Luca Adami - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Luca Adami
Journal of Limnology, Nov 19, 2023
The accurate closure of the water balance of a lake is often a challenge for managers and practit... more The accurate closure of the water balance of a lake is often a challenge for managers and practitioners who are asked to preserve the value of lakes as water resources. Lake water balance analysis is extremely useful to reveal climate change effects (Szesztay, 1974;
Environmental and Climate Technologies
In mountainous regions, the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants is limited by complex terrai... more In mountainous regions, the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants is limited by complex terrain morphology. Trentino (a province located in the Italian Alps) is characterized by a high population density, highly developed agriculture and farming, and the presence of civil and industrial activities, whose emissions tend to be trapped inside the valleys. These conditions translate into exposure levels that are potentially higher than other geographical contexts (e.g., flat or coastal regions). The academic research carried out in Trentino since 2005 has produced a series of publications on topics related to the risk for health derived from waste management and other activities. These publications has focused on: 1) the evaluation of the emissions of organic pollutants from the waste sector; 2) the monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in various environmental matrices; 3) a methodology to carry out a comprehensive health risk assessment considering all the relevant exp...
WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment
The assessment of the impacts of future civil/industrial plants on air quality is traditionally b... more The assessment of the impacts of future civil/industrial plants on air quality is traditionally based on the environmental assessment procedure, which, however, may lead to different conclusions depending on the choice of the target area and the emission sources already present, and may underestimate the global impacts on health, society and economy. The paper proposes an organic multi-step methodology to carry out health risk assessments on a target area, to assess the incidence of emissive activities under evaluation for authorisation, and, as an additional matter of novelty, to study mitigation/compensation measures to take their future impacts back to acceptable levels, if their contributions are expected to exceed acceptable risk parameters. Criteria for the definition of target areas, emission calculation, dispersion modelling, the health risk assessment procedure, the verification of the risk acceptability and the compensation approach are described in detail. The current potential limitations of the approach are discussed and solutions to overcome such weak points are proposed. In view of a sustainable integration of new activities within local contexts, this methodology aims at guiding decision makers to carry out the screening of projects in terms of health impacts, according to a standardised approach.
Environmental and Climate Technologies
The Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) and the Monitoring and Control Plan (MCP) are key documen... more The Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) and the Monitoring and Control Plan (MCP) are key documents required respectively in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures and in the Integrated Environmental Authorization (IEA) for activities subjected to this procedure. Both documents aim at preventing impacts on the environment and human health and/or quickly taking actions if anomalous levels of pollutants are found in the environment. Trentino is an Italian region located in the Alps characterized by high population density in its valleys, complex terrain and, thus, a low level of dispersion of the atmospheric pollutants. The research carried out in Trentino in the last two decades has allowed identifying innovative monitoring approaches to point out issues that conventional methodologies could not detect. The present paper provides the key elements of an EMP that must be included in the EIA of a waste gasification plant. The paper proposes unconventional monitoring campaigns ...
MATEC web of conferences, 2019
Carbon dioxide (CO 2) has been conventionally regarded as a global problem, due to the well-known... more Carbon dioxide (CO 2) has been conventionally regarded as a global problem, due to the well-known effects of fossil fuel combustion to the climate of our planet. However, this paper aims at highlighting the role of CO 2 from another perspective, i.e. by considering the effects of CO 2 on the health and well-being of the occupants of indoor spaces. The exposure to CO 2 air concentrations > 1,000 ppm causes symptoms like headache, dizziness, sleepiness and loss of attention, which may negatively influence the learning capability and the productivity of students and workers. In this sense, schools and universities are particularly vulnerable, due to the high density of occupants in classrooms and to the importance of the role of education in training the future members of the society. In the light of this issue, the present paper will provide examples of the incorrect design of indoor environments and, meanwhile, will propose simple solutions to monitor the problem of indoor CO 2 concentration and improve the indoor environmental quality of public places.
Ecology and the Environment, Sep 10, 2018
The Paris agreement fixed worldwide targets on the temperature increase below 2°C in the XXI cent... more The Paris agreement fixed worldwide targets on the temperature increase below 2°C in the XXI century. Presently 176 countries ratified this framework. With the 20-20-20 package, the European Commission fixes three targets: (i) reduction of the European greenhouse gas emissions at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, (ii) 20% of EU energy consumption must come from renewable resources by 2020 and (iii) 20% reduction in primary energy use compared with projected levels, by improving energy efficiency. To achieve these global targets, Covenant of Mayor was launched in 2008 as a voluntary initiative for local administrations that decide to adopt a plan of interventions concerning greenhouse gas mitigations achieving and exceeding the EU climate and energy targets. In the present paper, we analyse the global results of the initiative during its first decade of activity, focusing on the Italian case at national level, since it is presently the leading country in terms of population involved.
Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols, 2018
Compensations are part of the pathway of design of a thermochemical plant. The evolution of the t... more Compensations are part of the pathway of design of a thermochemical plant. The evolution of the technology of this sector, integrated with adequate mitigations, can allow reaching a level of environmental impact that can be negligible locally. In spite of that, the local acceptance of modern plants is still critical. The global impact on the environment is more complex to define because of the variability of input of the plants. In this context, the role of compensations is very important, opening also to interesting opportunities for the territory, as demonstrated by the analysis reported in this article.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2022
Amongst different climatic and anthropogenic drivers, water resources management can cause massiv... more Amongst different climatic and anthropogenic drivers, water resources management can cause massive changes to the natural regime of a lake after its regulation, thereby affecting the quantity and quality of water intended for satisfying the multiple basin water requirements. Here, we investigate the multi-decadal variation of the water levels and outflows of Lake Garda, the largest in Italy, where the dam operational rules and the related basin water needs heavily altered the annual and seasonal trend of the lake regime since its regulation in 1951. Daily lake levels and outflows were first collected and digitized for the period 1888-2020, thus providing a unique database of 133 years that allowed a consistent comparison between natural and regulated periods. Statistical analyses highlighted a significant change of the inter-annual trend of the lake outflows, which passed from upward to downward after regulation, against a constant increasing trend of the water levels. Conversely, water levels showed a more remarkable shifts on a seasonal scale if compared to the outflows, revealing the influence of summer and winter basin water needs. Additional analyses on the inter-annual variation of the main downstream water demands regulated by the dam, i.e. the irrigation, hydropower and fluvial ecosystem requirements, outlined their relevance in changing the lake regime, influencing dam operational policies, which progressively limited the share of water released for ecosystem integrity. A comparison between the lake levels and outflows recorded for the pre-regulation and post-regulation periods of some selected European perialpine lakes finally highlighted different effects on the lake regime, drawing attention to the importance of defining the role of the dam operational policies within the current scenario of climate change and changing water demands.
Alpine rivers have been regulated to claim productive land in valley bottoms since the last two c... more Alpine rivers have been regulated to claim productive land in valley bottoms since the last two centuries. Width reduction and rectification often induced the development of regular scour-deposition sequences, called alternate bars, with implications for flood protection, river navigation, environmental integrity. Understanding how alternate bars evolves in rivers and defining the key aspects that influence the development of these regular deposits of sediments represents a challenge that is not fully described. Most studies on alternate bars are in fact based on mathematical theories, laboratory experiments and recently numerical simulations, but only few studies on field cases have been performed so far. The goals of this work are: i) to quantify the morphodynamics of alternate bars in the Alpine Rhine River, with a particular emphasis on bar migration; ii) to assess to what extent the predictions of analytical bar theories are consistent with field observations and to explore how theories may help interpret observed alternate bars dynamics; iii) to determine the ability of a numerical model to simulate correctly the formation and the length scale of alternate bars and influence of different multi-decadal inflow conditions. The 42-km chosen reach is located along the border between Austria and Switzerland, between the confluences of Landquart and Ill rivers. The whole reach has been completely embanked starting from the 19th century, so alternate bars are present for more than a century. Moreover the simplification of the cross section, together with the presence of only few bends, puts the Alpine Rhine in the ideal position to be compared with analytical theories of alternate bars in straight channels. The goals are achieved by analyzing a dataset of freely available Landv i i
Sustainability, Jan 18, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols, 2018
Waste management in European Union has long being regulated by the 4Rs principle, i.e. reduction,... more Waste management in European Union has long being regulated by the 4Rs principle, i.e. reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, with landfill disposal as the last option. This vision recently led the European Union (especially since 2015) to the introduction of virtuous goals based on the rejection of linear economy in favour of circular economy strongly founded on materials recovery. In this scenario, landfill disposal option will disappear, while energy recovery may appear controversial when not applied to biogas production from anaerobic digestion. The present work aims to analyse the effects that circular economy principles introduced in the European Union context will have on the thermochemical waste treatment plants design. Results demonstrate that indirect combustion (gasification + combustion) along with integrated vitrification of the non-combustible fraction of treated waste will have a more relevant role in the field of waste treatment than in the past, thanks to the compliance of this option with the principles of circular economy.
Resources, Oct 19, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Water Resources Research, Nov 1, 2016
We report on a multi-decadal analysis of alternate bar dynamics in a 41.7 km reach of the Alpine ... more We report on a multi-decadal analysis of alternate bar dynamics in a 41.7 km reach of the Alpine Rhine River, which represents an almost unique example of a regulated river with fixed levees, straight reaches and regular bends in which alternate gravel bars spontaneously formed and migrated for more than a century. The analysis is based on freely available Landsat imagery, which provided an accurate and frequent survey of the dynamics of the alternate bar configuration since 1984. Bars were characterized in terms of wavelength, migration, and height. Longitudinal and temporal patterns are investigated as a function of flood occurrence and magnitude and in relation to the presence of local planform discontinuities (bends and ramps) that may affect their dynamics. Bars in the upper part of the reach are mostly steady and relatively long (about 13 channel widths); bars in the lower part of the reach are migrating and shorter (about 9 channel widths). Bar height is rather uniform along the reach, ranging between 3 to 4 m. The temporally long hydrological dataset allowed the investigation of bar migration during flood events, showing that bars migrate faster for intermediate floods. The observed relationship between bar migration and wavelength was consistent with linear theories for free migrating and steady forced bars in straight channels. The comparison of theories with observations highlights the key role of theories to support interpretation of observations, for a better understanding of the morphodynamic processes controlling bar formation and dynamics.
