Dal Professore ai Professori. Historia de la XVI legislatura de la República Italiana

La actual decimosexta legislatura es un ejemplo de la historia reciente de la República Italiana. El derrumbe de la alianza que apoyaba a Romano Prodi, la coalición denominada L'Unione, dio lugar a la creación de nuevos partidos y bloques que dieron la victoria en 2008 a Berlusconi. Tras los numerosos y graves escándalos, y la difícil situación económica que propiciaron su caída, el Presidente de la República encargó a Mario Monti formar un nuevo gobierno a la espera de las elecciones previstas para 2013. Entonces, nuevas formaciones, como el Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) de Beppe Grillo, y nuevas agrupaciones jugarán un papel importante en la elección del próximo gobierno.The present sixteenth term is an example of the recent history of the Italian Republic. The fall of Romano Prodi's government, the coalition known as L'Unione, contributed to the apparition of new groups and coalitions which led Berlusconi to win the election in 2008. After many local, national and international scandals, as well as the bad economic situation that provoked Berlusconi's fall, the President of the Republic asked Mario Monti to set up a new interim government until the election that will take place in 2013. So, some new groups, such as the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) led by Beppe Grillo, may have something to say

High Efficiency Cogeneration: Performance Assessment of Industrial Cogeneration Power Plants

AbstractIn 2004, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted the Directive 2004/8 EC whose purpose is to increase energy efficiency and develop high efficiency cogeneration of heat and power. Italy brought into force this law by means of the Legislative Decree February 8, 2007, n. 20: from January 1, 2011, the high efficiency cogeneration is the cogeneration that meets the requirements of Directive 2004/8/EC. Then, Italy adopted two ministerial decrees: the ministerial decree of Environment Ministry (August 4, 2011), that integrates the Decree n.20, and the ministerial decree of Ministry of Economic Development (September 5, 2011), that lays down the conditions and procedures for access to the support system of cogeneration: for each year in which the requirements of high efficiency cogeneration are met, the cogeneration units are entitled to energy efficiency certificates (White Certificates), whose number is proportional to the energy saving achieved.Therefore, from January 1, 2011 the legislative and incentive cogeneration context is radically changed and, consequently, new boundary conditions must be taken into account for feasibility studies and performance assessments of cogeneration plants. So, in this paper we want to evaluate the impact of this new legislative context on the competitiveness of the various cogeneration technologies. To this end, after an illustration of the new criteria to meet the qualifications of the high efficiency cogeneration, a comparison between different generation technologies will be developed by highlighting the impact of the new incentive context

Apuntes sobre el 'teatro civile'. Entrevista a Daniele Biacchessi

Unas pocas líneas no bastan para presentar la figura del periodista, escritor y dramaturgo Daniele Biacchessi. Su amplia labor como periodista en algunos de los medios de difusión más relevantes de Italia y su constante producción como divulgador y creador  del llamado teatro civil hacen de él una figura que no puede dejarse de lado a la hora de hablar del teatro de inspiración cívica de la última década. Interesado en denunciar desde desastres medioambientales como en La fabbrica dei profumi o las matanzas nazis en Sant'Anna di Stazzema y Marzabotto a finales de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, basta dar un vistazo a algunos de sus títulos para tener una idea de la amplitud de temas tratados por Biacchessi, entre los que destacan Giovanni e Nori. Una storia di amore e di resistenza (2014), Passione reporter (2009), Il paese della vergogna (2007), Una stella a cinque punte. Le inchieste D'Antona e Biagi e le nuove Br (2007). Completan la entrevista hecha por Massimiliano Vellini dos pequeños fragmentos de uno de los manuales fundamentales sobre el llamado teatro de carácter cívico, Teatro civile, nei luoghi dell'inchiesta e della narrazione (Milán: Edizioni Ambiente, 2010)

