The structure of biological communities is a result of the combined action of an environmental selection, determined by the physico-chemical characteristics of an ecosystem. This process results in the selection of the species depending on their tolerances (abiotic filter) and their ability to cope with the interactions among species (biotic filter). In this work, the importance of abiotic filters on the structure of benthic macro-invertebrate guilds was evaluated in a hyperalyne transitional wa...
Autori: Alberto Basset, Aurelia Caldararu, Catalina Iticescu, Enrico Barbone, Ilaria Rosati, Lucian P. Georgescu
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25939

“The Exploratory Workshop „Progress inEnvironmental Engineering, Biotechnology andManagement in The Frame of Knowledge-BasedSustainable Economy” took place in the contextwhen worldwide research shows that the currentindustrial system supports a population that useresources and generates waste, consuming the Earth'ssupply, but who’s biocapacity is far outweighed bythe increased demand of products for a developmentsystem that often works on unsustainable bases.Today’s challenge is the integration ...
Autori:
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=25969

The first edition of the International Conference„ECOIMPULS 2012- Environmental Research andTechnology” plans to open a conference seriesdedicated exclusively environmental issues. Thescientific topics are devoted to the on-going research onenvironmental topics regarding: „Environment – apolitical, economic and social responsibility”,„Water in a changing world”, „ZERO – waste cities”and „ Energy – beyond the conventional”.This scientific event aims to bring togetherprofessionals, academics, scie...
Autori:
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26015

AbstractConstruction and demolition waste (C&DW) are the result of inefficient and unsustainable use of natural resources and energy inproduction processes and other human activities, leading to economic losses. In this paper, the Ecological Footprint (EF), as a newindicator and methodology in environmental sustainability assessment was used to calculate where and how the humans induceimpacts on the environment, in particular due to the generation of C&DW. Ecological footprint makes a re...
Autori: Alessandra Bonoli, Cristina Ghinea, Isabela Maria Simion, Maria Gavrilescu, Nicolae Taranu, Sebastian George Maxineasa
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26070

AbstractThis paper describes preliminary tests carried out in treatment plants serving two different pig farms in Northern Italy, in order toassess the feasibility of implementing biological sulphur removal from biogas produced by anaerobic digestion processes. Thisnormally consists of mixture of CH4, CO2, and other gases; in the presence of sulphur, H2S is also formed, which must beremoved prior to the gas use in thermal engines, to avoid corrosion phenomena. Sulphur removal in the plants consi...
Autori: Andrea G. Capodaglio, Arianna Callegari, Vincenzo Torretta
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26074

AbstractThe transport of hazardous substances is an essential economic activity because it represents a quite relevant percentage of thetotal goods transportation. The risk associated to such an activity is fundamentally related to the possibility of an accidenttriggering that may cause negative environmental and public health consequences. A recent example is the Viareggio accident(2009), which involved the blast of tank wagons containing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and caused more than thirt...
Autori: Vincenzo Torretta
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26200

AbstractThis paper offers a case study of the seismic vulnerability assessment of existing buildings in 18 villages located in the Val d’Agri area (Basilicata region, Southern Italy). A building-by-building inventory was carried out within the urban areas of the villages by trained technicians in two periods collecting typological data for a total of about 17,500 buildings. In the first period (2001-2003), a purposely drawn up inspection form (VSP-2001) based on the usability form adopted in Ita...
Autori: Angelo Masi, Carmelinda Samela, Leonardo Chiauzzi, Luigi Tosco, Marco Vona
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26299

AbstractThis article aims to investigate the Italian initiatives related to legislative simplifications as incentives for the dissemination ofEMSs. An increasingly complex and varied environmental legislation entails many efforts by organisations such as SMEs that donot always have sufficient human and financial resources to meet all the obligations applicable to them.The goal of this article is therefore to analyse the main simplifications, describing their approach, operational modalities and ...
Autori: Fabio Iraldo, Francesco Testa, Marco Frey, Tiberio Daddi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26323

