Luigi Petarca - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Luigi Petarca

Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 1995

... Elisabetta Brunazzi,* Alessandro Paglianti, and Luigi Petarca ... t A are the solute retentio... more ... Elisabetta Brunazzi,* Alessandro Paglianti, and Luigi Petarca ... t A are the solute retention time and the inert gas dead time, respectively, mL is the mass of stationary liquid, FA is the volumetric flow rate of the carrier gas measured at the column exit by a soap bubble flow meter at ...

Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTO) are extensively used when waste gases containing low solvent... more Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTO) are extensively used when waste gases containing low solvent mixture concentration, generally between 0.25 and 5.00 gr/Nmc, have to be treated in order to reach established limits. A lot of manufacturers around the world are involved in this job, but still many factors are unclear, among these are: • temperature of ceramic packing bed • temperature difference between gas and ceramic packing along the beds • heat transfer coefficient • temperature axial profile in different beds within the same plant • how a bad distribution of flow affects temperature profiles and consequently the efficiency of plant. To answer these and other questions, a pilot plant has been built and is actually in operation at the CPTM research center. Tests of maximum fuel consumption were made with no solvents in the gas stream fed to the plant. Temperature profiles along plant beds were investigated in function of the flow inversion time. Experimental runs for oxidation ef...

This work is part of a EU research project (NNE5/1999/309), which aims to the development and dem... more This work is part of a EU research project (NNE5/1999/309), which aims to the development and demonstration of a burner for low volatile coal (LVC) combustion. Traditionally low volatile coals and anthracites, having less than 15% daf volatile matter, have been utilised in arch fired furnaces (often referred to as "Downshot" fired furnaces) so as to overcome the inherent difficulties of these fuels. The downshot firing system is, however, more expensive than a comparable wall fired plant. It is estimated that the cost of a downshot fired boiler is some 10% higher than a comparable wall fired unit. Whilst there are limits with regard to volatile content below which wall firing is considered to be unsuitable, there is a clear economic advantage in being able to specify wall firing in preference to downshot firing. Against this there are concerns with regard to the performance of LVCs in wall fired furnaces, specifically these relate to combustion stability, turndown and carb...

Chemical Engineering Research and Design

The purpose of this work is to analyze the influence of dielectric properties of polluting compou... more The purpose of this work is to analyze the influence of dielectric properties of polluting compounds and moisture content on the efficiency of microwave treatment of soil contaminated by hydrocarbons. Temperature, residual moisture and amount of pollutants removed during the time were investigated. The presence of water is essential in order to completely remove the most amount of the volatile substances. The optimal condition resulted 0.15 kg water/kg dry soil to remove all the more volatile components of kerosene and up to the 99% of the heavier compounds in short times. In conclusion microwave heating has resulted applicable to enhance the petroleum hydrocarbons extraction from the soil. In addition moisture content and dielectric properties of the contaminants significantly affected the decontamination efficiency.

Hydrogen is one of the most important chemical products, and it is used in a wide series of indus... more Hydrogen is one of the most important chemical products, and it is used in a wide series of industrial fields: chemical, petrochemical, metallurgic, as well as in energy applications. Hydrogen demand in all these fields is continuously growing. Nowadays hydrogen is mainly produced from fossil fuels via processes such as steam reforming, partial oxidation, and gasification. All these processes lead to the production of an H2 containing gas stream (synthesis gas) from which hydrogen has to be separated. Thin-film palladium membranes are one of the most promising technologies for the separation of hydrogen from synthesis gas. In this book, palladium films were deposited above stainless steel porous supports using the electroless plating (ELP) technique. The supports have a 0.1 ìm filter grade. Two different geometry (disc sheet and tubes) were used. Finally, in this book, the detailed design of a permeability testing unit is reported, including the fluid dynamic, thermal and mechanical...