International journal of energy production and management, Aug 25, 2022
Despite the efforts made towards circularity approaches in waste management, waste-to-energy (WtE... more Despite the efforts made towards circularity approaches in waste management, waste-to-energy (WtE) processes still represent a key step because they allow recovering energy from waste, reducing the amount of waste residuals that require landfill disposal and reusing part of the residuals for specific purposes (e.g. in the construction sector). However, the direct (incineration) or indirect (gasification) combustion of waste generates relatively high emissions of several air pollutants, with different levels of toxicity. In specific situations, the presence of a waste combustion plant may be incompatible with the presence of population nearby, especially in areas where the dispersion of air pollutants is limited by the local morphology and/or by unfavourable meteorological conditions. In such contexts, an alternative option exists: the conversion of the syngas produced by waste gasification into commercial products or fuels. This alternative would guarantee a significant reduction of the impacts on the local air quality, and it is expected to increase the level of acceptability of the WtE sector by the population: the syngas would not be burned locally to generate energy, but it would be used to produce valuable products or replace traditional fuels with more sustainable alternatives. Thus, this paper aims at discussing the potential local impacts of traditional WtE plants and the opportunities related to alternative WtE approaches that may increase the level of sustainability of this sector. This paper will make a specific reference to mountainous regions, where the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants may be negatively affected by the local morphology. To better illustrate the potential issues involved, some case studies located in an Alpine valley of Italy will be presented and discussed.
International journal of transport development and integration, Dec 10, 2021
The transition towards electric mobility is expected to reduce the direct emissions of local poll... more The transition towards electric mobility is expected to reduce the direct emissions of local pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) from road transport. However, the environmental sustainability of road traffic is also influenced by the level of sustainability of the sources that compose the grid mix used to charge electric vehicles. The present paper aims at understanding if electric mobility can improve air quality and reduce the emissions of global and local air pollutants even if this transition is not supported by a continuous increase in the share of renewable sources in the grid mix. To answer this research question, two scenarios were evaluated through the application of emission and dispersion modelling: (1) a present-case scenario characterized by the movement of vehicles whose composition matches the latest statistics on the Italian vehicle fleet and (2) a future-case scenario entirely composed of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Both scenarios considered the same study area: a portion of an Italian urban area characterized by the presence of a canyon-like street. To take the comparison to extremes, the few BEVs in the present-case scenario were assumed as fed by renewable energy, while a nearby coal power plant was considered as the power source for the future-case BEVs. In spite of its deplorable energy source (coal) for BEVs, the future-case scenario would allow saving 12% GHG emissions with respect to the present-case scenario. The maximum annual mean concentrations of nitrogen oxides and total suspended particles in the future-case scenario were 99.9% and 68.0% lower in the street canyon compared to the present-case scenario. However, depending on the power plant considered, additional pollutants may be emitted, which may worsen the local air quality, especially if the location, the size and the characteristics of the emission source are not adequately evaluated.
International journal of environmental impacts, Nov 29, 2019
Air quality improvement is a major concern in developed countries. In the past decade, especially... more Air quality improvement is a major concern in developed countries. In the past decade, especially in Europe, legislative measures have been taken to reduce air pollution. The present article promotes photocatalysis as an air quality improvement technique towards NO 2 pollution. Indoor air depollution by painted plasterboards treated with photocatalytic coating was investigated. First, at laboratory scale, using a bed flow reactor, depollution efficiency of the photocatalytic system was evaluated. Experimental conditions were adapted as much as possible to match indoor environment. Thus, pollution levels remained at ppb scale, temperature and relative humidity (RH) were kept constant (20 °C and 50% RH) and typical indoor lighting systems (fluorescent tubes, Light-Emitting Diode (LED) and halogen bulbs) were used for photoactivation. UV-A fluorescent tube was also used to optimise photocatalytic activity. Second, experiments were conducted at real scale, in a 10-m 3 experimental chamber developed at our laboratory. Interior walls were covered with the photocatalytic system and the chamber was used as a reactor. Employing a specific experimental procedure, aiming at keeping pollution level constant in the chamber, photocatalytic depollution was evaluated. The same lighting systems were used for photoactivation. NO 2 abatement efficiency was evaluated through the photocatalytic oxidation potential and rate. Results show that NO 2 can be significantly removed by this technique. However, the light used for photoactivation is at utmost importance. Furthermore, the results show that at laboratory scale, photocatalytic depollution efficiency of NO 2 could be underestimated.
