Search results for "Environmental engineering"

Quantifying sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of a new mathematical model for the evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions from membrane bioreactors

2015

Abstract A new mathematical model able to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in terms of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) for a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) is presented. The proposed mathematical model is of the Activated Sludge Model (ASM) family and takes into account simultaneously both biological and physical processes (e.g., membrane fouling). An analysis of the key factors and sources of uncertainty influencing GHG emissions is also presented. Specifically, the standardized regression coefficient, the Extended-FAST and a Monte Carlo based method are employed for assessing model factors which influence three performance indicators: effluent quality index, operational…

LCA of a solar heating and cooling system equipped with a small water–ammonia absorption chiller

2012

The development of renewable energy technologies is a critical tool for reducing climate change and the reliance on fossil fuels. However, renewable energy technologies cannot be considered totally clean because they require energy consumption and have environmental impacts that cannot be neglected during their life cycle. In this paper, the life cycle assessment methodology was applied to assess resource use and other environmental burdens related to the entire life-cycle steps of a solar cooling plant. The investigated system works with an absorption chiller assisted by a solar plant. Two back-up configurations (hot back-up and cold back-up) were examined in two localities: Palermo (south…

Towards achieving net-zero energy communities: Investigation of design strategies and seasonal solar collection and storage net-zero

2019

Abstract This paper explores a solar mixed-use community and its potential towards achieving net-zero energy status. This mixed-use community combines residential and commercial/institutional buildings. Energy performance of this neighbourhood is estimated in terms of energy consumption and generation potential by means of building integrated PV systems. A solar thermal collector system combined with a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) is designed to investigate the impact on the overall performance of the neighbourhood. The design of solar thermal collectors and the sizing of short-term thermal energy storage is based on the analysis of the thermal loads for heating and domestic hot w…

THE POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN SICILY FOR WATER DESALINATION APPLICATIONS

2007

Lemongrass Plant as Potential Sources of Reinforcement for Biocomposites: A Preliminary Experimental Comparison Between Leaf and Culm Fibers

2022

AbstractNowadays, the world requires more sustainable and eco-friendly materials to replace or limit the usage of synthetic materials. Moreover, several researchers focused their attention on the use of agricultural sources as reinforcement for biocomposites since they are abundant, cost-effective and environmentally favorable sources. In such a context, purpose of the present paper is the evaluation of lemongrass plant (Cymbopogon flexuosus) as possible source of natural reinforcement for biocomposites. To this aim, natural fibers were obtained from the leaf and the stem of lemongrass and their main properties were compared for the first time. To this scope, mechanical and thermal characte…

Photocatalytic oxidation of nitrobenzene and phenylamine: Pathways and kinetics

2007

WOS: 000245150800018

Reverse electrodialysis with saline waters and concentrated brines: A laboratory investigation towards technology scale-up

2015

Abstract The use of concentrated brines and brackish water as feed solutions in reverse electrodialysis represents a valuable alternative to the use of river/sea water, allowing the enhancement of power output through the increase of driving force and reduction of internal stack resistance. Apart from a number of theoretical works, very few experimental investigations have been performed so far to explore this possibility. In the present work, two RED units of different size were tested using artificial saline solutions. The effects of feed concentration, temperature and flowrate on process performance parameters were analysed, adopting two different sets of membranes. These experiments all…

A brine evaporative cooler/concentrator for autonomous thermal desalination units

2011

In recent years growing attention has been paid to the problem of brine disposal due to the raising awareness of significant environmental issues related to the use of desalination processes for fresh water production. This is particularly relevant when desalination units are located in remote sites, characterised by major complexity in the construction and management of intake and outfall structures. In the present work a novel device, named brine evaporative cooler/concentrator (BECC, patent pending), has been developed for coupling with small-scale thermal desalination plants in order to reduce the problem of brine disposal. Such device fulfils two different functions: i) cooling of the …

Performance of the first reverse electrodialysis pilot plant for power production from saline waters and concentrated brines

2016

Abstract This work reports experimental data collected for the first time on a full-scale RED pilot plant operated with natural streams in a real environment. The plant – located in the South of Italy – represents the final accomplishment of the REAPower project ( www.reapower.eu ). A RED unit equipped with almost 50 m2 of IEMs (125 cell pairs, 44x44 cm2) was tested, using both artificial and natural feed solutions, these latter corresponding to brackish water (≈0.03 M NaClequivalent) and saturated brine (4–5 M NaClequivalent). A power output up to around 40 W (i.e. 1.6 W/m2 of cell pair) was reached using natural solutions, while an increase of 60% was observed when testing the system with…

Towards 1 kW power production in a reverse electrodialysis pilot plant with saline waters and concentrated brines

2017

Abstract Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a promising technology to extract energy from salinity gradients, especially in the areas where concentrated brine and saline waters are available as feed streams. A first pilot-scale plant was recently built in Trapani (Italy), and tested with real brackish water and brine from saltworks. The present work focuses on the scale-up of the pilot plant, reaching more than 400 m 2 of total membrane area installed and representing the largest operating RED plant so far reported in the literature. With a nominal power capacity of 1 kW, the pilot plant reached almost 700 W of power capacity using artificial brine and brackish water, while a 50% decrease in …