1,721,092 research outputs found
Applicazione della metodologia LCA ad un capannone industriale prefabbricato in cemento armato precompresso
No full textAssessment of biowaste losses through unsound waste management practices in rural areas and the role of home composting
No full textThe paper examines the biowaste management issues across rural areas of Romania in the context of poor waste management infrastructure in the last decade (2003–2012). Biowaste is the main fraction of municipal waste, thus a proper management is a key challenge in order to sustain a bioeconomy in the near future. The amount of biowaste generated and uncollected by waste operators is generally uncontrolled disposed if not recovered through home composting. The paper points out the role of home composting in diverting the biowaste from wild dumps and landfills for the regions covered or not by waste collection services. Home composting and the biowaste losses are further assessed based on several scenarios (worse-case, pessimistic, realistic, optimistic) where the net loads of greenhouse gasses (GHG) are calculated at national and regional levels. The transition of home composting techniques, from open piles to plastic bins with respect to standard guidelines will improve the home composting performance in terms of compost quality and net GHG's savings, supporting a bio-based economy which will lead towards a sustainable rural development. Regional disparities are revealed across Romanian counties and the paper opens new research perspectives regarding which options should be adopted by counties and rural municipalities in the biowaste management process
LCA in edilizia. Una guida per una progettazione ecosostenibile
No full textL'analisi del ciclo di vita prende in considerazione tutte le fasi caratterizzanti il ciclo di vita di un dato prodotto e i conseguenti impatti sull'ambiente. Il presente articolo si propone con l'obiettivo di illustrare tale iter , relativamente all'applicazione della metodologia LCA l settore edile per edifici di nuova costruzione, al fine di assicurarne l'eco-compatibilità in tutto il ciclo di vita
Correlation amongst gas barrier behaviour, temperature and thickness in BOPP films for food packaging usage: A lab-scale testing experience
No full textPermeability of gases in polymers depends strongly upon the polymer structure, the gas type, as well as the conditions of temperature and film thickness. The in-use temperature and thickness of the polymer membrane can play the most important role on preservation and prolongation of food shelf-life. In this work the gas transmission parameters of six Bi-axially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) films were investigated as a function of temperature, gas type and thickness. O2, CO2, N2, N2O, C2H4, Air (79%N2/21%O2) and Modified Atmosphere (MA) of 79%N2O/21%O2 were used as test gas. In order to understand the kinetic of the process, by the activation energy determination, samples were tested at a different temperature, from 10 °C to 40 °C. Gas Transmission Rate (GTR), solubility (S) and diffusion (D) relationship was investigated. The gas/thickness/temperature correlation was reflected in the obtained perm-selectivity ratios and a good linear correlation was found only at 23 °C. Deviations recorded were attributed to temperature fluctuations. Gas transmission process follows the Arrhenius model while the solubility/diffusion process shows consistent deviation, correlated to the temperature and the thickness of the film. By Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) a different crystallinity percentage was recorded, whose influence was evidenced only in the sorption/diffusion processes. The melting temperature remained unchanged. FT-IR Spectroscopy was also carried out to confirm the morphology
A comprehensive review of environmental and operational issues of constructed wetland systems
No full textConstructed wetlands (CWs) are increasingly gaining ground
for the treatment of domestic and agricultural wastewaters,
coal mine drainage, and stormwater runoff, mainly because of
a set of beneficial features, including environmental quality
preservation, landscape conservation, and economic convenience.
These would not be possible without activities such as
monitoring and harvesting that can significantly contribute to
both pollutant removal efficiency and sustainability of CWs.
