Search results for " green"
showing 10 items of 405 documents
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…
Some European green roof norms and guidelines through the lens of biodiversity : do ecoregions and plant traits also matter?
2018
Abstract Green infrastructure and in particular green roofs are crucial to meet the challenge of sustainable urbanisation fostered by the current European Research and Innovation agenda. Several documents were issued in the last decades in Europe for regulating the design, construction and up-keep of roof greening. In particular, the actual German guidelines have been widely adopted as a reference basis for green roof design and regulation worldwide, because of its exhaustiveness and proven building- and landscaping tradition. With the aim to assess the effectiveness of green roof guidelines and norms in supporting plant and soil biodiversity in different ecoregions, and particularly of the…
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.…
The potential of multilayer green roofs for stormwater management in urban area under semi-arid Mediterranean climate conditions
2022
Different low impact development measures have been proposed to make cities more flood-resilient, and recent literature is paying great attention to the evaluation of their direct benefits in terms of flood risk mitigation and the numerous co-benefits that they may offer. This study describes an experimental prototype of a technologically advanced multilayer green roof installed in a Mediterranean urban area (i.e., Palermo, Italy) and explores the results of an analysis of data collected over a one-year monitoring period by a complex sensors network. Multilayer green roofs, or "blue-green" roofs (BGRs), are characterized by a high water retention capacity compared to traditional green roofs…
Immobilized humic substances as sorbents
2005
A new method was developed for the immobilization of humic substances. Humic acids (HA) immobilized onto different carriers were studied as sorbents for organic and inorganic substances. The sorption isotherms of 4-aminoazobenzene, Crystal Violet, Methylene Green, and flavine mononucleotide on immobilized HA show that pH and salt concentration have a significant effect on the sorption process, largely depending on the properties of polymeric matrix. Humic acids from different sources showed differing sorption capacity for the studied groups of substances.
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…
Assessing the effectiveness of green roofs in enhancing the energy and indoor comfort resilience of urban buildings to climate change: Methodology pr…
2021
Abstract The effects of climate change on the built environment represents an important research challenge. Today, green roofs (GRs) represent a viable solution for enhancing energy and urban resilience in the face of climate change, as they can have a positive impact on the building's indoor thermal comfort and energy demand, as well as inducing various environmental benefits (easing urban heat island effects, improving the management of runoff water, reducing air pollution, etc.). Thus, it is important to be able to assess their effectiveness, both today and under future climate conditions, in order to evaluate whether they can also provide a valid long-term solution. In this paper, a sim…
Territorial dissimilarities in energy and climate change
2013
This paper examines regional differences between EU Member States on climate change, green economy and energy in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy, based on current work undertaken for the ESPON SIESTA project . The strategy is a new key policy based on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth to help EU-27 facing global economic crisis and meeting the new environmental challenges such as energy efficiency, climate change, energy security and green economy. Drawing on the key findings and policy recommendations pointed out in the section “Sustainable growth” of the SIESTA project, this paper presents empirical data demonstrating the regional variations across Europe on a range of selec…
Huanglongbing modifies quality components and flavonoid content of 'Valencia' oranges.
2014
BACKGROUND: In order to evaluate the effect of citrus greening disease, or Huanglongbing (HLB), on quality components and flavonoid contents of 'Valencia' oranges, fruit from non-infected trees (control), from infected trees but symptom-less (asymptomatic) and from infected trees and showing clear HLB symptoms (symptomatic) were harvested in March and in May, 2013. Fruit peel, pulp and juice were separated, the main quality components were determined, and hesperidin, nobiletin, tangeretin, narirutin and didymin were quantified using liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Peel colour, total soluble solids and citric acid were similar in control and asymptomatic fruits. Symptomatic fruits were small…
PALERMO SICILIAN GARDEN
2019
Palermo, città-giardino fin dalle sue origini, ha fatto del verde una delle sue espressioni più manifeste. La città conserva come in un scrigno le testimonianze più significative della storia del verde che occupa un ruolo determinante dal punto di vista ambientale, storico e paesaggistico. Agli splendidi parchi della Conca d'Oro che un tempo abbracciavano la città, fanno eco i meravigliosi giardini privati nascosti all’interno di palazzi nobiliari, chiese e monasteri e i parchi e le ville pubbliche, alcuni dei quali trasformati oggi in spazi di verde attrezzato e orti urbani. Il contributo espone gli esiti di uno studio condotto presso il Dipartimento di Architettura dell'Università di Pale…