81 research outputs found
Storage potential and residual emissions from fresh and stabilized waste samples from a landfill simulation experiment
No full textBiofuels production from waste animal fats: investigation on conversion treatments with a limited influence on the materials’ initial physico-chemical properties
No full textBioliquids from raw waste animal fats: an alternative renewable energy source
No full textThree different waste animal fats (bone, chicken, and tallow) have been studied to evaluate whether they could be used as
bioliquids according to the European Regulation (EC) No.1069/2009. The analyses showed that they contained an unsuitable
amount of free fatty acids (FFA) and impurities content (total sediment) if compared with the standards for power generation (set
by UNI 6579:2009), with the exception of tallow fat (class C, UNI/TS 11163:2018). A series of physical-chemical processes
already applied at industrial scale have been considered to manage the acid value and the impurities content. The FFA esterification
was carried out with methanol, comparing two acid catalysts (sulfuric acid or Amberlyst – 15), followed by neutralization
of the residual acidity with two different bases (ammonia solution or solid sodium carbonate monohydrate) when necessary. The
final purification has been achieved by treatment with powdered activated carbon. In particular, the bone fat was studied as
reference material, having the worst initial physical-chemical characteristics. The UNI/TS 11163:2018 standard would allow to
classify the bioliquid from bone fat belonging to class B, while the one from chicken would require further degumming and
purification processes to reduce the metals, sulfur, and phosphorus content
Spent coffee grounds as a green source of highly active carbon sorbents
No full textThe coffee production amounted to approximately 159 million of 60 kg bags worldwide in 2012-2013, with the consequent formation of a similar quantity of residues and waste during the whole material life cycle, from the harvesting to the brewing. Furthermore, the consumption demand is increasing year by year. According with the directive 2008/98/EC, the waste production should be minimized through reuse and recycle, reducing the burden of waste management and disposal. This approach is useful to gain a circular economy and it could be improved by political incentives and by increasing the economic value of the waste. Based on these perspectives, the research project is focused on the conversion of spent coffee grounds, coming from different brands, into highly active porous sorbents by mean of pyrolysis. The treatment process was tested at different experimental conditions to obtain the best yield in terms of BET and adsorption capacity. Moreover, the pyrolysis was performed changing one parameter time by time, in order to understand the influence in the process of the temperature, the typology of inert and the related flow rate, the reagents’ dosage and the holding time. The initial coffee mass and the temperature ramp (10 °C/min) were kept constant for each experiment. At the end of the thermal treatment, each sample was washed with the same amount of deionized water until neutral pH and dried in oven at 105 °C. The obtained activated carbon was characterized by different microscopy and spectrophotometric techniques (i.e. ESEM, Raman, XRD, XPS, solid 13C NMR) together with the BET analysis, with the purpose to determine its physical and chemical nature. Finally, the adsorption capacity of each sample was evaluated for different pigments: methylene blue (cationic), erythrosine-b (anionic) and bromothymol blue (non-ionic). Their initial concentration and the amount of activated carbon used in the test were arbitrarily set. A fixed volume of pigments’ solution (100 ml) underwent adsorption and the concentration changing in time was evaluated with a UV-VIS spectrophotometer. Two different commercial activated carbons were analyzed as reference. They are commonly used for the treatment of potable water and wastewater, in particular for the removal of mobile persistent organic contaminants
New fluorinated isocyanides: attempting the synthesis of 4-iodo-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroisocyanide
No full textProduction of porous ceramic materials from spent fluorescent lamps
No full textSpent fluorescent lamps (SFL) are classified as hazardous materials in the European Waste Catalogue, which includes residues from various hi‐tech devices. The most common end‐of‐life treatment of SFL consists in the recovery of rare earth elements from the phosphor powders, with associated problems in the management of the glass residues, which are usually landfilled. This study involves the manufacturing of porous ceramics from both the coarse glass‐rich fraction and the phosphor‐enriched fraction of spent fluorescent lamps. These porous materials, realizing the immobilization of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) within a glass matrix, are suggested for application in buildings as thermal and acoustic insulators. The proposed process is characterized by: (i) alkaline activation (2.5 M or 1 M NaOH aqueous solution); (ii) pre‐curing at 75 °C; (iii) the addition of a surfactant (Triton X‐100) for foaming at high‐speed stirring; (iv) curing at 45 °C; (v) viscous flow sintering at 700 °C. All the final porous ceramics present a limited metal leaching and, in particular, the coarse glass fraction activated with 2.5 M NaOH solution leads to materials comparable to commercial glass foams in terms of mechanical properties
Intensifiers
No full textThe label ‘intensifiers’ (or ‘emphatics’) groups together words, widely attested crosslinguistically (e.g. Eng. x-self, Germ. selbst, Ital. stesso, Lat. ipse, Japanese zisin and zibun, Mandarin zı j ĭetc.), whose main function is to signal some sort of emphasis or focus with respect to a nominal head they are adjoined to in the sentence, as in The author herself will present the book. In addition to the term ‘intensifiers’
(Moravcsik 1972; Edmondson and Plank 1978), there exist many other labels in the relevant literature to define this sub-class of functional words, which reflect the (anything but closed) debate on their actual categorial status. This entry discuss the origin and the function of the prototypical Ancient Greek intensifier, autós, which is classified among (demonstrative) pronouns
The power of systems : how policy sciences opened up the Cold War world
No full textIn The Power of Systems, Egle Rindzeviciute introduces readers to one of the best-kept secrets of the Cold War: the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, an international think tank established by the U.S. and Soviet governments to advance scientific collaboration. From 1972 until the late 1980s IIASA in Austria was one of the very few permanent platforms where policy scientists from both sides of the Cold War divide could work together to articulate and solve world problems. This think tank was a rare zone of freedom, communication, and negotiation, where leading Soviet scientists could try out their innovative ideas, benefit from access to Western literature, and develop social networks, thus paving the way for some of the key science and policy breakthroughs of the twentieth century.
Ambitious diplomatic, scientific, and organizational strategies were employed to make this arena for cooperation work for global change. Under the umbrella of the systems approach, East-West scientists co-produced computer simulations of the long-term world future and the anthropogenic impact on the environment, using global modeling to explore the possible effects of climate change and nuclear winter. Their concern with global issues also became a vehicle for transformation inside the Soviet Union. The book shows how computer modeling, cybernetics, and the systems approach challenged Soviet governance by undermining the linear notions of control on which Soviet governance was based and creating new objects and techniques of government
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