AbstractWoodland covers about one third of Italy. No longer just a source of products for fuels and buildings, forests also have aprotective function against natural disasters like landslides and they also serve as recreational areas for people.Our primary goal was to define an overall method for assessing the possible uses of woodland areas to help those preparing forestplanning instruments for evaluating the productive, protective and recreational functions of the woodlands. We quantified, usi...
Autori: Alessandro Toccolini, Giulio Senes, Natalia Fumagalli, Paolo Ferrario
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26382

EVENT...
Autori:
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26420

Abstract Individual exposure to particulate matter (PM) fractions is mainly determined by indoor source characteristics and personal activity patterns. This paper discusses experimental results obtained through the analysis of individual exposure of women to PM10 and PM2.5. To this purpose, 15 volunteers of different ages and lifestyles living/working in Ceccano (Italy) were selected and their exposures to PM10 and PM2.5 were measured through a handheld photometer. They also filled out a tim...
Autori: Giorgio Buonanno
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26703

Abstract Issues concerning the treatment and the recovery/disposal of sludge derived from the municipal WWTPs (Wastewater Treatment Plants) are gaining importance both in Italy and abroad. In Lombardy Region this aspect is particularly relevant due to both the amount of sludge produced and its remarkable reuse in agricultural soils. This paper discusses different strategies for land application of sludge in order to provide technical and regulatory guidance at regional level. The work is bas...
Autori: Maria Cristina Collivignarelli
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26769

Abstract In the context of biogas sustainability assessment, a promising way to reach greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction and fossil energy savings is the anaerobic digestion (AD) of both animal manure and energy crops. Nowadays, more than 1,100 AD plants are working in Italy, mostly located in Northern Regions. To those plants with an electrical power lower than 1 MW, strong public incentives were given, therefore, several of them have been put into operation; this entailed increasing cereal ...
Autori: Jacopo Bacenetti
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26771

Abstract This paper reports the activity, promoted by the Italian agency for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development (ENEA), in the framework of the project for the development and implementation of the first Italian Platform for Industrial Symbiosis implemented in Sicily (2011-2015). The goals of the project were: to provide a methodology and an instrument for industrial symbiosis implementation at regional scale, to implement a IS Platform as a support to SMEs to ind...
Autori: Laura Cutaia
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26774

Abstract This paper investigates the role of collective organizations created by producers to comply with the WEEE Directive. There are limited case studies on these producer responsibility organizations (PROs) despite the crucial role that they play in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes. An important aspect in order to evaluate the efficiency of these compliance schemes is the analysis of their internal costs including transaction costs. First of all, this research provides an u...
Autori: Marinella Favot
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26781

Abstract The use of non-conventional water resources including treated municipal wastewater has been increasing in the Mediterranean regions over the last decades to cope with water shortages and uneven rainfalls due to climate change. The aim of this paper is to present the first results from two years of experimental field activities carried out in two different demo-places in Southern Italy: the municipal wastewater treatment plants of Noci and Castellana Grotte (Apulia region). In these ...
Autori: Antonio Lonigro
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26787

Abstract The aim of this study is to assess indoor air quality in an educational institute located in a suburban area of the Po plain (Italy). Samplings are carried out in preschool and elementary school classrooms, and also in the garden of the institute, to have information on outdoor levels. The monitoring is performed to determine the most important indoor pollutants (i.e. volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbonyls and NO2), by using diffusive passive samplers. Sampling in the classroo...
Autori: Ivano Vassura
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26797

Abstract The application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for water supply systems has steadily increased in the last 20 years. The city of Milan is presented as case study where the main challenge for the coming 20 years is the efficient use of energy. Opposite to other parts of the world, in Milan, water is neither scarce nor there is a growing need for supply. Given that the system completely relies on pumping, optimization algorithms and sensor technologies can be appl...
Autori: Mario E. Castro Gama
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26826

Abstract Water Distribution Networks (WDN) are large-scale systems whose management is a complex task, with increasing environmental and socio-economic implications worldwide, and with a renewed considerable attention by all stakeholders: local authorities, regulators, environmental groups and the scientific community. WDM managers need to reliably estimate the water demand in the short-term (typically 1 day ahead), in order to operate their reservoirs and treatment plants appropriately to ...
Autori: Antonio Candelieri
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26830