This review investigates this field of research by touching those
themes and close-related ones, to contribute to enhancing the
state of the art and the knowledge on CWs
The (dominance based) rough set approach applied to air pollution in a high risk rate industrial area
No full textThis study presents a Rough Set Analysis (RSA) application, partially based on dominance in relation to air micro-pollution management in an industrial place with a high environmental risk rate, such as the industrial area of Siracusa, located in the South of Italy. This new data analysis instrument has been applied to different decisional problems in various fields with considerable success. Therefore, it is believed that it could also be used for the environmental issue related to multi-attribute sorting, considering both qualitative and quantitative attributes and criteria, such as sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), Methane (CH4), nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMCH) and some meteorological variables, such as air temperature and the relative humidity index. After outlining some basic concepts of the RSA theory, the most significant results obtained from the RSA specific application are presented and discussed particularly examples of decisional rules, attribute relevance and some other methodological features are offered to improve understanding and advantages of the approach. The decisional rules obtained can also be usefully implemented in order to explain and manage the risk of air pollution
An attributional Life Cycle Assessment application experience to highlight environmental hotspots in the production of foamy polylactic acid trays for fresh-food packaging usage
Full text linkFood packaging systems mainly serve to contain and protect foods during their shelf-lives. However, it is well known that a package is responsible for several environmental impacts associated with its entire life-cycle. Therefore, package design should be developed taking into account not only cost, food shelf-life and safety, as well as user-friendliness, but also environmental sustainability. To address and improve this latter issue, environmental evaluation methodologies need to be applied: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one amongst them, and can be considered a valid tool for this purpose. Indeed, it has been long applied in the food packaging field to highlight both environmental hotspots and improvement potentials for more eco-friendly products. In this context, this paper reports upon an LCA application experience in the production of foamy Polylactic Acid (PLA) trays for fresh-food packaging applications. The study highlighted that the highest environmental impacts come from the production and transport of the granules, so remarking the need to search for alternative biopolymers. In this regard, the results of this study will form the base for another one regarding the assessment of second-generation PLA granules, namely those produced by processing both wastes and wastewaters from starchy crop cultivation systems and processing plants
Resources, Collaborators, and Neighbors: The Three-Pronged Challenge in the Implementation of Bioeconomy Regions
No full textOver the last decade, the bioeconomy has become increasingly important and visible in
international policy agendas, with several strategies being recently developed. The implementation of
bio-based technologies mostly takes place on a regional scale. Therefore, from a regional perspective,
a key question revolves around what main challenges are associated with technological developments
that could catalyze the implementation of sustainable bioeconomy regions. In this study, a cross-cutting
analysis was carried out to determine these challenges. First, interviews were conducted with industry
practitioners and scientists working in the bioeconomy field. These interviews were supplemented
with a literature review to determine the status quo of bioeconomy strategies and their implementation,
particularly on a regional level. A multidisciplinary workshop was then organized to identify the
most relevant challenges in the short- and mid-term associated with establishing bioeconomy regions.
The results show that there is a three-pronged challenge in innovative technological development from
a regional perspective: (1) Resources: The establishment of sustainable regional feedstock strategies
and supplies for supporting the bio-industrial sector; (2) collaborators: The establishment of a regional
“critical mass” by fostering supply chain clusters and networks; and (3) neighbors: Understanding
the local dynamics of societal trends and preferences and social acceptance of bio-technologies and
their representative bio-based products
Energy consumption of rainfed durum wheat cultivation in a Mediterranean area using three different soil management systems
No full textAn energy analysis comparing three different soil management systems was carried out in Southern Italy using data collected in a five-year field experiment, with the aim of identifying the most energy efficient system.
On average, because of a little more energy is demanded (13.3 GJ ha-1) and a higher grain yield is obtained (2.20 t ha-1) in the Intensive case than the other two practices, the total Energy Input required to produce 1kg durum wheat was higher in the No tillage-based system (11.05 MJ kg-1) than in the Intensive (6.80 MJ kg-1) and the Minimum one (6.78 MJ kg-1).
The highest contribution to Energy Input derived from nitrogen fertiliser followed by diesel fuel. In this regard, No-tillage allowed for reduction of diesel energy consumption by about 70% and 60% compared with Intensive tillage and Minimum tillage, respectively.
The Minimum tillage practice showed the best energy performance, because it determined the following results on an average base: the highest energy ratio (4.69) and the highest energy profitability (3.69); the lowest energy intensity (5.86 MJ kg-1). Therefore, MT may be considered as the practice exhibiting the best energy performance and representing the viable trade-off between IT and NT
Beyond the Water Footprint: a new framework proposal to assess freshwater environmental impact and consumption
No full textBecause the assessment of grey water according to the Water Footprint Network (WFN) permits to quantify the dilution volume to restore water quality considering the substance that demands the highest dilution volume, the effect of other polluting substances (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, pesticides) applied on field cannot be evaluated. Nevertheless, the environmental load of all these substances cannot be neglected, especially when huge amounts of organic fertilisers are spread. Additionally, because blue water quantification with WFN permits to analyse only the water consumed by the crop (mainly for irrigation purposes), a method assessing the gross irrigation volume effectively applied on field was used (i.e. Water Footprint Applied - WFA). A Pollution Water Indicator (PWI) was developed to denote the intensity of water pollution identifying the effect of the main polluting substances from crop cultivation. For PWI, both grey water and the water-related environmental impact categories (freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and freshwater ecotoxicity) evaluated by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were considered. In this context, this study proposes a framework for assessing both the environmental impact and the consumption of freshwater. Different organic fertilisers spreading techniques with different timing of incorporation and straw management and three irrigation technologies with variable technical efficiency were compared for WFA quantification of maize grain production in Northern Italy. With regard to organic fertilisers spreading, PWI resulted better when nutrients leaching is reduced, while it was worse with fast soil incorporation and direct soil injection of organic fertilisers that, reducing ammonia volatilisation, involve higher nitrate losses. As concerns irrigation, sprinkler and drip irrigation are highly recommended because they permit to apply water volumes much close to the consumed ones, with blue water between −33% and −60% of total WFA with drip instead of surface irrigation
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