Search results for " GREENHOUSE"
showing 10 items of 53 documents
A Graphical User Interface as a DSS Tool for GHG Emission Estimation from Water Resource Recovery Facilities
2017
A Grafical User Interface (GUI) for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from WWTPs based on four models aimed at quantifying the gas emissions from the aerated tanks (i.e. CAS and MBR reactor), aerobic digesters, secondary clarifiers and anaerobic digesters have been englobed in a GUI in order to provide a valid decision support system (DSS) to the practitioners. The GUI allows to estimate such emissions for the different WWTP phases considered. The GUI has been developed on MATLAB platform and provides as output the GHG emissions in terms of CO2 and N2O fluxes.
Embodied energy and environmental impacts of a biomass boiler: a life cycle approach
2015
The 2030 policy framework for climate and energy, proposed by the European Commission, aims towards the reduction of European greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in comparison to the 1990 level and to increase the share of renewable energy of at least the 27% of the European's energy consumption of 2030. The use of biomass as sustainable and renewable energy source may be a viable tool for achieving the above goals. However, renewable energy technologies are not totally clean because they cause energy and environmental impacts during their life cycle, and in particular they are responsible of air pollutant emissions. In this context, the paper assesses the energy and environmental impacts of a …
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of protected crops: an Italian case study
2012
Abstract In this paper a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of protected crops was carried out. In particular, energy and environmental performances of peppers, melons, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini in different typologies of greenhouses (tunnel and pavilion) were assessed. The study aimed at assessing the ecoprofile of each product and the share of each life-cycle step on the total environmental impacts. The related process flow chart, the relevant mass and energy flows and the key environmental issues were identified for each product. Collection of primary data was conducted by means of a detailed questionnaire distributed to a producer company in southern Italy. The analysis was devel…
Post Feed-in Scheme Photovoltaic System Feasibility Evaluation in Italy: Sicilian Case Studies
2014
: Thanks to national energy policies, over recent years the Italian photovoltaic (PV) sector has undergone an extraordinary growth, also affecting the primary sector. In this context, Mediterranean greenhouses are well-adapted to photovoltaic systems because they represent one of the most energy-intensive sectors in agriculture. The Italian feed-in scheme ended at the beginning of 2013, making it necessary to investigate the feasibility of photovoltaic systems devoid of any electricity production-related incentives. In this paper, production cost and profitability analyses of photovoltaic electricity have been conducted, considering Mediterranean solar greenhouses in which, thanks to net me…
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wastewater Treatment Plants on a Plantwide Scale: Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis
2016
This paper presents the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of a mathematical model for greenhouse gas emission (GHG) and energy consumption assessment in wastewater treatment plants. A sensitivity analysis was carried out (using two different methods) to determine which model factors have the greatest effect on the predicted values of the GHG production. Further, an uncertainty analysis was carried out to quantify the uncertainty of the key model outputs, such as carbon dioxide production from activated sludge treatment. The results show that influent fractionation factors, which characterize influent composition, have an important role on direct and indirect GHGs production and emission.…
Energy-related GHG emissions balances: IPCC versus LCA
2017
Addressing climate change is one of the greatest environmental challenges. Due to the impact of cities to energy consumption, the involvement of the local authorities in environmental policies is rapidly increasing. The Covenant of Mayors (CoM), launched by the European Commission, is an urban initiative aimed at reducing CO2 emissions. The signatories have to compile the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) balance of their territory and, to do so, they can use the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Moreover, the signatories have to define strategies to reduce the GHG emissions. In this context, authors estimate the GHG balance of an Italian muni…
Comment on "Lethally hot temperatures during the Early Triassic greenhouse".
2013
Sun et al . (Reports, 19 October 2012, p. 366) reconstructed Permian to Middle Triassic equatorial seawater temperatures. After correct temporal positioning of their data points, their presumed trends of temperature changes, and hence their assumption of a one-to-one relationship between putative "lethally hot" seawater temperatures and a disputable equatorial "eclipse" of some organisms, are no longer supported by their data.
Greenhouse gases from wastewater treatment — A review of modelling tools
2016
Nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from wastewater treatment that contribute to its carbon footprint. As a result of the increasing awareness of GHG emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), new modelling, design, and operational tools have been developed to address and reduce GHG emissions at the plant-wide scale and beyond. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art and the recently developed tools used to understand and manage GHG emissions from WWTPs, and discusses open problems and research gaps. The literature review reveals that knowledge on the processes related to N2O formation, especially due to autotrophic biomass, is still incompl…
Assessing soil contamination and temporal trends of heavy metal contents in greenhouses on semiarid land
2018
Information about the behavior and temporal evolution of heavy metals in agricultural soils is limited, particularly about greenhouse soils on semiarid lands, indeed it nonexistent. Western Almería (Southern Spain) is a semiarid land where some 30,000 ha are occupied by greenhouses with high productivity. As these greenhouses are fundamental to the socioeconomic development of this area, they should be maintained and well conserved. However, there are indications that long-term intensive agriculture with considerable agrochemicals use can deteriorate soil quality, which in turn, would reduce productivity and food quality. This study was conducted to investigate soil contamination and the te…
Sustainable technologies for greenhouse systems
2020
The greenhouse cultivation system in European countries represents one of the most energy-intensive sectors in the agriculture and agro-industry sector. In this regard, renewable energies represent an innovative solution to reduce energy costs and environmental impacts. Both, the energy demands and the economic aspects are analyzed with regard to the main energy users, i.e.: heating and cooling systems, lighting and pumping for irrigation. This work considers the use of solar photovoltaic and thermal energy. The use of semi-closed greenhouses is also considered.