Abstract Decision support systems (DSS) have been wildly developed in the recent decades, in various areas of decision making. In the 21st century, the advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have brought the era of cloud computing, in which network-distributed resources (simulation and optimization models, data, etc.) are integrated in decision support applications. The aim of the present article is to present the application of web-based decision support systems (WBDSS) ...
Autori: Quan Pan
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26832

Abstract The amount of bottom ash produced in Italy from municipal solid waste incinerators is estimated at over a million tons per year. Up to now, it has almost all been disposed of in landfills. Therefore, large profit margins, from both the economic and environmental standpoint, can be expected from the recovery of this material, or at least from a fraction of it. In this study, a rapid procedure for the recovery of different bottom ash fractions based on mechanical sorting and aging was...
Autori: Ivano Vassura
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26853

Abstract Air pollution is an increasing critical issue and the focus of innumerable studies and monitoring activities. In addition to automatic monitoring systems typically used to measure fine dust, ozone, nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide, the use of bioaccumulation monitors can also be exploited, especially when monitoring large areas. The advantage of biomarkers is the very low costs involved compared to traditional monitoring systems. Bio-indicator techniques do not measure directly air q...
Autori: Vincenzo Torretta
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26892

Abstract The results of batch tests of anaerobic dechlorination on groundwater samples collected downgradient from an industrial site in Northern Italy are presented and discussed. The experiments were carried out using sucrose as electron donor at equimolar concentration and at selected excess with respect to the total reducible species. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of sucrose to achieve a complete chlorinated solvents degradations at the specific site, and ...
Autori: Luca Di Palma
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=26895

Three different winter wheat production systems for three European countries (United Kingdom, France and Italy), all with different climatic conditions, soil management and input levels (e.g. tillage, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides) were analysed from an environmental perspective. The intended applications were the analysis and comparison from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective and the identification of the key parameters which have the greatest influence on final results. The ...
Autori: Daniele Cambria
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27102

The contributions in the form of Full papers collected in this Special Issue of Environmental Engineering and Management Journal were selected from lectures and posters of the scientific and technical conferences hosted by Ecomondo 2015 held in Rimini, Italy, 3–6 November, 2015 (http://en.ecomondo.com). ...
Autori:
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27118

We computed the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) to identify the environmental performance of recycled wool by means of data belonging to a real case study in Italy. First, we analyzed inventory data quality by computing the data quality rating (DQR) index, according to the criteria provided by the PEF protocol. Quality of specific and generic data (selected from the Ecoinvent database) was evaluated as excellent and good, respectively. We then quantified the impacts related to each rele...
Autori: Silvia Bamonti
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27121

The Project “Green - Industrial Symbiosis” (G-IS), in Emilia Romagna region (IT), took place in two phases: phase I, 05.2013 – 03.2014; phase II, 10. 2014 – 10.2015. During the first phase, it was completed the first part of the pilot project of industrial symbiosis (IS) in Emilia-Romagna, which involved 13 companies in the agro-industrial sector, 7 laboratories of the High Technology Network, with Unioncamere and Aster (promoters) and ENEA (technical and scientific co...
Autori: Laura Cutaia
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27124

The direct measurement of the nutrients largely contributes to understand how the quality of the information, coming from the instruments, may improve the performances of the plants. The advanced knowledge acquired on the meaning of the signals gives new possibilities to control the biological processes and estimate the operational state of the plant, improving the quality of the effluent and keeping the operational costs as low as possible. Such information, furthermore, can be used to under...
Autori: Carmine Fiorentino
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27127

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is both a technical and administrative procedure with (mandatory) extensive application throughout Europe, holding a primary role in sustainable territorial development. Objectives of the SEA process are to: provide a high level of protection for the environment, and promote sustainability of development by contributing to the integration of appropriate environmental considerations in the adoption and implementation of specific plans and programs. In ...
Autori: Vincenzo Torretta
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27231

The papers collected in this Special Issue of Environmental Engineering and Management Journal were presented as lectures or posters at the scientific and technical conferences hosted by Ecomondo 2016 held in Rimini, Italy, 8–11 November, 2016 (http://en.ecomondo.com). ...
Autori:
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27400

