Search Results (9)

This study is aimed at the analysis of the pyrolysis kinetics of Nanche stone BSC (Byrsonima crassifolia) as an agro-industrial waste using non-isothermal thermogravimetric experiments by determination of triplet kinetics; apparent activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and reaction model, as well as thermodynamic parameters to gather the required fundamental information for the design, construction, and operation of a pilot-scale reactor for the pyrolysis this lignocellulosic residue. Results indicate a biomass of low moisture and ash content and a high volatile matter content (≥70%), making BCS a potential candidate for obtaining various bioenergy products. Average apparent activation energies obtained from different methods (KAS, FWO and SK) were consistent in value (~123.8 kJ/mol). The pre-exponential factor from the Kissinger method ranged from 10⁵ to 10¹⁴ min⁻¹ for the highest pyrolytic activity stage, indicating a high-temperature reactive system. The thermodynamic parameters revealed a small difference between E_A and ∆H (5.2 kJ/mol), which favors the pyrolysis reaction and indicates the feasibility of the energetic process. According to the analysis of the reaction models (master plot method), the pyrolytic degradation was dominated by a decreasing reaction order as a function of the degree of conversion. Moreover, BCS has a relatively high calorific value (14.9 MJ/kg) and a relatively low average apparent activation energy (122.7 kJ/mol) from the Starink method, which makes this biomass very suitable to be exploited for value-added energy production. Full article

In the present study, the chemical profile and bioactive properties of the roots of turnip-rooted parsley (Petroselinum crispum spp. tuberosum) germplasm were evaluated. For this purpose, plants from seventeen parsley cultivars were grown in 6 L pots, and the obtained roots were analyzed in terms of nutritional value, chemical composition (tocopherols, sugars and organic and fatty acids) and bioactive content (antioxidant activity, phenolic compound composition and antimicrobial properties). Our results showed great variability in terms of the chemical composition and bioactive properties of root parsley germplasm. A higher fresh root yield was recorded for the common “Root parsley” common variety (164 g/pot), followed by the varieties “Osborne” (109 g/pot), “Sonata” (104 g/pot), “Kaśka” (104 g/pot) and “Halblange Berlinska” (103 g/pot), whereas the lowest yield was recorded for the “Hanacka” variety (69 g/pot). A significant variation was also observed in the nutritional value parameters: the roots of the “Sonata” genotype showed the highest fat content; “Arat”, “Osborne” and “Olomuńcka” had the highest ash content; the “Alba” cultivar contained significantly higher amounts of carbohydrates; and the “Vistula” cultivar showed the highest energetic value. The only detected isoforms of vitamin E were α- and δ-tocopherols; content varied depending on the cultivar, although α-tocopherol was the most abundant compound in most cultivars, especially in the “Arat” cultivar. Sucrose was the most abundant free sugar detected, especially in the “Sonata” cultivar (16.96 g/100 g dw), followed by apiose (2.93–5.55 g/100 g dw), glucose (1.3–3.47 g/100 g dw) and fructose (1.37–3.03 g/100 g dw). Moreover, malic acid was the most abundant organic acid in most of the tested cultivars. Twenty-one individual fatty acids were identified in all the studied cultivars, with linoleic (47.9–57.1%) and palmitic acid (20.66–20.5%) being the most abundant. Nineteen individual phenolic compounds were tentatively identified, including three phenolic acids, fourteen flavonoids and two hydrolyzable tannins, while apigenin-O-pentoside-O-hexoside was the most abundant. The antioxidant activity differed between the tested assays (TBARS and OxHLIA), and the most effective cultivars for the TBARS assay (“Root parsley (common variety)” and “Berlinski Halblange Springer”) were those with the lowest antioxidant activity for the OxHLIA assay after 120 min. Finally, in most cases, the root extracts were more efficient or similarly effective compared to the positive controls against the tested bacteria and fungi. In conclusion, our results provide information regarding the chemical characterization and the bioactivities of the roots of turnip-rooted parsley germplasm that could be further exploited in sustainable and diversified agro-ecosystems through the introduction of this species as a novel/complementary crop in the traditional farming systems of the Mediterranean basin. Full article

Coffee is the beverage resulting from the infusion of roasted and ground seeds of the coffee fruit. It is one of the most commercialized products in the world and represents a high interest agro-industrial product in Mexico. The demand for this product has grown in great measure in the last decade, thus it is becoming more important to make environmental and energetic evaluations of its manufacturing process. In this sense, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful tool for the purposes of this study, as it quantifies the wake of environmental impacts associated to the production and supply chain from its inputs and outputs of the product system. Therefore, the impact categories studied were carbon, energetic, and water footprints. The cultivation phase led to global contributions between 61% and 67% in magnitude for energy and carbon footprints, respectively; meanwhile, the coffee benefit process was the phase with the most contributions to the water footprint (54%). The residual biomass from the product system used as the energy supply within the coffee drying sub-phase represented energy savings of around 41% in comparison to the use of conventional fossil fuels, thus reducing the global impact associated to the system’s product. Full article

