Environmental and economic aspects of water kiosks: case study of a medium-sized italian town

The consumption of bottled water in Italy began in the 1970s. Since then, this usage has grown considerably, also as a result of changes in habits. The environmental impact as a result of the water production chain is very significant; it would be considered, for example, the use of plastic bottles, the consumption of oil in the production of the bottles, the emission of air from the vehicles that transport the bottles, non-recycled plastic packaging, etc.In this study, considering the comparison between two situations, use of bottled water and use of water kiosk (WK), an environmental and economic impact evaluation has been done. The study considered the production of a WK in a town with 9000 inhabitants, which supplies controlled, still and sparkling water, with an organoleptic quality higher than tap water coming from the aqueduct. In particular, taking into consideration the environmental aspects, specific attention was paid both to CO2 emissions and PET bottle waste reduction. The economic impact evaluation was carried out from the consumer's point of view. In order to provide a supply service that was economically sustainable, a calculation was done with the aim of determining a specific fee for the supplied water. Moreover, a comparison has been made between quality parameters achieved with the analysis of water from aqueducts with the limits established in the Italian legislation and the parameters of several Italian water brands.The study has the aim at considering the opportunity to follow a different people's habits, closer to the concept of sustainability, reducing the environmental charge related to the realization, transport and consumption of plastic water bottles without significant reduction of the quality of the service and with convenient and interesting economic implications. In fact the results of the study show that the alternative of WKs is more efficient in economic and environmental terms respect to the use of bottled water

PAHs in wastewater: removal efficiency in a conventional wastewater treatment plant and comparison with model predictions

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) result very hazardous compounds and due to their lipophilicitiy, they can easily cross biological membranes and accumulate inside organisms, causing damages to the genetic material. The scientific interest to this class of chemicals is related to their demonstrated or supposed genotoxicity (first suspects on cancer causing characteristics of B[\u3b1]Py and dB[\u3b1,h]An date back to the thirties). This study try to pick out PAHs presence in wastewater and to estimate their removal efficiency in a conventional wastewater treatment plant (Varese Olona). The PAHs presence in municipal wastewater sewage system and in the WWTP effluent has been determined by specific analytical campaign and afterwards a comparison between observed removal efficiency and FATE model (US-EPA) predictions has been carried out

Reliability of Strategic Environmental Assessment for Territorial Management: General Criticisms and a Proposed Approach in the Presence of Relevant Accident Risk Facilities

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a procedure with a wide application, that has a very important role in sustainable territorial development. The aim of this work is to make some evaluations after the initial period of application also based on data of a particular complex territory, Lombardy Region (Northern Italy), which is characterized by a very high concentration of population, industrial activities and economic interests. The evaluations reveal some critical aspects that negatively influence the correct application of the SEA in Italy, with consequences on the territorial governance and the determination of expected effects corresponding to specific aims. One of these critical aspects is the need to define specific standards and parameters for carrying out a SEA on the different environmental themes. One of these is the assessment of the anthropic risk, which may initially be approximately identified as the industrial risk during territorial planning and programming. On this matter, we suggest adopting a methodological approach that is found in specific guidelines for anyone that produces the Environmental Report to support the SEA, and for councils that have to produce a Technical Examination Paper of the Relevant Accident Risk, to assess the industrial risk, also when there are companies with a relevant accident risk

Laboratory-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor for treatment of stillage from fruit distillation

This work describes batch anaerobic digestion tests carried out on stillages, the residue of the distillation process on fruit, in order to contribute to the setting of design parameters for a planned plant. The experimental apparatus was characterized by 3 reactors, each with a useful volume of 5 L. The different phases of the work carried out were: determining the basic components of the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of the stillages; determining the specific production of biogas; and estimating the rapidly biodegradable COD contained in the stillages. In particular, the main goal of the anaerobic digestion tests on stillages was to measure the parameters of Specific Gas Production (SGP) and Gas Production Rate (GPR) in reactors in which stillages were being digested using ASBR (Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor) technology. Runs were developed with increasing concentrations of the feed. The optimal loads for obtaining the maximum SGP and GPR values were 8\u20139 gCOD L-1 and 0.9 gCOD g-1VS

