Made in Ecopotential

2017

Greenpeat is a new sustainable material that can be produced from wet biodegradable organic waste, both solid and liquid, through a very efficient process, studied and developed by HBI Srl, an innovative startup founded by a researcher and an entrepreneur, who works in the field of the innovative green technologies. Greenpeat has been produced from agro-industrial organic by-products and optimized according to its potential different uses, namely for energy production or as a highly performing material for agronomic uses. At specific process conditions, it is possible to give to Greenpeat calorific values in the range of 22-28 MJ/kg, which represent interesting values for renewable and clean energy production applications. Furthermore, by using Greenpeat as a substitute of common solid fossil fuels, both the emissions related to fossil resources extraction and those produced during combustion are interestingly lowered. On the other hand, when ligno-cellulosic residues are treated in...

2017

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) bio-stabilization usually involves the use of air for the biological treatment of the residual fraction of separate collection. Air is the suitable solution when the system is operating normally. However, frequently emergencies, such as the overload of the plant and the resulting longer waste treatment times, suggest the need to reduce the times of the stabilization cycle. The pure oxygen used with air may represent an interesting solution for this aim. This paper deepens the bio-stabilisation of waste by means of a full-scale experiment involving the combined use of air and pure oxygen. The activities were carried out at the Massafra mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) plant, in the Southern-Italy, characterized by a treatment capacity of 220,000 tons per year. The preliminary results highlighted the technical feasibility of the proposal. However, future investigations have to be carried out with the primary purpose of enhancing the oxygen diffusion in...

2017

Bio2Energy project aims at improving the efficiency of public utility facilities such as wastewater treatment plants and increasing the production of renewable energy in Tuscany. The production of biohydrogen and biomethane from the co-digestion of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (Food Waste, FW) and sewage waste sludge (WS) and the use of digestate as agricultural fertilizer are the main objectives that position the project within the Circular Economy Strategy. Anaerobic digestion is a proven technology for the production of renewable energy but this technology is even more interesting if it is exploited also for hydrogen production. Therefore, the production of biohydrogen occurring in the acidogenic phase could be associated with anaerobic digestion (AD) so as to generate two gas streams (H2 and CH4), useful for different stakeholders, separately or mixed together. Our results revealed that the anaerobic co-digestion of sludge and food waste is an effective process able...

2017

This paper aims to demonstrate how Biomimicry collaborates in the creation of new eco-efficient and innovative materials through the analysis of some examples, such as the hydrophobic and self-cleaning materials based on the Lotus plant, giving rise to paints and coatings that do not They do not wet or get dirty; Hydrodynamic materials based on the skin of the shark that gave rise to tissues that diminish the friction and increase the performance of swimming athletes; Adhesive materials based on the gecko gowns, which allow super adhering surfaces of carpet fastening without the need for glues; Water abstraction materials based Namibian beetle, that enable products such as Warka Water to store water from atmospheric air in regions of scarcity; And finally, self-cleaning and de-polluting materials based on the photosynthesis of the leaves, which allow the coating of constructive modules on facades capable of helping to decontaminate high-flow pathways of cars. This approach highlight...

2017

Waste incineration is a thermal treatment which allows waste volume to be greatly reduced and destroys dangerous chemicals while also producing energy. It is the best way to recover waste when, for technical and economic reasons, recycling is not profitable. The term incineration refers to an oxidation process of combustible substances which works at high temperatures, inside different kinds of incinerators through the reaction of three components: fuel, oxidizers and diluents. The heat produced during the combustion is transformed into thermal or electrical energy. It is preferable to dump disposal firstly, because it has a reduced environmental impact and furthermore because it represents the best way to avoid wasting resources. Despite this, it is not always a feasible choice due to the high costs required for building such facilities.This paper intends to analyze the features of this waste-to-energy process, focusing on the benefits and disadvantages in both economic and environ...

2017

The EU target for renewable energy is going to reach at least 27% in the energy consumption by 2030. Biomethane is called to play an important role for climate mitigation issues thanks to the European Commission's objective to promote sustainable fuels in the transport sector. Certification of biofuels via private Voluntary Certification Schemes (VCS) has become one of the most important tools to verify compliance with Renewable Energy Directive (RED) 2009/28/EC sustainability criteria. The objective of this paper is to provide a review on the latest development on the main initiatives and approaches for the sustainability certification of biomethane supply chain. A specific focus on Italian regulatory framework and market will be given. The expected biomethane market developments until 2020 and beyond will be discussed.

2017

This paper aims to provide an explanation of Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), a concept associated with the disposal of large household appliances such us fridges. The significance of innovation and technological knowledge has caused the development of a new industrial progress and represented the main reason of increased production of goods and services. Growth in the modernization of the hi-tech sector has risen quickly: in the IT industry the updating of Electric and Electronic Equipments (EEE) and its planned obsolescence have become two of the fastest growing waste streams in a global context. By describing the large amounts of e-waste and the hazardous substances within it (i.e. heavy metals, CFCs, pentane), the most virtuous companies are working to introduce new criteria in evaluating the environmental costs related to the economic degeneration of natural resources and the negative impact of economic activities on environmental pollution (e. g. CO2 emission...

2014

Tanning is the complex process of treating skins of animals to produce leather. This process has more than 10 sequential steps and requires the employment of more than 200 different chemical products. For this reason the tanning industry has a big impact on the environment. The LIFE program is the EU's financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects. In the last three years this program funded 4 projects aimed to contribute to make the tanning a more "green" process, through the development and the employment of natural products, the reduction of water consumption and the reduction waste water production.

2016

The paper discusses the main concerns of an European project, within "H2020-EU.3.5.4.-Enabling the transition towards a green economy and society through eco-innovation". As described on the EC website "INNOQUA will accelerate the path to market of a modular set of innovative, patent protected, award winning and scalable fully ecological sanitation solutions that address wide market needs in rural communities, for agricultural industries, for sustainable home-builders or collective housing owners and for developing countries worldwide". The project is built based on a modular system addressing the purification capacity of biological organisms (worms, zooplankton and microalgae) so as to bring the necessary ecological, safe and affordable sanitation capacity, "by fully addressing the thematic and cross cutting priorities of the European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) on Water". The integrated solution proposed by the project is a new and innovative one. T...

2015

This paper represents the practical implementation of some guidelines developed in the context of a published book entitled "Product-Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS). Improving Sustainability and Competitiveness in the Agri-Food Chain with Innovative Environmental Management Tools". Nowadays, companies show growing interest in the most suitable instrument of environmental communication for the characteristics of their products (and the related sector) could be. This aspect becomes particularly important in the agri-food compartment where the products features are the result of the interaction among very different subsystems, from the farming to the transformation and marketing processes. Over time, in this sector, a huge number of voluntary environmental labelling schemes systems, used as instruments of environmental communication, have sprung up. Consequently it becomes extremely difficult for the operators to choose the most suitable label for their needs...