Pruning residues belong to the agricultural wastes generated in the agro-food processing sector, whose energetic potential can have a significant influence on the local energy market. This study is focused on the assessment of the feasibility of using apple tree pruning residues in the form of bales for energetic purposes. The research was performed in a commercial apple orchard located in the central-western part of Poland, an area characterized by the largest concentration of apple orchard in Europe. The biomass yield, pruned bales quality, energy input and output flow, as well as the economic sustainability of the pruning-to-energy strategy were evaluated. The results indicated the available collected biomass potential in an amount of 0.69 t_DM∙ha⁻¹ per year. Pruned biomass analysis showed a moisture content of 45.1% in the fresh material, the ash content was 0.8% dry mass, and the lower heating value was 18.05 MJ∙kg⁻¹ dry mass. Total production cost, including all steps and avoided cost of mulching, was 74.7 €∙t⁻¹ dry mass. Moreover, the net energy balance of this value chain was very positive, giving a value of ca. 12,000 MJ∙ha⁻¹ per year. As a result, the yearly harvested pruned biomass may be considered a good energy source for local heating systems. Full article

This study aims to develop an innovative model for managing territory maintenance in which the productive function is linked with the protective one and that integrates environmental and economic development aspects, combining the energetic valorization with an effective territory maintenance program. The strong innovation consists in the creation of an agro-energy environment chain based on the maintenance of river basins and small waterways made by single farmers or associations that will use residual biomass to produce electrical and thermal bio-energy. The maintenance activities include the control of aquatic weeds, grass cutting on river banks, and tree/bush management. If left unmanaged, they can block the flow of watercourses and increase the risk of flooding. The implementation of this virtuous model to the rivers maintenance aims to provide management and conservation means based on the territory characteristics. In fact, the new model has been applied to an existing site in the Marche region (Italy) located near a river characterized by a poor state of maintenance. A real commercial system for residual biomass exploitation was chosen, and both the technical and economic feasibility of the model implementation have been demonstrated. Full article

Sicily is a region located in the southern Italy. Its typical Mediterranean landscape is appreciated due to its high biodiversity. Specifically, hazelnut plantations have adapted in a definite area in Sicily (the Nebroidi park) due to specific morphological and climatic characteristics. However, many of these plantations are not used today due to adverse conditions, both to collect hazelnuts and to reach hazel groves. Though a geospatial analysis, the present paper aims to identify which hazelnut contexts can be actively used for agricultural, economic (e.g., introduction of a circular economy) and energetic purposes (to establish a potential agro-energetic district). The examination revealed the most suitable areas giving several criteria (e.g., slope, road system), ensuring an effective cultivation and consequent harvesting of hazelnuts and (ii) providing security for the operators since many of hazelnut plants are placed in very sloped contexts that are difficult to reach by traditional machines. In this sense, this paper also suggests optimal mechanization processes for harvesting hazelnuts in this part of Sicily. Full article

Adaptation can be a key factor that will shape the future severity of climate change impacts on food production. The objective of this study was to assess the suitability of an agro-ecological approach based on various techniques as potential adaptation strategy in organic horticultural systems. A long-term field experiment was set up in Southern Italy, combining: (i) appropriate soil surface shaping; (ii) cash crop rotation; (iii) agro-ecological service crops (ASC) introduction as living mulch and complementary crops; (iv) tailored organic fertilization; and (v) alternative tillage strategies. In this paper, the first two-year results on cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops, as well as energy consumptions through the Energy Analysis (EA) method are reported. Due to the climatic conditions that occurred, which were characterized by the absence of extreme climatic events (particularly rainfall), it was not possible to verify if the designed experimental device was able to mitigate the impact of climate change, whereas the EA indicated that total energy inputs were lower when ASC are introduced in cropping systems. Full article

Accelerating demand to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels has been driving widespread attention to renewable fuels, such as biogas. In fact, in the last decade numerous policy guidelines and laws regarding energy, the environment and agriculture have been issued to encourage the use of animal sewage as a raw material for the production of biogas. The production of energy from biogas in a dairy farm can provide a good opportunity for sustainable rural development, augmenting the farm’s income from traditional sources and helping to reduce the overall environmental impact of the energy sector. This paper investigates the trade-off between the environmental and economic benefits of an agro-energy farm in the Umbria region of Italy that employs livestock sewage and manure, dedicated energy crops (corn and triticale silage) and olive waste. The environmental analysis was performed using the LCA methodology, while the economic investigation was carried out by reconstructing the economic balance of the agro-energetic supply chain based on the budgets of each activity performed. The LCA results show, on the one hand, the predominant weight of producing dedicated crops compared to all other processes in the supply chain and, on the other hand, a significant reduction in environmental impact compared to that caused by energy production from fossil fuels. Economic analysis revealed that the results depend significantly on what rate per kWh the government incentives guarantee to agricultural producers of renewable energy. Full article

In this study, we present a model for the implementation of agro-energy chains based on the actual availability of forest biomass and the real demand for energy (heat) in the area of the Basilicata region, Italy. The demand for energy has been estimated by drawing on the database of the Ministry of Economic Development or by calculating the Annual Energy Requirement (AER) index, while for the estimate of the available forest biomass, reference was made to the public forest lands managed according to forestry management plans. The collected data were cross-checked with a view to detecting the technical and economic feasibility of district heating systems. The technical evaluation has mainly focused on the energetic and plant aspects, while the economic assessment was directed to defining the cost effectiveness criteria [Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Payback Period] that can measure the profitability of the investment. In the economic evaluation we also included the national public incentives, designed to encourage the production of energy from renewable sources in compliance with the international agreements signed by Italy for the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Full article