117,489 research outputs found
Industrial symbiosis in Emilia-Romagna region: Results from a first application in the agroindustry sector
No full textAn Industrial Symbiosis application was developed within the "Green Economy and Sustainable Development" project in Emilia-Romagna region (IT), promoted by Unioncamere Emilia-Romagna and ASTER, with the technical and scientific coordination of ENEA. Aim of the project was the development of cross-relations between production sectors, industrial research and territory and boosting circular economy. It was the first application of Industrial Symbiosis in Emilia-Romagna with the involvement of 13 companies from agro-industry and 7 laboratories. The main steps were: (1) selection of companies and research laboratories to be involved into the project; (2) focus group, for companies and labs, where ENEA presented Industrial Symbiosis and contribution asked at each participant; (3) companies were requested to fill-in input-output tables, for sharing information about resources used and waste/by-products generated; (4) elaboration of collected data and feedback to labs for asking their contribution in looking for potential applications for shared resources; (5) data elaboration for identifying potential synergies between companies; (6) labs were requested to fill-in "origin-destination" data tables, for identifying feasible valorization processes for valorizing shared waste and by-products streams; (7) meeting with companies and labs for presenting results and having their feedback; (8) data elaboration highlighting most interesting synergies; (9) final meeting with results presentation open to participants and stakeholders. The project identified 8 main resource streams, 28 feasible destinations, and 90 potential synergies involving not only companies participating in the project, but also other companies in Emilia-Romagna. The development of each single synergy, identifying conditions for its actual implementation is the object of the second phase of the project which is ongoing (October 2014 - June 2015)
Life cycle assessment in market, research, and policy: Harmonization beyond standardization
No full textThis article introduces the special series “LCA in Market Research and Policy: Harmonization beyond standardization,” which was generated from the 19th SETAC Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Case Study Symposium held November 2013, in Rome, Italy. This collection of invited articles reflects the purpose of symposium and focuses on how LCA can support the decision-making process at all levels (i.e., in industry and policy contexts) and how LCA results can be efficiently communicated and used to support market strategies. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2015;11:370–372. © 2015 SETAC. © 2015 SETA
Urbani L. (2013), Le quattro Geografie. Habitat 2, Sellerio, Palermo
No full textDisamina valutativa e interpretativa dell'ultima opera di Leonardo Urbani edita da Sellerio
Benevolo L. (2011), La fine della città: intervista a cura di Francesco Erbani, Laterza, Bari
No full textIntevista al noto urbanista Leonardo Benevolo
Circularity assessment in buildings and built environment: an integrated multiscale framework
No full textCircular transition requires systematic interventions in the built environment, particularly at the urban level, to close resource loops locally. The adoption of a design-operational approach focused on the life-cycle perspective and circularity, in line with the Green Building Approach, at the same time responds to resource scarcity and cuts CO2 emissions in the regeneration and integration of urban settlements. In this view, the dimension of the urban neighbourhood offers an ideal field of experimentation to test and scale up circular strategies and solutions, starting from the building scale. The contribution reports the results of an ongoing research whose aim is to propose a methodology to identify basic characteristics and performances allowing a neighbourhood to be defined as circular, and to promote their spread through design both in regeneration and new construction. Thus, the research addresses an important gap due to the limited number of studies on circularity metrics at the neighbourhood scale. From a methodological point of view, the research analyses a selection of case studies and, in parallel, existing circularity metrics at different levels, systematizing them with a set of indicators coming from sustainability protocols at the neighbourhood scale. The research therefore defines an integrated multiscale framework supporting circular design and assessment, valid at the building level but also - in a multiscale perspective - at the neighbourhood level, aiming to develop a support tool for public administrations and designers
Effetti dell’implementazione della piattaforma regionale di simbiosi industriale in Sicilia: linee di indirizzo e prime osservazioni sul territorio
No full textNella Green Economy assume centralita il concetto di capitale naturale, metafora economica che indica le risorse fisiche e biologiche che si trovano sulla terra e la capacita degli ecosistemi di fornire servizi. Uno degli obiettivi della Green Economy e, infatti, il decoupling tra crescita economica e consumo delle risorse, attraverso una riconversione dell’attuale sistema produttivo verso processi e prodotti sostenibili. In questo quadro si muove il progetto “Eco-Innovazione Sicilia” che l’Unita Tecnica Tecnologia Ambientale (UTTAMB) dell’ENEA sta portando avanti dal 2011. Il presente lavoro, inserito nell’ambito del dottorato di ricerca in “Economia e Territorio” (28° ciclo) dell’Universita degli Studi della Tuscia (DEIm) di Viterbo in partnership con l’ENEA, riguarda in particolare gli effetti “territoriali” derivanti dallo sviluppo e dalla implementazione della Piattaforma Regionale di Simbiosi Industriale che l’ENEA sta realizzando nell’ambito del citato progetto. Attraverso l’utilizzo di vari strumenti (public hearing, questionari, interviste, workshop e seminari) si intendono valutare le ricadute che detta Piattaforma, attraverso la creazione di sinergie tra imprese di diversa natura, potra generare nel territorio in termini economici, ambientali e sociali. Il presente lavoro mostra le principali linee del progetto di ricerca nonche l’analisi preliminare degli effetti delle iniziative svolte, ad oggi, dall’ENEA per l’implementazione della Piattaforma