Alpine rivers have been regulated to claim productive land in valley bottoms since the last two c... more Alpine rivers have been regulated to claim productive land in valley bottoms since the last two centuries. Width reduction and rectification often induced the development of regular scour-deposition sequences, called alternate bars, with implications for flood protection, river navigation, environmental integrity. Understanding how alternate bars evolve in rivers and defining the key aspects that influence the development of these regular deposits of sediments represents a challenge that is not fully described. Most studies on alternate bars are in fact based on mathematical theories, laboratory experiments and since 1990s numerical simulations, but only few studies on field cases have been performed so far. The goals of this work are: i) to quantify the morphodynamics of alternate bars in the Alpine Rhine River, with a particular emphasis on bar migration; ii) to assess to what extent the predictions of analytical bar theories are consistent with field observations and to explore how theories may help interpret observed alternate bars dynamics; iii) to determine the ability of a numerical model to simulate correctly the formation and the length scale of alternate bars and the influence of different multi-decadal inflow conditions. The 42 km chosen reach is located along the border between Austria and Switzerland, between the confluences of Landquart and Ill rivers. The whole reach has been completely embanked starting from the 19th century, so alternate bars have been present for more than a century. Moreover the simplification of the cross section, together with the presence of only few bends, puts the Alpine Rhine in the ideal position to be compared with analytical theories of alternate bars in straight channels. The goals are achieved by analyzing a dataset of freely available Landv For the wonderful period I spent at VAW, I am really grateful to the Applied Numerical group of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Zurich, in particular to Annunziato Siviglia for his right words in the right moments and to David Vetsch for providing me field data of the Alpine Rhine and speed-up my research through his comments. I really thanks Eric Mosselman for his clear and precise comments and feedbacks on this thesis. My gratitude goes to Marina Rogato, Aureliano Cerreti and Claudia Fraizinger for taking care of all the administrative and bureaucratic issues of the PhD period. I would like to thanks all the friends and colleagues that shared this intense period with me for all the scientific discussions and jokes we have shared in these three years. I thank my family and the family of my wife for their constant and unconditioned support and for been present especially in all the moments of need. Finally, I would love to express my heartfelt gratitude to my lovely wife Elena.
Ecology and the Environment, Aug 16, 2022
The management of waste entails the emission of a large variety of compounds into the atmosphere.... more The management of waste entails the emission of a large variety of compounds into the atmosphere. Waste management processes (e.g. collection and transportation of waste, discharging of waste in dedicated facilities, mechanical-biological treatments and landfill disposal) are known for causing the problem of odour nuisance in the vicinity of waste treatment plants. Substances like volatile organic compounds, sulphides and nitrogen-based compounds are usually associated with waste management processes and, in general, are characterised by low odour threshold values, i.e. they are detected by the human sense of smell even at relatively low concentrations in ambient air. Dispersion modelling represents a fundamental step for the estimation of the odour impact near odour emission sources. However, the results of odour dispersion simulations are strongly affected by the initial hypotheses on the emission sources considered, by specific modelling parameters and by the quality of meteorological and morphological input data. In addition, the variability in the human perception of odour may not allow making universal conclusions on the results of an odour impact assessment, and this further complicates the matter. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the criticalities involved in the assessment of the odour impacts from waste management activities. The paper analyses and discusses the potential influences of the choices made during the preparation of dispersion modelling simulations. This contribution is expected to enrich the knowledge base on odour dispersion modelling and to help proponents, environmental consultants and environmental agencies to estimate the impacts induced by current and future waste management operations.
CRC Press eBooks, Aug 12, 2014
ABSTRACT The process of formation and initial development of alternate bars in rivers has been st... more ABSTRACT The process of formation and initial development of alternate bars in rivers has been studied since the 1950s and linear theories, based on perturbed solutions of the shallow water equation over an erodible bed, have been developed between the 1960s and the 1990s. Although these theories have received strong support from controlled laboratory experiments in their ability to predict bar formation conditions and morphological evolution, up to now field data on the actual morphodynamics of alternate bars in channelized streams are relatively scarce. Constraints posed by the long time and spatial scales needed to observe alternate bar dynamics limited fields investigations and observations. This work aims to make a first step in filling the gap between theoretical studies and field observations of alternate bars morphodynamics in real rivers. It proposes a novel approach to the application of existing theories to compare their outcomes with field observations on bar wavelength, migration and stability conditions. To this purpose, the study focuses on the Alpine Rhine River reach between Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, an almost unique combination of a long channelized reach (>40 km, equivalent to 40–60 bar wavelengths) with almost uniform channel width and slope. 30 years of LANDSAT images and a hydrological dataset that covers more than 60 years provide ideal conditions to study the multi-decadal dynamics of alternate bars.
Journal of Limnology, Nov 19, 2023
The accurate closure of the water balance of a lake is often a challenge for managers and practit... more The accurate closure of the water balance of a lake is often a challenge for managers and practitioners who are asked to preserve the value of lakes as water resources. Lake water balance analysis is extremely useful to reveal climate change effects (Szesztay, 1974;
Environmental and Climate Technologies
In mountainous regions, the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants is limited by complex terrai... more In mountainous regions, the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants is limited by complex terrain morphology. Trentino (a province located in the Italian Alps) is characterized by a high population density, highly developed agriculture and farming, and the presence of civil and industrial activities, whose emissions tend to be trapped inside the valleys. These conditions translate into exposure levels that are potentially higher than other geographical contexts (e.g., flat or coastal regions). The academic research carried out in Trentino since 2005 has produced a series of publications on topics related to the risk for health derived from waste management and other activities. These publications has focused on: 1) the evaluation of the emissions of organic pollutants from the waste sector; 2) the monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in various environmental matrices; 3) a methodology to carry out a comprehensive health risk assessment considering all the relevant exp...
WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment
The assessment of the impacts of future civil/industrial plants on air quality is traditionally b... more The assessment of the impacts of future civil/industrial plants on air quality is traditionally based on the environmental assessment procedure, which, however, may lead to different conclusions depending on the choice of the target area and the emission sources already present, and may underestimate the global impacts on health, society and economy. The paper proposes an organic multi-step methodology to carry out health risk assessments on a target area, to assess the incidence of emissive activities under evaluation for authorisation, and, as an additional matter of novelty, to study mitigation/compensation measures to take their future impacts back to acceptable levels, if their contributions are expected to exceed acceptable risk parameters. Criteria for the definition of target areas, emission calculation, dispersion modelling, the health risk assessment procedure, the verification of the risk acceptability and the compensation approach are described in detail. The current potential limitations of the approach are discussed and solutions to overcome such weak points are proposed. In view of a sustainable integration of new activities within local contexts, this methodology aims at guiding decision makers to carry out the screening of projects in terms of health impacts, according to a standardised approach.
Environmental and Climate Technologies
The Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) and the Monitoring and Control Plan (MCP) are key documen... more The Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) and the Monitoring and Control Plan (MCP) are key documents required respectively in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures and in the Integrated Environmental Authorization (IEA) for activities subjected to this procedure. Both documents aim at preventing impacts on the environment and human health and/or quickly taking actions if anomalous levels of pollutants are found in the environment. Trentino is an Italian region located in the Alps characterized by high population density in its valleys, complex terrain and, thus, a low level of dispersion of the atmospheric pollutants. The research carried out in Trentino in the last two decades has allowed identifying innovative monitoring approaches to point out issues that conventional methodologies could not detect. The present paper provides the key elements of an EMP that must be included in the EIA of a waste gasification plant. The paper proposes unconventional monitoring campaigns ...
MATEC web of conferences, 2019
Carbon dioxide (CO 2) has been conventionally regarded as a global problem, due to the well-known... more Carbon dioxide (CO 2) has been conventionally regarded as a global problem, due to the well-known effects of fossil fuel combustion to the climate of our planet. However, this paper aims at highlighting the role of CO 2 from another perspective, i.e. by considering the effects of CO 2 on the health and well-being of the occupants of indoor spaces. The exposure to CO 2 air concentrations > 1,000 ppm causes symptoms like headache, dizziness, sleepiness and loss of attention, which may negatively influence the learning capability and the productivity of students and workers. In this sense, schools and universities are particularly vulnerable, due to the high density of occupants in classrooms and to the importance of the role of education in training the future members of the society. In the light of this issue, the present paper will provide examples of the incorrect design of indoor environments and, meanwhile, will propose simple solutions to monitor the problem of indoor CO 2 concentration and improve the indoor environmental quality of public places.
Ecology and the Environment, Sep 10, 2018
The Paris agreement fixed worldwide targets on the temperature increase below 2°C in the XXI cent... more The Paris agreement fixed worldwide targets on the temperature increase below 2°C in the XXI century. Presently 176 countries ratified this framework. With the 20-20-20 package, the European Commission fixes three targets: (i) reduction of the European greenhouse gas emissions at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, (ii) 20% of EU energy consumption must come from renewable resources by 2020 and (iii) 20% reduction in primary energy use compared with projected levels, by improving energy efficiency. To achieve these global targets, Covenant of Mayor was launched in 2008 as a voluntary initiative for local administrations that decide to adopt a plan of interventions concerning greenhouse gas mitigations achieving and exceeding the EU climate and energy targets. In the present paper, we analyse the global results of the initiative during its first decade of activity, focusing on the Italian case at national level, since it is presently the leading country in terms of population involved.
Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols, 2018
Compensations are part of the pathway of design of a thermochemical plant. The evolution of the t... more Compensations are part of the pathway of design of a thermochemical plant. The evolution of the technology of this sector, integrated with adequate mitigations, can allow reaching a level of environmental impact that can be negligible locally. In spite of that, the local acceptance of modern plants is still critical. The global impact on the environment is more complex to define because of the variability of input of the plants. In this context, the role of compensations is very important, opening also to interesting opportunities for the territory, as demonstrated by the analysis reported in this article.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2022
Amongst different climatic and anthropogenic drivers, water resources management can cause massiv... more Amongst different climatic and anthropogenic drivers, water resources management can cause massive changes to the natural regime of a lake after its regulation, thereby affecting the quantity and quality of water intended for satisfying the multiple basin water requirements. Here, we investigate the multi-decadal variation of the water levels and outflows of Lake Garda, the largest in Italy, where the dam operational rules and the related basin water needs heavily altered the annual and seasonal trend of the lake regime since its regulation in 1951. Daily lake levels and outflows were first collected and digitized for the period 1888-2020, thus providing a unique database of 133 years that allowed a consistent comparison between natural and regulated periods. Statistical analyses highlighted a significant change of the inter-annual trend of the lake outflows, which passed from upward to downward after regulation, against a constant increasing trend of the water levels. Conversely, water levels showed a more remarkable shifts on a seasonal scale if compared to the outflows, revealing the influence of summer and winter basin water needs. Additional analyses on the inter-annual variation of the main downstream water demands regulated by the dam, i.e. the irrigation, hydropower and fluvial ecosystem requirements, outlined their relevance in changing the lake regime, influencing dam operational policies, which progressively limited the share of water released for ecosystem integrity. A comparison between the lake levels and outflows recorded for the pre-regulation and post-regulation periods of some selected European perialpine lakes finally highlighted different effects on the lake regime, drawing attention to the importance of defining the role of the dam operational policies within the current scenario of climate change and changing water demands.
Alpine rivers have been regulated to claim productive land in valley bottoms since the last two c... more Alpine rivers have been regulated to claim productive land in valley bottoms since the last two centuries. Width reduction and rectification often induced the development of regular scour-deposition sequences, called alternate bars, with implications for flood protection, river navigation, environmental integrity. Understanding how alternate bars evolves in rivers and defining the key aspects that influence the development of these regular deposits of sediments represents a challenge that is not fully described. Most studies on alternate bars are in fact based on mathematical theories, laboratory experiments and recently numerical simulations, but only few studies on field cases have been performed so far. The goals of this work are: i) to quantify the morphodynamics of alternate bars in the Alpine Rhine River, with a particular emphasis on bar migration; ii) to assess to what extent the predictions of analytical bar theories are consistent with field observations and to explore how theories may help interpret observed alternate bars dynamics; iii) to determine the ability of a numerical model to simulate correctly the formation and the length scale of alternate bars and influence of different multi-decadal inflow conditions. The 42-km chosen reach is located along the border between Austria and Switzerland, between the confluences of Landquart and Ill rivers. The whole reach has been completely embanked starting from the 19th century, so alternate bars are present for more than a century. Moreover the simplification of the cross section, together with the presence of only few bends, puts the Alpine Rhine in the ideal position to be compared with analytical theories of alternate bars in straight channels. The goals are achieved by analyzing a dataset of freely available Landv i i
Sustainability, Jan 18, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols, 2018
Waste management in European Union has long being regulated by the 4Rs principle, i.e. reduction,... more Waste management in European Union has long being regulated by the 4Rs principle, i.e. reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, with landfill disposal as the last option. This vision recently led the European Union (especially since 2015) to the introduction of virtuous goals based on the rejection of linear economy in favour of circular economy strongly founded on materials recovery. In this scenario, landfill disposal option will disappear, while energy recovery may appear controversial when not applied to biogas production from anaerobic digestion. The present work aims to analyse the effects that circular economy principles introduced in the European Union context will have on the thermochemical waste treatment plants design. Results demonstrate that indirect combustion (gasification + combustion) along with integrated vitrification of the non-combustible fraction of treated waste will have a more relevant role in the field of waste treatment than in the past, thanks to the compliance of this option with the principles of circular economy.
Resources, Oct 19, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Water Resources Research, Nov 1, 2016
We report on a multi-decadal analysis of alternate bar dynamics in a 41.7 km reach of the Alpine ... more We report on a multi-decadal analysis of alternate bar dynamics in a 41.7 km reach of the Alpine Rhine River, which represents an almost unique example of a regulated river with fixed levees, straight reaches and regular bends in which alternate gravel bars spontaneously formed and migrated for more than a century. The analysis is based on freely available Landsat imagery, which provided an accurate and frequent survey of the dynamics of the alternate bar configuration since 1984. Bars were characterized in terms of wavelength, migration, and height. Longitudinal and temporal patterns are investigated as a function of flood occurrence and magnitude and in relation to the presence of local planform discontinuities (bends and ramps) that may affect their dynamics. Bars in the upper part of the reach are mostly steady and relatively long (about 13 channel widths); bars in the lower part of the reach are migrating and shorter (about 9 channel widths). Bar height is rather uniform along the reach, ranging between 3 to 4 m. The temporally long hydrological dataset allowed the investigation of bar migration during flood events, showing that bars migrate faster for intermediate floods. The observed relationship between bar migration and wavelength was consistent with linear theories for free migrating and steady forced bars in straight channels. The comparison of theories with observations highlights the key role of theories to support interpretation of observations, for a better understanding of the morphodynamic processes controlling bar formation and dynamics.
International journal of energy production and management, Aug 25, 2022
Despite the efforts made towards circularity approaches in waste management, waste-to-energy (WtE... more Despite the efforts made towards circularity approaches in waste management, waste-to-energy (WtE) processes still represent a key step because they allow recovering energy from waste, reducing the amount of waste residuals that require landfill disposal and reusing part of the residuals for specific purposes (e.g. in the construction sector). However, the direct (incineration) or indirect (gasification) combustion of waste generates relatively high emissions of several air pollutants, with different levels of toxicity. In specific situations, the presence of a waste combustion plant may be incompatible with the presence of population nearby, especially in areas where the dispersion of air pollutants is limited by the local morphology and/or by unfavourable meteorological conditions. In such contexts, an alternative option exists: the conversion of the syngas produced by waste gasification into commercial products or fuels. This alternative would guarantee a significant reduction of the impacts on the local air quality, and it is expected to increase the level of acceptability of the WtE sector by the population: the syngas would not be burned locally to generate energy, but it would be used to produce valuable products or replace traditional fuels with more sustainable alternatives. Thus, this paper aims at discussing the potential local impacts of traditional WtE plants and the opportunities related to alternative WtE approaches that may increase the level of sustainability of this sector. This paper will make a specific reference to mountainous regions, where the atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants may be negatively affected by the local morphology. To better illustrate the potential issues involved, some case studies located in an Alpine valley of Italy will be presented and discussed.
International journal of transport development and integration, Dec 10, 2021
The transition towards electric mobility is expected to reduce the direct emissions of local poll... more The transition towards electric mobility is expected to reduce the direct emissions of local pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) from road transport. However, the environmental sustainability of road traffic is also influenced by the level of sustainability of the sources that compose the grid mix used to charge electric vehicles. The present paper aims at understanding if electric mobility can improve air quality and reduce the emissions of global and local air pollutants even if this transition is not supported by a continuous increase in the share of renewable sources in the grid mix. To answer this research question, two scenarios were evaluated through the application of emission and dispersion modelling: (1) a present-case scenario characterized by the movement of vehicles whose composition matches the latest statistics on the Italian vehicle fleet and (2) a future-case scenario entirely composed of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Both scenarios considered the same study area: a portion of an Italian urban area characterized by the presence of a canyon-like street. To take the comparison to extremes, the few BEVs in the present-case scenario were assumed as fed by renewable energy, while a nearby coal power plant was considered as the power source for the future-case BEVs. In spite of its deplorable energy source (coal) for BEVs, the future-case scenario would allow saving 12% GHG emissions with respect to the present-case scenario. The maximum annual mean concentrations of nitrogen oxides and total suspended particles in the future-case scenario were 99.9% and 68.0% lower in the street canyon compared to the present-case scenario. However, depending on the power plant considered, additional pollutants may be emitted, which may worsen the local air quality, especially if the location, the size and the characteristics of the emission source are not adequately evaluated.
International journal of environmental impacts, Nov 29, 2019
Air quality improvement is a major concern in developed countries. In the past decade, especially... more Air quality improvement is a major concern in developed countries. In the past decade, especially in Europe, legislative measures have been taken to reduce air pollution. The present article promotes photocatalysis as an air quality improvement technique towards NO 2 pollution. Indoor air depollution by painted plasterboards treated with photocatalytic coating was investigated. First, at laboratory scale, using a bed flow reactor, depollution efficiency of the photocatalytic system was evaluated. Experimental conditions were adapted as much as possible to match indoor environment. Thus, pollution levels remained at ppb scale, temperature and relative humidity (RH) were kept constant (20 °C and 50% RH) and typical indoor lighting systems (fluorescent tubes, Light-Emitting Diode (LED) and halogen bulbs) were used for photoactivation. UV-A fluorescent tube was also used to optimise photocatalytic activity. Second, experiments were conducted at real scale, in a 10-m 3 experimental chamber developed at our laboratory. Interior walls were covered with the photocatalytic system and the chamber was used as a reactor. Employing a specific experimental procedure, aiming at keeping pollution level constant in the chamber, photocatalytic depollution was evaluated. The same lighting systems were used for photoactivation. NO 2 abatement efficiency was evaluated through the photocatalytic oxidation potential and rate. Results show that NO 2 can be significantly removed by this technique. However, the light used for photoactivation is at utmost importance. Furthermore, the results show that at laboratory scale, photocatalytic depollution efficiency of NO 2 could be underestimated.
Alpine rivers have been regulated to claim productive land in valley bottoms since the last two c... more Alpine rivers have been regulated to claim productive land in valley bottoms since the last two centuries. Width reduction and rectification often induced the development of regular scour-deposition sequences, called alternate bars, with implications for flood protection, river navigation, environmental integrity. Understanding how alternate bars evolve in rivers and defining the key aspects that influence the development of these regular deposits of sediments represents a challenge that is not fully described. Most studies on alternate bars are in fact based on mathematical theories, laboratory experiments and since 1990s numerical simulations, but only few studies on field cases have been performed so far. The goals of this work are: i) to quantify the morphodynamics of alternate bars in the Alpine Rhine River, with a particular emphasis on bar migration; ii) to assess to what extent the predictions of analytical bar theories are consistent with field observations and to explore how theories may help interpret observed alternate bars dynamics; iii) to determine the ability of a numerical model to simulate correctly the formation and the length scale of alternate bars and the influence of different multi-decadal inflow conditions. The 42 km chosen reach is located along the border between Austria and Switzerland, between the confluences of Landquart and Ill rivers. The whole reach has been completely embanked starting from the 19th century, so alternate bars have been present for more than a century. Moreover the simplification of the cross section, together with the presence of only few bends, puts the Alpine Rhine in the ideal position to be compared with analytical theories of alternate bars in straight channels. The goals are achieved by analyzing a dataset of freely available Landv For the wonderful period I spent at VAW, I am really grateful to the Applied Numerical group of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Zurich, in particular to Annunziato Siviglia for his right words in the right moments and to David Vetsch for providing me field data of the Alpine Rhine and speed-up my research through his comments. I really thanks Eric Mosselman for his clear and precise comments and feedbacks on this thesis. My gratitude goes to Marina Rogato, Aureliano Cerreti and Claudia Fraizinger for taking care of all the administrative and bureaucratic issues of the PhD period. I would like to thanks all the friends and colleagues that shared this intense period with me for all the scientific discussions and jokes we have shared in these three years. I thank my family and the family of my wife for their constant and unconditioned support and for been present especially in all the moments of need. Finally, I would love to express my heartfelt gratitude to my lovely wife Elena.
Ecology and the Environment, Aug 16, 2022
The management of waste entails the emission of a large variety of compounds into the atmosphere.... more The management of waste entails the emission of a large variety of compounds into the atmosphere. Waste management processes (e.g. collection and transportation of waste, discharging of waste in dedicated facilities, mechanical-biological treatments and landfill disposal) are known for causing the problem of odour nuisance in the vicinity of waste treatment plants. Substances like volatile organic compounds, sulphides and nitrogen-based compounds are usually associated with waste management processes and, in general, are characterised by low odour threshold values, i.e. they are detected by the human sense of smell even at relatively low concentrations in ambient air. Dispersion modelling represents a fundamental step for the estimation of the odour impact near odour emission sources. However, the results of odour dispersion simulations are strongly affected by the initial hypotheses on the emission sources considered, by specific modelling parameters and by the quality of meteorological and morphological input data. In addition, the variability in the human perception of odour may not allow making universal conclusions on the results of an odour impact assessment, and this further complicates the matter. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the criticalities involved in the assessment of the odour impacts from waste management activities. The paper analyses and discusses the potential influences of the choices made during the preparation of dispersion modelling simulations. This contribution is expected to enrich the knowledge base on odour dispersion modelling and to help proponents, environmental consultants and environmental agencies to estimate the impacts induced by current and future waste management operations.
CRC Press eBooks, Aug 12, 2014
ABSTRACT The process of formation and initial development of alternate bars in rivers has been st... more ABSTRACT The process of formation and initial development of alternate bars in rivers has been studied since the 1950s and linear theories, based on perturbed solutions of the shallow water equation over an erodible bed, have been developed between the 1960s and the 1990s. Although these theories have received strong support from controlled laboratory experiments in their ability to predict bar formation conditions and morphological evolution, up to now field data on the actual morphodynamics of alternate bars in channelized streams are relatively scarce. Constraints posed by the long time and spatial scales needed to observe alternate bar dynamics limited fields investigations and observations. This work aims to make a first step in filling the gap between theoretical studies and field observations of alternate bars morphodynamics in real rivers. It proposes a novel approach to the application of existing theories to compare their outcomes with field observations on bar wavelength, migration and stability conditions. To this purpose, the study focuses on the Alpine Rhine River reach between Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, an almost unique combination of a long channelized reach (>40 km, equivalent to 40–60 bar wavelengths) with almost uniform channel width and slope. 30 years of LANDSAT images and a hydrological dataset that covers more than 60 years provide ideal conditions to study the multi-decadal dynamics of alternate bars.