The data presented in this work has been obtained from experimental research aiming towards the usage of natural resources of the National Park of Sila in Calabria, Southern Italy. Such resources are: “Laricio” pine resin, beeswax, mineral inert and charcoal to make natural glues. Furthermore, research has been done to find out if by using small quantities of carbon nanotubes, the strength of adhesion of prepared glues improves. Raw materials were characterized by physico–ch...
Autori: Pierantonio De Luca
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27402

The Rural Development Plan (RDP) represent the most important source of contributions and support for the agro-food sector companies in Italy. The European Community planning tool based on a European Structural and Investment Fund (SIE) allows the agricultural and forestry entrepreneurs to undertake projects and investments for the improvement of their companies. During the 2014-2020 RDP program, the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy), promoted a rewarding mechanism to support those companies car...
Autori: Enrico Gerboni
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27404

The transport of both goods and passengers notably influences air quality. If strong decisions by the governments will not be taken, oil consumption for transport will be nearly doubled in 2030 if compared with 2000, thus considerably increasing the atmospheric presence of greenhouse gases. To boost the purchase of alternatively supplied cars would avoid serious, if not catastrophic, climatic changes. Our investigation shows what the situation is concerning new cars sold by SINA, an official ...
Autori: Veronica Novelli
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27411

Carbon Footprint (CF) is an environmental indicator used in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that allows measuring the total amount of CO2 emissions caused directly or indirectly by an activity or accumulated through the life cycle stages of a product (ISO 14064-14067). In this article CF was used to analyse and assess the environmental impacts of the resources used for the collection of municipal solid waste by the company Contarina S.p.A. Contarina oversees waste management for part of the Treviso...
Autori: Alex Zabeo
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27415

This study presents a Rough Set Analysis (RSA) application, partially based on dominance in relation to air micro-pollution management in an industrial place with a high environmental risk rate, such as the industrial area of Siracusa, located in the South of Italy. This new data analysis instrument has been applied to different decisional problems in various fields with considerable success. Therefore, it is believed that it could also be used for the environmental issue related to multi-att...
Autori: Agata Matarazzo
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27663

As it is widely known, according with European directives, the correct approach for waste management is based on a strict hierarchy of prevention, reuse and recycling, energy recovery and final disposal. In that way, all the countries have to strongly move in urban waste reduction and recycling promotion. The principles of the Circular Economy have become part of the European and other extra Europe Countries regulations. The European pack on Circular Economy suggests ambitious objectives by 203...
Autori: Alfonso Andretta
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27785

Leachate production and management are recognized as one of the greatest problems associated with environmentally operations for landfills. Variations in leachate quality and quantity are related to rainfall depth and its infiltration processes into landfill. This work examines important hydrological problems of the Scarpino site (Genoa, northern Italy), a garbage dump which covers the valley of a first order flash creek with a surface of 100 hectares, located in one of the rainiest area of Ita...
Autori: Marco Mancini
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27788

The Water Safety Plan (WSP) model provides a completely new, cross-cutting and multidisciplinary approach for the risk assessment of drinking water pollution. The concept of “control” of the drinking water supply system (DWSS) is replaced by the concept of “under control”, in order to protect human health. The key factor of the WSP approach is the identification and mitigation or, if possible, the elimination of all factors that may cause a chemical, physical, microbial a...
Autori: Maria Cristina Collivignarelli
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27790

This study aims to monitor Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and odour annoyance perceived by the exposed population living nearby a petroleum plant through an integrated high temporal resolution methodological approach. The area under investigation is considered one of the most critical industrial areas of the South of Italy (Basilicata) because of presence of the largest Italian petroleum plant, called the "Center Olio Val d'Agri" (COVA). In fact, VOCs and odours emitted from ext...
Autori: Alessia Di Gilio
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27791

The current trends in Mediterranean climate indicate longer periods of drought and hot temperature in summer and shorter and more intense precipitation in spring and autumn, which require reconsidering the current water management. The Emilia-Romagna coastal area (Northeastern Adriatic Sea, Italy) is entirely drained by a network of channels connected to more than 70 water pumping stations. Although drainage is fundamental in wet periods to keep the land dry, during long periods of stable wea...
Autori: Nicolas Greggio
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27792

