Bruno Molino - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Bruno Molino
ChemEngineering
Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis are used in the concentration of grape musts in winemaking. Bo... more Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis are used in the concentration of grape musts in winemaking. Both technologies offer an effective way to concentrate the grape musts, reducing the volume and the solids content to achieve desired characteristics in the final wine. The choice between nanofiltration and reverse osmosis depends on the specific needs of the winemaker and the desired characteristics. It is important to carefully consider the properties of the grape musts and the performance of the selected membranes to optimize the concentration process and ensure the desired outcome. Herein, we present a novel approach that allows us to choose a suitable membrane for an optimal industrial process for the concentration of musts, both in reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. The proposed method consists of combining the fitting equations of laboratory results with the balance equations on the industrial plant. Specifically, a full-scale plant has been designed and assembled with which grape...
Water Resources Management, Feb 21, 2023
In this study, we present a long-term water management model which can be an important tool for t... more In this study, we present a long-term water management model which can be an important tool for the ordinary management of a reservoir. The model can be made simple and applicable in a graphic form. The key point of the model is that the sedimentation rate of solids can be modeled according to a power law. The basic equation of the model is tested using bathymetric surveys of different dams located in different parts of the world. Robustness and predictive power are evaluated both numerically and by comparison with satellite results. Then the model is transformed into the form of a management plot and applied to the real case of the Camastra dam.
Hydrology, 2020
Erosive processes influence on several phenomena. In particular, they could influence on land dep... more Erosive processes influence on several phenomena. In particular, they could influence on land depletion, on vegetation weakening, on aggradation phenomena of intermediate, and plain reaches of rivers, on waterways interruption due to overaggradation phenomena caused by floods, and on the losses of water volumes that may be stored in reservoirs. Among the models proposed in the literature for the prediction of erosion on the annual scale, one of the most widely used is the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). In the present paper, starting from the definition of the original model, the authors improved the important combined slope length and slope angle (LS-factor), taking into account the mutual interaction of solid particles, in terms of path and confluences, so as to transform the model, which was first classified on a slope scale or at most on a parcel one, into a distributed model on a basin scale. The use of a distributed approach is an integral part of the analysis of...
Applied Sciences, 2020
Zero-waste is an ambitious goal to encourage sustainable production, consumption optimum recyclin... more Zero-waste is an ambitious goal to encourage sustainable production, consumption optimum recycling and resource recovery. The recycling and resource recovery of chrome-tanned leather waste is a difficult proposition because of the three-dimensional chemical network of collagen, which renders leather waste incompatible to polymer matrices. Many attempts have been undertaken to reuse leather waste, most of them require technological processes and challenging chemical pretreatments, which make the reuse an economically disadvantageous industrial operation. The paper aims to show how a very fine separation of leather solid waste leads to raw materials suitable for mixtures with natural rubber, without any chemical pretreatment. In other words, the paper intends to be a stimulus to manage leather solid waste carefully to start a cleaner and more profitable production. In particular, various industrial compounds containing different concentrations of post-tanning dyeing, or chrome shaving...
Energies, 2020
Greenhouse gas emission is one of the main environmental issues of today, and energy savings in a... more Greenhouse gas emission is one of the main environmental issues of today, and energy savings in all industries contribute to reducing energy demand, implying, in turn, less carbon emissions into the atmosphere. In this framework, water pumping systems are one of the most energy-consuming activities. The optimal regulation of pumping systems with the use of variable speed drives is gaining the attention of designers and managing authorities. However, optimal management and operation of pumping systems is often performed, employing variable speed drives without considering if the energy savings are enough to justify their purchasing and installation costs. In this paper, the authors compare two optimal pump scheduling techniques, optimal regulation of constant speed pumps by an optimal ON/OFF sequence and optimal regulation with a variable speed pump. Much of the attention is devoted to the analysis of the costs involved in a hypothetical managing authority for the water distribution ...
Water, 2018
A first-order analytical solution is proposed for the actual depth-averaged concentration of trac... more A first-order analytical solution is proposed for the actual depth-averaged concentration of tracers in shallow river flows in the presence of large Peclet numbers (defined as the ratio of section-averaged velocity times channel width to turbulent diffusion coefficient). The solution shows how complete transverse mixing is never achieved due to the typical shape of the velocity and diffusion coefficient profile, which alternatively tend-depending on the downstream location of the cross-section-to concentrate the mass at the centre or at the boundaries of the cross-section itself. The first-order analytical solution proves to be consistent with the results of Lagrangian numerical simulations based on real-field input data, which show how the solute mass breakthrough curves always exhibit anomalous behaviour and a considerable and persistent delay when compared with those that are analytically obtained by assuming a truly one-dimensional process.