Life cycle assessment of an innovative lithium-ion battery recycling route: A feasibility study
No full textThe number of end-of-life (EoL) lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has increased worldwide. Yet, current recycling technologies are unoptimized. In this study, a recycling route consisting of LIB dismantling, discharge, cell opening, thermal pretreatment, leaching and precipitation was investigated in a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The final goal of the study was to understand the process feasibility, by adopting hotspot and scenario analyses, and economic evaluation as supporting tools. Primary data was used as input for the LCA. Under the base scenario, recycling credits were obtained for the categories of terrestrial toxicity, human non-carcinogenic toxicity, and mineral resource scarcity. Citric acid use was the main contributor to overall impacts in 13 out of 18 impact categories. The analysis of the best-case scenario, which simulated possible improvements during scale-up, resulted in reduced impacts for every impact category as compared to the base scenario. Citric acid reuse was essential for impact mitigation. The improved recycling process (best-case) of 1 battery pack (3.8 kg, 148.5 Wh) led to credits in the categories of mineral resource scarcity (−0.278 ± 0.0105 kg Cu eq), human non-carcinogenic toxicity (−34.3 ± 1.9 kg 1,4-DCB eq), marine ecotoxicity (−3.05 ± 0.204 kg 1,4-DCB eq), freshwater ecotoxicity (−2.46 ± 0.162 kg 1,4-DCB eq), terrestrial ecotoxicity (−178 ± 8.69 kg 1,4-DCB eq), and freshwater eutrophication (−0.00095 ± 0.000154 kg P eq). A preliminary economic evaluation resulted in revenues of €298.59 ± 12.93 and material and energy costs of €97.42 ± 1.95 per battery pack. Anode recovery was profitable
Demolition and construction recycling unified management: the DECORUM platform for improvement of resource efficiency in the construction sector
No full textThe construction and public work sectors are faced with a series of challenges that will need to be addressed in moving towards an effective circular economy model. The aim of this work was to develop a simple but holistic approach to the management of construction projects in order to ensure compliance with technical standards and environmental criteria right from the set-up phase and to foster an increased use of recycled materials and saving of natural resources. To achieve this goal, a multi-user platform was designed and developed to manage and control all stages and procedures of public work and provide support to all those involved throughout the various stages of implementation. The platform included (1) technical standards; (2) environmental law; (3) databases; (4) technical specifications for public tenders; (5) a tool to assess environmental impacts and circularity; (6) a marketplace to facilitate and transparently manage trading of natural, artificial, and recycled aggregates; (7) interactive catalogues with declarations of building products; and (8) interactive maps for the geolocation of treatment plants, producers, and construction sites. The platform, currently undergoing validation by public administrations, will represent a valuable tool for use in enabling public work contractors to reduce environmental impacts, promote an informed and transparent use of recycled products, and to encourage a more sustainable use of natural resources. The platform will facilitate the application of green public procurement (GPP) which, although mandatory in several countries (e.g., in Italy), continues to encounter a series of problems in implementation. The platform will also enhance compliance with technical standards and minimum environmental criteria (MEC), as recently defined for buildings and road construction and maintenance, thus expanding the market for artificial and recycled aggregates with certified products and guaranteed quality
Project green symbiosis 2014 - II phase: results from an industrial symbiosis pilot project in Emilia Romagna region (Italy)
No full textThe Project “Green - Industrial Symbiosis” (G-IS), in Emilia Romagna region (IT), took place in two phases: phase I, 05.2013 – 03.2014; phase II, 10. 2014 – 10.2015. During the first phase, it was completed the first part of the pilot project of industrial symbiosis (IS) in Emilia-Romagna, which involved 13 companies in the agro-industrial sector, 7 laboratories of the High Technology Network, with Unioncamere and Aster (promoters) and ENEA (technical and scientific coordinator). The first phase generated 90 potential synergies among the 10 companies that shared their input-output resources. During the second phase, promoted by ASTER and organized with the technical and scientific coordination of ENEA, some of the most interesting synergies of the first phase were selected, in order to go from the identification of potential synergies to its actual implementation. In particular, 3 pathways of industrial symbiosis were chosen, in which waste food industry outputs were destined to three different types of exploitation (production of biopolymers, nutraceuticals, energy recovery). The pathway that a resource must take to shift from being a company's output to another company’s input, involves several steps that require compliance and verification of regulatory, technical, logistical and economic issues. All these factors have been examined and reported in 3 Operative Manuals for the companies involved, each one arranged for a different symbiosis’ pathway. The manuals consist of two sections: an operative and a documental part (technical dossier). The operative part describes the transformation path of resources, with a layout in which each block and intermediate vector represent a passage of the resource (e.g. exit from the producing company, transport, valorisation). Under the layout, a synthesis table refers, for each stage, to the necessary requirements, reported in full in the technical dossier. Links on the synthesis table refer, for example, to laws or techniques that the specific flow, in each step, must comply with. These links also define, with a predefined color, if that aspect can be considered as an obstacle to the progress of the symbiosis
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