Water sea pollution is influenced mainly by anthropogenic causes due to industrial and municipal activities which affect the quality of sea water, sediments and the whole ecosystem. In this paper, the correlation between contamination sources and the environmental quality of marine sediments was analyzed through multivariate analysis, in particular Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Cluster Analysis (CA) and Correlation Analysis. Considering the case study of Mar Piccolo in Taranto (Ionian Sea...
Autori: Claudia Labianca
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27793

The development of Multi-Energy Systems (MES) or District Energy Systems (DES) requires suitable design and operation optimization tools, in order to assess their feasibility and economic profitability. These tools can be helpful in choosing the proper technologies and also in the perspective of defining proper incentive or taxation schemes. A critical result of the analysis of MES is that, when optimizing their design, the operation strategy and the part load behavior of the units must be consi...
Autori: Matteo Zatti
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27795

The development of Multi-Energy Systems (MES) or District Energy Systems (DES) requires suitable design and operation opti-mization tools, in order to assess their feasibility and economic profitability. These tools can be helpful in choosing the proper technologies and also in the perspective of defining proper incentive or taxation schemes. A critical result of the analysis of MES is that, when optimizing their design, the operation strategy and the part load behavior of the units must be cons...
Autori: Marco Migliore
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27796

Recently, more and more companies are implementing good environmental practices. Environmental certifications, besides being valuable management tools for companies, given the opportunity to strengthen their role on the market. An example of such virtuous behavior is the case of Valcucine, an enterprise of the Livenza furniture district in Northern Italy. Valcucine focuses its care in the production of furniture, in particular of kitchen units, characterized by sustainable production, eco-compat...
Autori: Veronica Novelli
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27797

The development of Multi-Energy Systems (MES) or District Energy Systems (DES) requires suitable design and operation opti-mization tools, in order to assess their feasibility and economic profitability. These tools can be helpful in choosing the proper technologies and also in the perspective of defining proper incentive or taxation schemes. A critical result of the analysis of MES is that, when optimizing their design, the operation strategy and the part load behavior of the units must be cons...
Autori: Marco Migliore
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27803

This paper exposes the research activities regarding REBAF (Energetic Recover of River Biomasses) project, focused on the maintenance operations self-sustainability of the Secchia river (Italy). Poplar was found as the most abundant and representative wood plant of Secchia riverbanks, with a good behavior during gasification process: from 1 hectare of maintenance every three year, it was possible to produce 23 MWh of electrical power and 31 MWh of thermal power. The biochar obtained was characte...
Autori: Vittorio Vezzali
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27804

An innovative strategy significantly increasing data density by introducing a flexible, problem-orientated, and cost-effective water quality monitoring approach is presented. Most current monitoring strategies produce water quality data based on fixed stations conducted on fixed dates throughout a defined period of time and, thus, often give a biased and insufficient picture of the water quality. Establishing a refined picture of water quality while not increasing monitoring costs clearly needs ...
Autori: Wiebke Warner
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=27805

Slags are the main by-products from steelmaking cycle, which are currently recycled inside the steel industry as well as in other sectors with significant environmental and economic benefits. As in Italy slags application is not yet allowed in agriculture, the paper aims at evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of a slag treatment plant, to obtain a product to be sold in the fertilizer market as soil amendment. A preliminary assessment of the fate of some trace metals (Cr, V, Sb a...
Autori: Teresa Annunziata Branca
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28012

In the European Union, 88 million tons of food is wasted annually, 30% of which comes from the production and processing sectors. Among the different food waste, vegetable ones represent a remarkable share and their management is complicated by the usually high-water content and the difficult storage. In this context, the earthworms are an interesting solution because transform vegetable waste into valuable products: the vermicompost, that can be sold as organic fertilizer, and the earthworms th...
Autori: Cecilia Conti
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28073

The goal 12 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development takes into consideration the responsible consumption and production in the perspective of circular economy. The agri-food sector is more actively involved in these initiatives, because it offers the possibility to exploit waste and by-products, by adopting suitable biotechnologies. Such processes can be carried out either under aerobic conditions, for the production of compost, or anaerobically, for the production of biogas. In this work...
Autori: Veronica Novelli
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28078