Oxygen production technologies for IGCC power plants with CO2 capture

Abstract IGCC power plants seem to represent one of the most appealing options to produce electric energy from coal and low grade solid fuels with interesting plant efficiency and low environmental impact. As a matter of fact the majority of gasification-based power plants are equipped with oxygen-blown gasifiers which have two main advantages with respect to air-blown reactors: high values of cold gas efficiency and an N 2 deprived syngas. The aim of this paper is to compare two different oxygen production technologies for oxidant supply to the gasification island. An IGCC power plant with pre-combustion CO 2 capture has been modelled considering: (i) a cryogenic distillation ASU based on a pumped liquid oxygen cycle; (ii) an innovative OTM-based oxygen production technology integrated in the power island. An overall heat and material balance has been estimated to evaluate plant performances and compare the two options; our thermodynamic analysis shows a promising improvement of the overall plant performance for the OTM-based IGCC nonetheless several key issues deserve a more in depth analysis to asses the real potentialities of membrane-based oxygen production technology

High Efficiency Cogeneration: Electricity from cogeneration in CHP Plants

Abstract In 2004, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted the Directive 2004/8 EC whose purpose is to increase energy efficiency and develop high efficiency cogeneration of heat and power. Italy brought into force this law by means of the Legislative Decree February 8, 2007, n. 20 and two ministerial decrees (the ministerial decree of Environment Ministry (August 4, 2011), that integrates the Decree n.20, and the ministerial decree of Ministry of Economic Development (September 5, 2011), that lays down the conditions and procedures for access to the support system of cogeneration). From January 1, 2011, the legislative and incentive cogeneration context is radically changed and, consequently, new boundary conditions must be taken into account in order to evaluate performance of cogeneration plants. Therefore, in this paper authors have analysed the different types of plants in operation in Italy and have calculated the percentage of electricity from cogeneration of each type of plant, taking into account the typical operating parameters. The result of this paper may therefore be a valuable tool for the operators of the cogeneration sector in order to identify the suitability of an investment in this sector

The Role of Cogeneration in the Electrification Pathways towards Decarbonization

The global call for an environmentally friendly, sustainable, and reliable energy system looks for the optimal integration of different technologies to allow a smooth and economically viable transition towards electrification. In this context, small, medium, and large industrial processes are relevant contributors to global CO2 emissions production due to the simultaneous requirement of electricity, heating, and cooling power generally obtained through fossil fuel combustion. In this context, Combined Heat and Power Energy converters based on internal combustion engines, such as reciprocating engines, gas turbines, and gas turbine combined cycles, and external combustion, such as backpressure and condensing steam power plants, are the most suitable solutions for the efficient and reliable generation of the above-mentioned assets. Typically, the industrial demand for heat and electricity differs in terms of heat-to-power ratio when compared to the heat-to-power ratio of the CHP plant, and this has led to requiring the selection of a control strategy to follow, partially or fully, the heat load or the electric load. In this paper, the authors propose an operating and design strategy addressed to fully covering the heat load demands by the heat generated by the CHP, allowing the system to have an excess of electricity generated. This electricity can be used for different purposes, as regards the novel electrification roadmap. Indeed, the authors have explored four configurations in which the excess of the CHP-generated electricity can be exported to the national grid, used for high-tension fast-charging electromobility systems, for running reverse osmosis desalination plants, and for the production of alternative fuels such as hydrogen. The authors propose a methodology for providing an extensive environmental techno-economic assessment that looks at 2050 CO2 targets. Accordingly, the environmental techno-economic assessment results are presented and discussed by considering the Net Present Value, payback period, and CO2 emission savings

La Resistenza, entre memoria y revisionismo

La Resistenza es sin duda un momento clave de la historia italiana del siglo XX. Pero, a pesar de haber sido narrada en muchas obras tanto literarias como en ensayos, aún hay detalles e historias que quizás no sean conocidas por el público no especializado. Además, sobre todo en los últimos años, ha habido cada vez un mayor número de obras de periodistas o historiadores que han dado del movimiento una visión bastante alejada de la tradicionalmente dominante. En este artículo queremos dar una idea de estos episodios menos conocidos de la Resistenza partigiana y de la diatriba entre diferentes visiones de la misma.The Resistance is, without doubt, a relevant moment of the Italian history of the 20th century. But, although it has been told in many literary works and essays, there are a lot of details and stories that are still not very well known by common readers. Above all, an increasing number of works written by journalists and historians have appeared during these last years, offering a vision of the movement quite far from the traditional one. Our scope in this article is to give a proper focus of some aspects not very well known of partisan fight as well as the debate produced in the confrontation of some different perspectives

