Search results for " Biomass"
showing 10 items of 174 documents
FLUSSI TURISTICI E GESTIONE DEI RIFIUTI: IL CASO DI PANTELLERIA
2013
Ogni estate migliaia di turisti raggiungono l’isola siciliana per le vacanze e con loro aumenta la produzione di rifiuti e i problemi legati alla sua gestione. Di fronte a queste preoccupazioni, la Facoltà di Architettura dell’Università di Palermo insieme al Dipartimento di Energia, Ingegneria dell’Informazione e Modelli Matematici dell’Università di Palermo, hanno elaborato uno studio di fattibilità che prevede l’inserimento di un impianto per la valorizzazione energetica dei RSU e delle biomasse.
PCL/PEG based membranes for bacterial cells immobilization stimulate actinorhodin antibiotic production in S. coelicolor
2015
The actinomycetes, Gram-positive filamentous bacteria, are the most prolific source of natural antibiotics. At industrial level, antibiotics from actinomycetes are usually produced at low levels by mean of fermentative processes in submerged cultivations, where one of the major factors negatively affecting bioproductivity is the phenomenon of a pellet-shaped biomass growth. The strategies based on cell-immobilization, which were already proven improving bacterial bioprocess productivity, could stimulate antibiotic production in actinomycetes.
HYDROTHERMAL LIQUEFACTION OF WASTE BIOMASS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FUELS
2021
Rimboschimenti e uso energetico della biomassa forestale nei Monti Sicani (Sicilia occidentale)
2014
Nell’ottica di un utilizzo energetico sostenibile delle biomasse provenienti dalle utilizzazioni forestali è di fondamentale importanza conoscere la consistenza e le esigenze ecologiche delle formazioni forestali che caratterizzano il territorio regionale. In questo lavoro è illustrato uno studio sulla consistenza e sulle caratteristiche ecologiche e strutturali dei rimboschimenti presenti nel territorio dei Monti Sicani. L’analisi è finalizzata a quantificare la disponibilità di biomassa forestale residuale ottenibile dalla gestione sostenibile di tali popolamenti e valutare il possibile uso energetico. L’analisi è stata condotta sulla base dei dati disponibili per l’area di studio presso …
BIOCHARS IN SOILS: TOWARDS THE REQUIRED LEVEL OF SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING
2017
The special issue on Biochar as an Option for Sustainable Resource Management Key priorities in biochar research for future guidance of sustainable policy development have been identified by expert assessment within the COST Action TD1107. The current level of scientific understanding (LOSU) regarding the consequences of biochar application to soil were explored. Five broad thematic areas of biochar research were addressed: soil biodiversity and ecotoxicology, soil organic matter and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil physical properties, nutrient cycles and crop production, and soil remediation. The highest future research priorities regarding biochar’s effects in soils were: functional …
Soil Quality as Affected by Intensive Versus Conservative Agricultural Managements
2017
Soils, the earth’s skin, are at the intersection of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The persistence of life on our planet depends on the maintenance of soils as they constitute the biological engines of earth. Human population has increased exponentially in recent decades, along with the demand for food, materials, and energy, which have caused a shift from low-yield and subsistence agriculture to a more productive, high-cost, and intensive agriculture. However, soils are very fragile ecosystems and require centuries for their development, thus within the human timescale they are not renewable resources. Modern and intensive agriculture implies serious concern about…
Life Cycle Environmental Assessment of Energy Valorization of the Residual Agro-Food Industry
2021
This study assesses the potential environmental impacts related to the energy valorization of agro-food industry waste thought the Life Cycle Assessment methodology (ISO 14040). The system examined consists of a real anaerobic digester coupled with a combined anaerobic digester and heat and power plant (AD-CHP) operating in Sicily. The analysis accounts for all the impacts occurring from the delivery of the biomass to the AD-CHP plant up to the electricity generation in the CHP. The main outcomes of the study include the eco-profile of the energy system providing electricity and the assessment of the contribution of each life cycle phase aimed at identifying the potential improvement area. …
Effect of transition metals and homogeneous hydrogen producers in the hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge
2022
Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of sewage sludge (SS) was performed in the presence of metallic Zn, Fe and Ni to investigate their effect on the performances of the process in terms of product yields and quality. Experiments were performed in subcritical water at 350 ◦C for 10 min using each metal individually and in the presence of homogenous hydrogen producers like formic acid (FA) and KOH. Interesting results were obtained with Zn that when used alone or in the presence of KOH, increased the cumulative biocrude (BC) yields and resulted in energy recoveries (ER) higher than 100% with respect to initial energy content of the biomass, thus indicating that HTL of SS is globally endothermic. …
Reactivity of cellulose during hydrothermal carbonization of lignocellulosic biomass
2020
Abstract Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of pure cellulose (CE) and birchwood (BW) samples was carried out at temperatures between 160 and 280 °C, 0.5 h residence time and biomass-to-water ratio 1:5, to investigate the reactivity of cellulose in lignocellulosic biomass. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the CE samples remained unaltered at temperatures up to 220 °C, but were significantly decomposed at 230 °C producing a thermal recalcitrant aromatic and high energy-dense material. FTIR showed that dehydration and aromatization reactions occurred at temperature equal or higher than 230 °C for the CE samples while a similar incre…
Research focusing on plant performance in constructed wetlands and agronomic application of treated wastewater – A set of experimental studies in Sic…
2019
Constructed wetlands are sustainable technologies for the treatment of wastewater. These biological systems have been widely studied throughout the world for more than 30 years; however, most studies have focused on the effects of design and engineering on pollutant removal from wastewater. Undoubtedly, agro-technical aspects have been given too little consideration by research. This paper reports the main results of a set of experiments carried out on two pilot horizontal subsurface flow systems in Sicily (Italy). Festuca, Lolium and Pennisetum spp. in combination and three emergent macrophytes-Arundo donax L., Cyperus alternifolius L. and Typha latifolia L.-alone, were assessed. The aim o…