Application Of A Decision Support System For The SustainablePlanning Of Rio Pojuca Basin (Bahia, Brazil) Water Resources

The paper presents the structure and the application of a Decision Support System (DSS) to Pojuca River watershed placed in the Northeast Region of Brazil (Bahia State). It is composed of surface-water quality models (total phosphorus, BOD, dissolved oxygen concentration and thermo-tolerant coliform bacteria pollution). A model evaluates the riverine microhabitat applying autochthonous fish species habitat suitability indexes (water depth, velocity, substrate and dissolved oxygen) valuated by local ichthyologists. Surface-water quality and microhabitat models are based on a hydrologic and hydraulic model. Models have been calibrated and validated using discharge and water quality measurements collected during a 1.5-year period of monitoring. Output data are available on a spreadsheet and ready to be spatially analyzed in a GIS software. We show how DSS can help the decision-making process to achieve the sustainable development of the basin, considering population growth, economic activities, climate change, management of sewage and wastewater treatment systems. The DSS is also applied to a challenging scenario: the building of an in series reservoir for supplying the Capital (Salvador) of drinking water. The experience has been characterized also by a large involvement of local specialists, with the aim to emphasize the existing qualifications and to consider local culture

Preliminary trial application of biological desulfonation in anaerobic digestors from pig farms

This paper describes preliminary tests carried out in treatment plants serving two different pig farms in Northern Italy, in order to assess the feasibility of implementing biological sulphur removal from biogas produced by anaerobic digestion processes. This normally consists of mixture of CH4, CO2, and other gases; in the presence of sulphur, H2S is also formed, which must be removed prior to the gas use in thermal engines, to avoid corrosion phenomena. Sulphur removal in the plants considered is currently achieved by means of chemical filtration, however this adds costs to the process and generates a waste to be disposed of. As a process alternative, biological sulphur removal by means of Thiobacillus sp. bacteria can also be obtained. The process, however, requires specific conditions in the gas stream in order to achieve high process efficiency. Biological desulfonation was applied on a trial basis in two biogas production plants, with different layouts, and encouraging results. These confirms the validity of the process, although the maximum foreseen removal efficiencies were not achieved due to structural drawbacks of the tested facilities, that will have to be revamped in order to apply this process with full satisfaction and effectiveness

Industrial risk in the Lombardy Region (Italy): what people perceive and what are the gaps to improve the risk communication and the participatory processes

Risk communication is of vital importance in today\u2019s society, as audiences become ever more questioning about the causes and effects of risk. However, the communication of risk is a complex activity involving many different types of communicators and destinataries, from scientists, to the media, to government agencies, industry and consumer groups, each of which having its own agendas to fulfil. Such variation across the communication of the same risk can lead to confusion, misunderstandings, misreporting in the media and subsequent conflicts. The goal of risk communication is to produce an informed public. The personal nature of risk issues and the uncertainty associated with estimating risk can provoke considerable anxiety for the public and make adopted risk management strategies less acceptable. Lombardy is one of the most densely populated and industrialized regions in Europe and nearly 280 Seveso sites interest it. The Seveso Directive requires specific measures on risk communication to the population. Nevertheless, the Lombardy Region Authorities consider that the implementation of such provisions is too weak. Therefore an exploratory research has been concluded, in order to estimate the gaps in risk communication and to improve the participation of the population in the emergency preparedness activities. The paper reports the main results of the research and illustrates the potential strategies to improve the risk communication and the population participation and preparedness (\uc9upolis Lombardia 2011)

A wastewater treatment using a biofilm airlift suspension reactor with biomass attached to supports: a numerical model

presented. When compared with a traditional wastewater treatment plant, a biofilm airlift suspension process has major advantages, such as higher oxygen levels in the bulk fluid and lower space requirements. The limited volumes obtained with this technique generally do not allow to reach the high times of contact required for an efficient removal of nitrogen that normally are characterized by a slower kinetics than carbonaceous compounds. To avoid this problem, supports for attached biomass growth were inserted in the reactor. Both physical and biological aspects were incorporated into the presented model to simulate the removal processes of the substrates. A sensitivity analysis was performed, and the model was validated using experimental results obtained at a lab-scale plant. This model can accurately estimate the removal rate in different boundary conditions providing the details of the water quality profiles through the reactor and in the attached biomass. The model thus represents a valid aid for design purposes and for the management of treatment plants that use these uncommon reactors. The model also provides the required hydraulic retention time for a complete nitrification and the appropriate recirculation ratio. The results have shown the full-scale applicability of this treatment due to its efficiencies coupled to the advantages of its low impact, low space requirement and low sludge production

Safe optimization of potentially runaway processes using topology based tools and software

In chemical industries, fast and strongly exothermic reactions are often to be carried out to synthesize a number of intermediates and final desired products. Such processes can exhibit a phenomenon known as \u201cthermal runaway\u201d that consists in a reactor temperature loss of control. During the course of the years, lots of methods, aimed to detect the set of operating parameters (e.g., dosing times, initial reactor temperature, coolant temperature, etc..) at which such a dangerous phenomenon can occur, have been developed. Moreover, in the last few years, the attention has been posed on safe process optimization, that is how to compute the set of operating parameters able to ensure high reactor productivity and, contextually, safe conditions. To achieve this goal, with particular reference to industrial semibatch synthesis carried out using both isothermal and isoperibolic temperature control mode, a dedicated optimization software has been implemented. Such a software identifies the optimum set of operating parameters using a topological criterion able to bind the so-called \u201cQFS region\u201d (where reactants accumulation is low and all the heat released is readily removed by the cooling equipment) and, then, iteratively searching for the constrained system optimum. To manage the software, only a few experimental parameters are needed; essentially: heat(s) of reaction, apparent system kinetics (Arrhenius law), threshold temperature(s) above which unwanted side reactions, decompositions or boiling phenomena are triggered, heat transfer coefficients and reactants heat capacities. Such parameters can be obtained using simple calorimetric techniques (DSC, ARC, RC1, etc..). Over the optimization section, the software posses a simulation section where both normal and upset operating conditions (such as pumps failure and external fire) can be tested

Behavioral Safety: A way to decrease injuries at work (with science)

Work-related injuries are a well known problem all around European Union (EU): every year, at least 170000 workers die and even more suffer severe and permanent injuries. Even if EU placed the goal of reducing this number by 25% by 2012, in many countries the situation remains unchanged despite the enforcement of increasingly stringent laws that, anyways, elude the most important question: why? Moreover, in spite of a lot of American and European studies demonstrated that at least 76% of work-related accidents are due to workers unsafe behaviors, blaming workers is not a effective solution because it eludes again the question: why a worker should act unsafe? An answer to this last question comes from studies about human behavior: a person acts a certain way because he is subject to a number of external stimuli, before and after his act. So, if a person receives a positive consequence as a reward for his behavior, he continues to output the same behavior. Till 80's, Behavior-Based Safety (B-BS) uses this mechanic to provide positive consequences to safe behaviors, instead of negative ones, increasing safety and reducing injuries. But does B-BS work? Even if a lot of literature case studies of successful B-BS implementation are present, all across the world, there is a lack of scientific experiments to unequivocally state that B-BS increases safe behaviors and reduces injuries. This work provides two different case studies, using not only a before-after analysis but also using an appropriate mathematical test (Young\u2019s C Test), to examine workers\u2019 behavior changes during time. The work puts in competition two different B-BS protocols, which share all the fundamentals but differ for start-up time and cost, applied on two different Italian industrial sites: a glass bottle factory and a paint factory. These protocols obtains the same results, demonstrating not only that B-BS works, but also that behavioral safety can be achieved at low cost even for small European industries