Ragone plots of material-based hydrogen storage systems

This paper presents an analytical assessment of the energy–power relationship for different material-based hydrogen storage systems, namely Metal Hydrides (MHs) and Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHCs). Storage systems are subjected to continuous flow discharge processes through suitable control systems to meet constant specific power demands of end users. By means of reasonable assumptions, analytical expressions of the time-dependent degree of hydrogenation (representing the state of charge) are obtained to find the amount of hydrogen discharged (delivered energy) as a function of flow rate (required power). The results are first presented in the form of dimensionless Ragone plots to highlight the dependence of the amount of discharged hydrogen on the required mass flow rate. Numerical examples are presented for a couple of illustrative systems. Moreover, these analytical expressions are shown to produce very similar results to those obtained with the solution of a dynamic model, including, beyond the kinetic equation, mass and energy conservation applied to the reactor. The results show a significant impact of power demand on the released hydrogen for most systems, similar to that of capacitors, due to the dependence of the rate of reaction on the degree of hydrogenation: as a consequence, the amount of energy that can be delivered to an end user decreases substantially with an increase in the required power, resulting in a poor utilisation factor. Based on these results, MHs exhibit almost first-order kinetics and can sustain efficient discharge with theoretical specific power up to 2 kW/kg (rate of chemical energy delivered per unit mass of active substance), corresponding to a discharge duration of the order of 0.25 h; some LOHCs are limited by second-order kinetics and the specific power should be lower than 1 kW/kg, with discharge durations that must be above 2 hour, to ensure effective utilisation of stored hydrogen

El sello de calidad en las verduras frescas y su aceptación por parte de los consumidores

El nivel de incertidumbre de los consumidores disminuye al comunicar efectivamente las características de calidad de un alimento. La presencia de un sello de calidad constituye la forma visible de demostrar que dichas características han sido fehacientemente verificadas. En este sentido, la etiqueta constituye un elemento de protección del consumidor y de mejora de su bienestar.Fil: Vellini, Nicolás Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, Elsa Mirta M. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Lupín, Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina

Aceptación de un sello de calidad para verduras frescas por parte de los consumidores del Partido de General Pueyrredon

El Partido de General Pueyrredon, a través de la Ordenanza Municipal Nº 21.296/2013, crea el Plan de Desarrollo Rural Sustentable en respuesta a la norma que permite la aplicación de agroquímicos a partir de un radio de 1.000 metros desde las zonas urbanas. Dentro de los objetivos principales de la Ordenanza, se encuentra el de generar canales de certificación que permitan, a través de un sello de calidad, garantizar al consumidor de frutas y verduras frescas el bajo impacto ambiental de dichas producciones. En la presente tesis, se analizan distintos aspectos de las verduras frescas que los consumidores tienen en cuenta al momento de aceptar un sello de calidad que asegure que las mismas se producen de forma sustentable, con bajo impacto ambiental, y un mínimo contenido de agroquímicos. Se estudiaron las principales preocupaciones de los consumidores y la influencia que éstas tienen en dicha aceptación. Para ello, se emplearon datos provenientes de un relevamiento llevado a cabo en la Ciudad de Mar del Plata, durante los meses de febrero a abril del año 2016, donde participaron 127 consumidores. Las pruebas estadísticas de Cochran, de Mantel-Haenszel y de Kruskal-Wallis fueron aplicadas a fin de explorar la posibilidad de aceptación de un sello de calidad por parte de los consumidores y la información relevante que esperan encontrar en el mismo, estratificando por nivel de barrio de residencia.Fil: Vellini, Nicolás Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina