were collected on site based on observations during site visits, review of documents and interviews with technical personnel and management. They were processed by using SimaPro 7.3.3, accessing the Ecoinvent v.2.2 database and using the Impact 2002ĂŸ method. The LCIA results show that the most impacting phase is the production of the basalt aggregates, with âHuman Healthâ being the most affected damage category because of the emissions to air, of 2.7 kg of particulates (grain size <2.5 mm). In addition to this, the concrete production causes, mainly, the emission, in air, of 465 kg of Carbon Dioxide and the consumption of 37.37 kg of crude oil, per cubic metre of concrete, affecting, the damage categories âClimate Changeâ and âResourcesâ also. Regarding âEcosystem Qualityâ, the occurred damage is due to the emission to air, of 29.6 g of Aluminium and of 251 mg of Zinc into the soil per cubic metre of concrete. Based on the obtained results, the increase of the amount of water used for particulates removal during the basalt extraction phase was assessed. Furthermore, the alternative use of limestone aggregates was assessed from both technical and environmental perspectives. The analysis developed highlighted a total damage decrease of 67%
Impact Assessment of Pomegranate Cultivation Using Reclaimed Wastewater
The approval of national specific legislative acts and the subsequent elaboration of the regional Water Protection Plans have raised attention on reclaimed wastewater as an abundant usable resource for irrigation or industrial purposes in the Apulia region. Among interesting cultivation pomegranate represent a commodity with niche market share among consumers paying attention to healthy way of life. In the present paper the objective of evaluating the environmental impact and nutritional efficiency of this resource was achieved by comparing 3 treatment scenarios: a) Irrigation with conventional water and fertilization capable of satisfying 100% of the expected nutritional requirements; b) Irrigation with reclaimed urban wastewater and fertilization capable of satisfying 100% of the expected nutritional requirements and c) Irrigation with refined urban waste water and fertilization capable of satisfying 50% of the expected nutritional requirements. The methodology to evaluate the impact assessment was the Life Cycle Assessment. Findings indicate the reclaimed wastewater scenario as the lowest impacting due to electricity consumption for the pumping system of the irrigation infrastructure of pomegranate. Fertirrigation of pomegranate using reclaimed wastewater with 50% lower fertilization does not satisfy the nutrient needs and this supplement should be commensurate to the reclaimed wastewater nutrient content. Results provide to stakeholders the sustainable decision support and this represent the practical implication of this study. Moreover the case study represents an original subject both for the crop, fertirrigation and the location choice of the cultivation and the methodology used
Recycled-PET fibre based panels for building thermal insulation : environmental impact and improvement potential assessment for a greener production
A screening of Life Cycle Assessment for the evaluation of the damage arising from the production of 1 kg of recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (RPET) fibre-based panel for building heat insulation was carried out according to the ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006. All data used were collected on site based on observations during site visits, review of documents and interviews with technical personnel and management. These data were processed by using SimaPro 7.3.3, accessing the Ecoinvent v.2.2 database and using the Impact 2002+ method. The study showed damage to be equal to 0.000299 points mostly due to the: 1) PET thermo-bonding fibre supply fromChina bymeans of a freight-equipped intercontinental aircraft; 2) production of bottle-grade granulate PET; 3) mediumvoltage electricity consumption during the manufacturing of RPET fibre panel. Itwas also highlighted that there were environmental benefits due to recycling through mainly avoiding significant emissions and reduced resource consumption. An improvement assessment was carried out to find solutions aimed at reducing the damage coming from the most impacting phases. Furthermore, the environmental impacts due to the production of the analysed RPET fibre-based panelwere compared to other materials with the same insulating function, such as polystyrene foam, rockwool and cork slab. Finally, the environmental benefits of the recycling of PE
Energy and environmental assessment of industrial hemp for building applications : a review
Buildings significantly contribute to global environmental pollution due to consumption of both natural and primary-energy resources as well as to emission of carbon dioxide in their life-cycles. Therefore, to enable construction of more sustainable buildings, it is important and urgent that new low-environmental impact materials are developed, mainly by reducing the use of non-renewable resources. In this regard, the recent advances in the development of natural fibres represent a significant opportunity to produce improved-materials and energy from renewable resources. For this purpose, assessments of energy and environmental performances are needed to support both the design and the production of the aforementioned materials so as to identify solutions for enhanced contribution to global sustainability. In this context, this study presented a review of the papers published so far that have focussed upon the assessment of the environmental and energy impacts related to the use of hemp-based materials for building applications. The reviewed studies aimed at testing and improving hygro-thermal properties and eco-friendliness of these materials so as to enable reduction of both embodied and operational energy, whilst preserving both indoor air quality and comfort. Doing so would enable limiting the use of energy resources and, as a consequence, their impacts to human health and to the environment, so contributing to making buildings healthier and more environmentally sustainable throughout their life-cycles. Based upon the findings of the studies reviewed these materials have strengths and weaknesses and their use is strictly dependent on the given structural situation and on specific requirements of thermal, moisture, fire and sound protection. In particular, all studies concluded that the main strength in the use of hemp-based materials comes from the production phase because of the âgreenâ origin of these materials, mainly associated with the carbon sequestration during plantation growth
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