Search results for "GREENHOUSE"
showing 10 items of 357 documents
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…
ECO-PROFILES OF INNOVATIVE ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR DOMESTIC AND RESIDENTIAL APPLICATIONS
2015
The exponential growth of distributed generation systems (mainly from solar energy through the use of photovoltaic) and the new release on energy markets of new generation technologies, with smaller dimension, are pushing towards rethinking energy systems. "Smart buildings" with the capacity to produce, store and manage flow of information's and energy will become the milestone of the future distribution networks (smart buildings to smart grid). The goal of this study is to evaluate the ecoprofile of 1 kWh of electricity, selected as a functional unit, generated by microcogenerator fuel cells as SOFC. The analysis was performed using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, which allows to co…
A plant-wide wastewater treatment plant model for carbon and energy footprint: Model application and scenario analysis
2019
Abstract A new model for accounting carbon and energy footprint of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is proposed. The model quantifies direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to biological and physical processes of a WWTP. The model takes into account several innovative aspects with respect to already available literature models: i. kinetic/mass-balances; ii. nitrification as a two-step process; iii. nitrous oxide (N2O) formation during nitrification and denitrification both in dissolved and off-gas forms. A full-scale application has been performed by adopting the case study of a real WWTP. A scenario analysis was performed to quantify the influence of: composition of …
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 …
Diffuse and focused carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the Sousaki geothermal system, Greece
2006
[1] We report first data on chemical composition of the gas emitted by the geothermal system of Sousaki, Greece. Gas manifestations display typical geothermal gas composition with CO2 as the main component and CH4 and H2S as minor species. Soil gas composition derives from the mixing of two end-members (atmospheric air and geothermal gas). Soil CO2 fluxes range from<2 to 33,400 g m−2 d−1. The estimated diffuse output of hydrothermal CO2, estimated for an area of 0.015 km2, is about 630 g s−1, while a tentative estimation of CH4 diffuse output gave a value of about 1.15 g s−1. Point sources accounted for lower flux values of ∼26 g s−1 of CO2, ∼0.1 g s−1 of CH4 and ∼0.02 g s−1 of H2S.
The crucial interactions between climate and soil
2022
Since the birth of soil science, climate has been recognized as a soil-forming factor, along with parent rock, time, topography, and organisms (from which humans were later kept distinct), often prevalent on the other factors on the very long term. But the climate is in turns affected by soils and their management. This paper describes the interrelationships between climate – and its current change – and soil, focusing on each single factor of its formation. Parent material governs, primarily through the particle size distribution, the capacity of soil to retain water and organic matter, which are two main soil-related drivers of the climate. Time is the only unmanageable soil-forming facto…
Habilitation Thesis
2004
This habilitation thesis presents a synthesis of my research activities during the last eight years. I have distinguished, one the one hand, researches concerning rovibrational spectroscopy in a singlet electronic state (Part III) and, on the other hand, those concerning rovibronic spectroscopy in a degenerate electronic state (Part IV).
Introduction: Energy, Policy and the Environment: Modeling Sustainable Development for the North
2011
Climate change is unequivocal (IPCC 2007) and it has brought questions of energy and the environment to the forefront. It is unclear to what extent the traditional environmental concern and environmental policy suffice in addressing issues such as climate change while global greenhouse gases continue to increase at a steady rate, as does the depletion of fossil fuels. Ensuring the availability of energy is the key to maintaining current levels of well-being in societies and growth in the global economy. Given that production and utilization of energy and the environment are inherently interlinked, energy policies and changes in economic structures, which focus on alternative modes of energy…
Carbon Footprint Analysis: Towards a Projects Evaluation Model for Promoting Sustainable Development
2013
Abstract Climate change and global warming are internationally recognized as current issues, driving negative effects on humanity, and being mainly caused by GHG emissions generated both from industrial activities, and from other anthropogenic activities. Restoring the ecological balance requires urgent action to reduce GHG emissions. In this respect, the European Union has set the target to reduce the GHG emissions by 20% until 2020, compared to 1990 level. This paper presents a methodology to develop a model for carbon footprint calculation, for assessing and reducing GHG emissions generated by European funds financed projects.
RESEARCH ON STRAWBERRY PLUG PLANTS IN SOILLESS COLTIVATION
2009
n recent years, the main advances in strawberry cultivation in Italy have regarded cultivation techniques, the use of alternatives to methyl bromide and the type of propagation material used. Fresh plants have taken over from cold-stored plants in 60% of cases. This prompted the need for new studies on the cultivation of fresh strawberry plants carried out in Sicilian nurseries. This report illustrates the results of a trial carried out in Sicily to find the best plug plants grown by four nurseries located at different altitudes (Madonie mountains, Sicani mountains, Nebrodi mountans) and on the plain (Marsala) and with an open cycle soilless system. The trial was carried out at our experime…