Digestate derived from the anaerobic digestion of biowaste is a nutrient-rich substance whose direct use on land is not permitted by the Italian Legislation. The possibility of recovering its nutrients can be given by the processes of stabilisation and sanitation required by the Italian Legislation. Among these processes, composting and calcium hydrolysis with neutralization (CHN) permit to obtain useful soil improvers like compost and defecation gypsum (DG). In this paper a gate-to-gate Life Cy...
Autori: Sofia Spagnolo
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28080

Multiple activities carried out on coastal areas expose marine sediments to contamination and their management has a great socio-economic importance with a high impact on economic development of coastal areas. However, there is an increasing shift towards the use of more sustainable approaches for managing ‘contaminated’ sediments. Using a case study of the Favignana Habour in Italy, this paper evaluates three approaches for the management of these sediments. The results of simulatio...
Autori: Sergio Cappucci
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28082

The study describes the start-up phase of the door-to-door separate collection service of municipal solid waste (MSW) in a large metropolitan area, analysing not only the performance in terms of separately collected waste but also the feedback from citizens on how to improve it. For the scope, the case study of the city of Bari (Southern Italy) was considered. The methodological approach involved primarily the subdivision of the entire municipality into eight homogeneous territorial zones (HTZ) ...
Autori: Sabino De Gisi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28084

The scarcity of water resources, especially in the agricultural sector, is an increasing problem both in developing and industrialized countries. Recent studies and reports have shown the high potential of wastewater reuse mostly in South European countries. In this paper, we study the possibility to reuse wastewater from the Santerno full-scale wastewater treatment plant located in Imola (Bologna, Italy). Specific monitoring campaigns have been carried out in Basin 1 of the natural finishing tr...
Autori: Carmine Fiorentino
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28085

Soil salinization is becoming worldwide one of the most serious land degradation issues. Seawater intrusion in upper aquifers is responsible for the largest proportion of salt-affected agricultural lands in coastal areas. In this study, the impact of different irrigation strategies on the salinity of a maize cultivated field located in the coastal plain of Ravenna, Italy, was simulated with the FAO AquaCrop model. Model calibration was supported by comparison with remote-sensed and field collect...
Autori: Marinella Masina
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28088

Sediments in coastal areas can accumulate a variety of contaminants, acting as both carriers and long-term secondary sources of contamination for aquatic ecosystems. Nowadays, there is a growing interest on developing new assessment criteria of sediment ecological quality for setting priorities and management strategies of contaminated materials. According to the literature, the weight of evidence (WOE) approach has been developed to provide a multidisciplinary characterization which combines di...
Autori: Francesco Todaro
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28089

Overexploitation and competitiveness over shared fresh water resources are some of the growing problems that affect numerous countries world-wide, in particular those characterized by high water-related risks linked to water scarcity, droughts and baseline water stress. Private and public sectors are driven to find alternative or best-practice strategies to conserve and optimize the water resource and guarantee a future use to all. The affiliate of Philip Morris Manufacturing and Technology Bol...
Autori: Matteo Magagni
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28287

Car fluff is an important problem for the industrial compartment, especially for Italy, considering the huge amount of waste produced by the automotive sector, approx. 180.000 ton/year. Although car fluff (CER 191004) is suitable for CSS-Combustible production, with destination to cement factories, a very low amount of it reaches this destination. An alternative way to transform this problem into an opportunity consists into the transformation of bioliquid after its thermochemical transformati...
Autori: Ivana Moscato
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28289

Waste prevention is one of the main strategic objectives of the European waste management policy and it is also at the basis of circular economy concept. This paper explores the connection between waste prevention and circular economy in the context of Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy). Since 2015, Emilia-Romagna regional government has approved a circular economy Regional Law, including a series of actions supporting both European waste hierarchy and circular economy. All these actions promote a t...
Autori: Francesca Cappellaro
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28290

A systematic transition towards circular economy (CE) explicitly became a major strategy at European Union level since 2015. Even though this EU-level boost is strong, a major role is played by regional implementation, since local needs and opportunities connected with CE may be very specific. The aim of this article is twofold. On the one side it highlights which policy instruments are most frequently used by Italian regional policy makers to implement measures supporting the transition to more...
Autori: Marco Compagnoni
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28291

Three scenarios for the management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) produced in the study area of Bari (Southern Italy) were defined and evaluated in terms of separately collected material and fate of the residual fraction. The first scenario represented the bring points MSW separate collection system in the current configuration with a collection rate approx. 40%. The second scenario considered the study area in the optimal configuration, with a percentage of separate collection > 80% obtaine...
Autori: Sabino De Gisi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28293

Literature supports the correlation between worse indoor air quality, lower socio-economic status and disease, such as asthma, Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis (EAA) and Carbon Monoxide Intoxication (COI). In order to determine the extent of the phenomenon in the Marche Region, hospitalization risk for asthma, EAA and CO intoxication was assessed in association with Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) air concentration and socio-economic Deprivation Index (DI). Hospital discharge records of residents o...
Autori: Katiuscia Di Biagio
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28294

Every year 93 billion tonnes of raw materials are consumed, but only 9% of them are reused: a potential of about 3 trillion dollars worldwide, 88 billion in Italy, according to Growth Within: A Circular Economy Vision for a Competitive Europe by Ellen MacArthur Foundation with McKinsey. A vehicle is potentially recoverable, in its components for more than 95%, an industrialised process of treatment of end-life vehicles (ELVs). Optimising raw material recovery is currently possible and advantag...
Autori: Luca Pomili
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28295

Groundwater at an abandoned industrial area near Bergamo, Italy, was historically contaminated by tetrachloroethylene (PCE) (>100 μg/L) and, to a lesser extent, by trichlorethylene (TCE), dichloropropane (DP) and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (R-130). A liquid reagent (EHC® Liquid) was selected for remediation of groundwater at the site. The reagent is provided in two parts: EHC® Liquid Mix (a soluble organo-iron salt), and ELS® Microemulsion (a lecithin-based carbon substrate), a...
Autori: Alberto Leombruni
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28300

The adoption of the Water Safety Plan (WSP) approach, as recommended by the World Health Organization, represents the most effective means to guarantee public health protection and improve drinking water safety. WSP is a risk assessment and management approach applied to all phases of the water supply chain. This study presents the development and implementation of the WSP for the municipality of Florence. The Florence drinking water supply system (DWSS) has two drinking water treatment plants ...
Autori: Roberta Muoio
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28303

Biomethane is incentivized in Italy and in many other European countries as a substitute fuel for transport, in order to reduce fossil fuel and cut CO2 emissions. In Italy, Certificato di Immissione in Consumo (CIC) is actually sustaining biomethane production, charging petrochemical companies who need to cover their obligation quotes. Actually, biomethane production has to fulfil sustainability requirements in order to be entitled to get CIC. Sustainability principles are, among others, the typ...
Autori: Ivana Moscato
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28305

‘Labaro-Prima Porta’ is a district in the outskirts of Rome, increasingly afflicted by recurrent floods. In order to reduce the local runoff volume, this paper defines a resilience and twofold strategy. At first, the use of a hydrologic software, called Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), along the research makes possible the evaluation of which Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are more effective in terms of runoff management. The results demonstrate short-term positive effects, with an...
Autori: Giulia Pandolfi
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28306

This study analysed the recycling of debris derived from the partial and selective demolition of concrete structures of Sant’Elia Stadium in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy). This recycling was carried out to obtain coarse recycled aggregates for the production of recycled concrete. The experimental investigations demonstrated the possibility of using these recycled concrete aggregates in structural concrete and in precast concrete element, with unchanged production processes and suitable mechan...
Autori: Luisa Pani
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28307

Remediation of contaminated marine sediments present a difficult challenge for environmental decision-makers. In socially relevant situations, as in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto case study (Southern Italy), the decision-maker needs to explain to the citizens why some remediation technologies are adopted compared to others. Multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a scientifically sound decision tool for management of contaminated sites, not only to denote effective or technologically and econom...
Autori: Claudia Labianca
ISSN: 1843 - 3707
http://www.ecozone.ro/reviste.php?RID=28310