Water, 2018
This paper proposes a methodological approach to the re-use of reservoir sediments for coastal no... more This paper proposes a methodological approach to the re-use of reservoir sediments for coastal nourishment. The proposed approach represents a point of convergence between water and sediment management, coastal protection from erosion and the re-use of sediments dredged from reservoirs. In particular, this study indicates a general protocol of actions and a reference legislative scenario for the use of sediment from reservoirs for beach nourishment as an alternative to sediment from sea caves or land caves. Quantitative characterization of reservoir sediments and their qualitative characterization are the fundamental steps to define the compatibility between reservoir sediment and beach sand. The study was applied to a real case of Southern Italy known as the Guardialfiera Reservoir.
Construction and Building Materials, 2017
Abstract The building materials industry is facing relevant challenges in terms of sustainability... more Abstract The building materials industry is facing relevant challenges in terms of sustainability requirements. The same challenge is expected for other anthropogenic activities such as reservoir management. In this study, in the light of industrial ecology approach, two wastes, namely clayey sediments and water potabilization sludge, generated through reservoir life cycle, were used in a synergistic way in the synthesis of sustainable geopolymer binders. In order to guarantee a productive equilibrium between the different yearly evolution of building materials demand and wastes production by the basin, precast materials have been regarded as optimum potential application. In this regard, calcination conditions, mix design and curing conditions were preliminarily optimized. Particularly, geopolymerization kinetics were evaluated by means of mechanical and microstructural characterization of pastes to assess the influence of early age curing conditions and mix design on the engineering performance and, afterwards, the product was upscaled to a typical precast concrete element. The whole set of results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed recycling route, revealing highly promising perspectives for further studies and broader application field.
International Journal of Sediment Research, 2017
Abstract This paper proposes a new methodological approach to silted reservoir management and def... more Abstract This paper proposes a new methodological approach to silted reservoir management and defence, which combines the reservoir rehabilitation process and the utilization of the recovered water volumes and sediments. This approach, strategic from both the economical and environmental points of view, is here defined as Economic Environmental Defence (EED) of a reservoir. The EED approach is applied to the case study of Guardialfiera reservoir, where the available experimental data allowed the estimation of siltation up to date, the analysis of the distribution of sediment particle size along the reservoir bottom and the possibility to propose a feasible utilization of water and sediments resulting from the reservoir rehabilitation.
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 1998
ChemEngineering
Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis are used in the concentration of grape musts in winemaking. Bo... more Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis are used in the concentration of grape musts in winemaking. Both technologies offer an effective way to concentrate the grape musts, reducing the volume and the solids content to achieve desired characteristics in the final wine. The choice between nanofiltration and reverse osmosis depends on the specific needs of the winemaker and the desired characteristics. It is important to carefully consider the properties of the grape musts and the performance of the selected membranes to optimize the concentration process and ensure the desired outcome. Herein, we present a novel approach that allows us to choose a suitable membrane for an optimal industrial process for the concentration of musts, both in reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. The proposed method consists of combining the fitting equations of laboratory results with the balance equations on the industrial plant. Specifically, a full-scale plant has been designed and assembled with which grape...
Water Resources Management, Feb 21, 2023
In this study, we present a long-term water management model which can be an important tool for t... more In this study, we present a long-term water management model which can be an important tool for the ordinary management of a reservoir. The model can be made simple and applicable in a graphic form. The key point of the model is that the sedimentation rate of solids can be modeled according to a power law. The basic equation of the model is tested using bathymetric surveys of different dams located in different parts of the world. Robustness and predictive power are evaluated both numerically and by comparison with satellite results. Then the model is transformed into the form of a management plot and applied to the real case of the Camastra dam.
Hydrology, 2020
Erosive processes influence on several phenomena. In particular, they could influence on land dep... more Erosive processes influence on several phenomena. In particular, they could influence on land depletion, on vegetation weakening, on aggradation phenomena of intermediate, and plain reaches of rivers, on waterways interruption due to overaggradation phenomena caused by floods, and on the losses of water volumes that may be stored in reservoirs. Among the models proposed in the literature for the prediction of erosion on the annual scale, one of the most widely used is the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). In the present paper, starting from the definition of the original model, the authors improved the important combined slope length and slope angle (LS-factor), taking into account the mutual interaction of solid particles, in terms of path and confluences, so as to transform the model, which was first classified on a slope scale or at most on a parcel one, into a distributed model on a basin scale. The use of a distributed approach is an integral part of the analysis of...