Chemical Engineering Transactions

The importance of heavy oils as energy resource is continuously increasing, thanks to the develop... more The importance of heavy oils as energy resource is continuously increasing, thanks to the development of enhanced oil recovery methods, such as thermal recovery. Radiofrequency reservoir heating through a downhole antenna system can be an effective alternative to steam injection methods, giving advantages such as good energy distribution, greater independence from reservoir properties, equipment compactness, high efficiency and possibility to focus the energy on the oil bed. In this paper we present a numerical study of a new electromagnetic heating method, which combines a radiating antenna with a well-reservoir interface structure, called tight shell. The study was conducted adopting dielectric and physical parameters measured on real oil sand samples and heating requirements relative to an actual oil sand reservoir. The study aims to evaluate the optimal operating irradiation frequency, as well as the effectiveness of the tight shell interface. Results show that, with a proper sy...

Thin-film palladium membranes are one of the most promising technologies for hydrogen separation ... more Thin-film palladium membranes are one of the most promising technologies for hydrogen separation from gas mixtures, involving advantages, such as a separation efficiency approaching 100%, high permeability, and operating conditions compatible with upstream fuel conversion processes. In this work, palladium films, with thickness between 10 mu m and 40 mu m, were deposited above stainless steel porous tubular supports using a modified electroless plating technique. The application of vacuum during palladium deposition, together with support abrasion and oxidation above 700 degrees C, were demonstrated to be effective in limiting the presence of film defects. The prepared membranes were then tested in an experimental set-up using a wide range of operating conditions (transmembranal pressure 2-20 bar, temperature 300-550 degrees C) in order to evaluate their performances. A hydrogen permeation flow rate of 0.25 mol/m(2)s, with a selectivity with respect to CO(2) as high as 5000, was obt...

Waste Management, 2009

The aim of this research activity is to investigate the environmental impact of different thermal... more The aim of this research activity is to investigate the environmental impact of different thermal treatments of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), applying a life cycle assessment methodology. Two scenarios were assessed, which both allow the recovery of bromine: (A) the co-combustion of WEEE and green waste in a municipal solid waste combustion plant, and (B) the staged-gasification of WEEE and combustion of produced syngas in gas turbines. Mass and energy balances on the two scenarios were set and the analysis of the life cycle inventory and the life cycle impact assessment were conducted. Two impact assessment methods (Ecoindicator 99 and Impact 2002+) were slightly modified and then used with both scenarios. The results showed that scenario B (staged-gasification) had a potentially smaller environmental impact than scenario A (co-combustion). In particular, the thermal treatment of staged-gasification was more energy efficient than co-combustion, and therefore scenario B performed better than scenario A, mainly in the impact categories of "fossil fuels" and "climate change". Moreover, the results showed that scenario B allows a higher recovery of bromine than scenario A; however, Br recovery leads to environmental benefits for both the scenarios. Finally the study demonstrates that WEEE thermal treatment for energy and matter recovery is an eco-efficient way to dispose of this kind of waste.

Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 1996

The treatment of cooling water containing glass from glass manufacturing plants has been studied ... more The treatment of cooling water containing glass from glass manufacturing plants has been studied in order to remove the fine particles of glass in suspension by flocculation, sedimentation and filtration. The treatment process proposed allows the recycling of these waters; it may suggest a more efficient management and use of water in the glass industry. Among the different types of

Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2001

Symposium (International) on Combustion, 1981

ABSTRACT The structure of the diffusion flame formed on a liquid fuel surface with a parallel oxi... more ABSTRACT The structure of the diffusion flame formed on a liquid fuel surface with a parallel oxidizer flow was studied both analytically and experimentally. Only the case of ethyl alcohol burning in air has been considered in this paper. The temperature and species concentration profiles across the boundary layer were determined by means of fine, carefully calibrated thermocouples and of gas chromatography. The gas analysis yielded the concentrations for the following species: N2, C2H5OH, O2, CO2, H2O, CO, CH4, C2H2+C2H4, C2H6, CH3CHO, H2. The mathematical model is based on the Shvab-Zeldovic formulation of conservation equations with physical properties considered as functions of temperature and species concentration. The agreement obtained between the experimental and theoretical profiles of temperature and of normalized elemental mass fractions of the atomic species N, O, C, H is satisfactory when the fuel diffusivity in nitrogen replaces the actual species and thermal energy diffusivities in the conservation equations.

Symposium (International) on Combustion, 1988

Symposium (International) on Combustion, 1989

Polymer International, 1996

The radical polymerization in aqueous solution of sodium methacrylate in the presence of poly(all... more The radical polymerization in aqueous solution of sodium methacrylate in the presence of poly(allylamine) hydrochloride as a template was studied using dilatometry. The properties of the polyelectrolyte complexes resulting from these template polymerizations were ...

Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 1994

Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 1996

ABSTRACT The radical polymerization of acrylic acid and sodium 4-styrenesulfonate in the presence... more ABSTRACT The radical polymerization of acrylic acid and sodium 4-styrenesulfonate in the presence of chitosan as a template gives insoluble products, identified as the polyelectrolyte complexes chitosan-poly(acrylic acid) and chitosan-poly(4-styrenesulfonate). Kinetic results do not permit to propose any mechanism in the first case, while suggest a “pick-up” one in the second. The polyelectrolyte complexes have been characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, optical and scanning electron microscopies, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The results obtained indicate an ordered structure for the first complex, while the second one appears similar to that obtained by reacting the parent polymers. Therefore, the template polymerization technique appears advantageous only for the synthesis of the chitosan-poly(acrylic acid) complex. The thermal analysis shows that the complexes undergo two successive modifications on heating. FT-IR analysis demonstrates that the first process is an esterification between the hydroxyls of chitosan and the acidic groups of both daughter polymers; the second one appears to be an amidation of the chitosan ammonium groups only with the sulfonate groups.

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2013

ABSTRACT The ongoing depletion of light oil resources and the increasing global energy demand is ... more ABSTRACT The ongoing depletion of light oil resources and the increasing global energy demand is driving oil&gas companies towards the exploitation of unconventional oil resources. In order to extract crude oil from these resources, a sufficiently low oil viscosity must be achieved, for instance through temperature increase. Electromagnetic irradiation through downhole antennae can be a suitable method for in situ heating of reservoirs. Potential problems for this technique are the extremely high temperatures that can be reached at the well containing the radiating element and the strong dependence of temperature profiles on local variation of reservoir material properties. These problems can be solved to a large extent by inserting around the radiating well a tight shell made of a low loss dielectric material, and by selecting the proper irradiation frequency. The experimental work described in this paper aims to verify the effectiveness of a similar structure during the electromagnetic heating of over 2000 kg of oil sand in a sandbox up to 200 °C, using a dipolar antenna. Oil sand was irradiated at 2.45 GHz frequency with variable power (1–2 kW). The temperature in the oil sand mass and on the boundary were recorded throughout the test in several specific points, in order to estimate temperature profiles along the distance from the antenna. Experimental results confirmed that the presence of the low lossy material shell realized around the antenna is extremely efficient in lowering the temperature in this critical zone and in better distributing the irradiated energy in the oil sand mass.

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 1999

An accident in a plant for solvent recovery from solvent-contaminated wastes was examined. An exp... more An accident in a plant for solvent recovery from solvent-contaminated wastes was examined. An experimental investigation of the accident was carried out using calorimetric and thermogravimetric techniques. The immediate cause of the accident was an unforeseen exothermic decomposition reaction. The main underlying cause of the accident was the absence of safety culture in the plant management, that resulted in the lack of a testing procedure to evaluate the thermal stability of the process feed. A simplified screening procedure based on differential scanning calorimetry was used in order to test the thermal stability of the nonvolatile fraction of the solvent-contaminated wastes present on the plant in order to be processed. More than 75% of the samples examined showed exothermal decomposition phenomena starting at temperatures higher than 100 degrees C. These phenomena were common to solvent wastes that originated from a number of different industrial activities. Thus, the thermal instability of the process feed is one of the main problems in solvent recovery operations. Our analysis of the accident suggested that the safe operation of waste solvent recovery processes requires an accurate characterization of the thermal stability of the process feed. Process safety is also increased by an adequate emergency vent and an accurate control of operating temperature, that may be reduced operating under vacuum. Safety devices may also include a water supply for emergency quench.