Applied Sciences, 2020
Zero-waste is an ambitious goal to encourage sustainable production, consumption optimum recyclin... more Zero-waste is an ambitious goal to encourage sustainable production, consumption optimum recycling and resource recovery. The recycling and resource recovery of chrome-tanned leather waste is a difficult proposition because of the three-dimensional chemical network of collagen, which renders leather waste incompatible to polymer matrices. Many attempts have been undertaken to reuse leather waste, most of them require technological processes and challenging chemical pretreatments, which make the reuse an economically disadvantageous industrial operation. The paper aims to show how a very fine separation of leather solid waste leads to raw materials suitable for mixtures with natural rubber, without any chemical pretreatment. In other words, the paper intends to be a stimulus to manage leather solid waste carefully to start a cleaner and more profitable production. In particular, various industrial compounds containing different concentrations of post-tanning dyeing, or chrome shaving...
Energies, 2020
Greenhouse gas emission is one of the main environmental issues of today, and energy savings in a... more Greenhouse gas emission is one of the main environmental issues of today, and energy savings in all industries contribute to reducing energy demand, implying, in turn, less carbon emissions into the atmosphere. In this framework, water pumping systems are one of the most energy-consuming activities. The optimal regulation of pumping systems with the use of variable speed drives is gaining the attention of designers and managing authorities. However, optimal management and operation of pumping systems is often performed, employing variable speed drives without considering if the energy savings are enough to justify their purchasing and installation costs. In this paper, the authors compare two optimal pump scheduling techniques, optimal regulation of constant speed pumps by an optimal ON/OFF sequence and optimal regulation with a variable speed pump. Much of the attention is devoted to the analysis of the costs involved in a hypothetical managing authority for the water distribution ...
Water, 2018
A first-order analytical solution is proposed for the actual depth-averaged concentration of trac... more A first-order analytical solution is proposed for the actual depth-averaged concentration of tracers in shallow river flows in the presence of large Peclet numbers (defined as the ratio of section-averaged velocity times channel width to turbulent diffusion coefficient). The solution shows how complete transverse mixing is never achieved due to the typical shape of the velocity and diffusion coefficient profile, which alternatively tend-depending on the downstream location of the cross-section-to concentrate the mass at the centre or at the boundaries of the cross-section itself. The first-order analytical solution proves to be consistent with the results of Lagrangian numerical simulations based on real-field input data, which show how the solute mass breakthrough curves always exhibit anomalous behaviour and a considerable and persistent delay when compared with those that are analytically obtained by assuming a truly one-dimensional process.
Water, 2018
This paper proposes a methodological approach to the re-use of reservoir sediments for coastal no... more This paper proposes a methodological approach to the re-use of reservoir sediments for coastal nourishment. The proposed approach represents a point of convergence between water and sediment management, coastal protection from erosion and the re-use of sediments dredged from reservoirs. In particular, this study indicates a general protocol of actions and a reference legislative scenario for the use of sediment from reservoirs for beach nourishment as an alternative to sediment from sea caves or land caves. Quantitative characterization of reservoir sediments and their qualitative characterization are the fundamental steps to define the compatibility between reservoir sediment and beach sand. The study was applied to a real case of Southern Italy known as the Guardialfiera Reservoir.
Construction and Building Materials, 2017
Abstract The building materials industry is facing relevant challenges in terms of sustainability... more Abstract The building materials industry is facing relevant challenges in terms of sustainability requirements. The same challenge is expected for other anthropogenic activities such as reservoir management. In this study, in the light of industrial ecology approach, two wastes, namely clayey sediments and water potabilization sludge, generated through reservoir life cycle, were used in a synergistic way in the synthesis of sustainable geopolymer binders. In order to guarantee a productive equilibrium between the different yearly evolution of building materials demand and wastes production by the basin, precast materials have been regarded as optimum potential application. In this regard, calcination conditions, mix design and curing conditions were preliminarily optimized. Particularly, geopolymerization kinetics were evaluated by means of mechanical and microstructural characterization of pastes to assess the influence of early age curing conditions and mix design on the engineering performance and, afterwards, the product was upscaled to a typical precast concrete element. The whole set of results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed recycling route, revealing highly promising perspectives for further studies and broader application field.
International Journal of Sediment Research, 2017
Abstract This paper proposes a new methodological approach to silted reservoir management and def... more Abstract This paper proposes a new methodological approach to silted reservoir management and defence, which combines the reservoir rehabilitation process and the utilization of the recovered water volumes and sediments. This approach, strategic from both the economical and environmental points of view, is here defined as Economic Environmental Defence (EED) of a reservoir. The EED approach is applied to the case study of Guardialfiera reservoir, where the available experimental data allowed the estimation of siltation up to date, the analysis of the distribution of sediment particle size along the reservoir bottom and the possibility to propose a feasible utilization of water and sediments resulting from the reservoir rehabilitation.
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 1998