Michele Pognani

Novamont (Italy)

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Fabrizio Adani

University of Milan

Barbara Scaglia

University of Milan

Raquel Barrena

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Antoni Sánchez

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Xavier Font

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Giuliana D’Imporzano

University of Milan

Maurizio Tosin

Novamont (Italy)

M.H.A. van Eekert

Wageningen University & Research

M. van der Zee

Wageningen University & Research

Bruno De Wilde

Organic Waste Systems (Belgium)

Cooperative Institutions

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

University of Milan

Defense Information Systems Agency

Novamont (Italy)

Mylan (South Africa)

Wageningen University & Research

Parco Tecnologico Padano

Centro Agricoltura Ambiente (Italy)

Agricultural University of Athens

Istituto di Ricerche Chimiche e Biochimiche G. Ronzoni

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Effect of freezing on the conservation of the biological activity of organic solid wastes

Bioresource Technology (2011)

Michele Pognani Raquel Barrena Xavier Font Antoni Sánchez

Biodegradable waste

10.1016/j.biortech.2011.11.097

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Citations (24)

Monitoring the organic matter properties in a combined anaerobic/aerobic full-scale municipal source-separated waste treatment plant

Bioresource Technology (2010)

Michele Pognani Raquel Barrena Xavier Font Barbara Scaglia Fabrizio Adani

Biodegradable waste

Mechanical biological treatment

Respirometry

10.1016/j.biortech.2010.03.110

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Citations (42)

Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement : Validated biogasification test

Bruno De Wilde N. Mortier M.H.A. van Eekert M. van der Zee Maurizio Tosin

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Evolution of organic matter in a full-scale composting plant for the treatment of sewage sludge and biowaste by respiration techniques and pyrolysis-GC/MS

Bioresource Technology (2011)

Michele Pognani Raquel Barrena Xavier Font Fabrizio Adani Barbara Scaglia

Sewage sludge

Biodegradable waste

Degradation

10.1016/j.biortech.2010.12.108

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Citations (50)

Organic matter evolution in biological solid-waste treatment plants. Raw waste and final product characterization

Michele Pognani

El proceso de compostaje y el de digestion anaerobia, que han sido ampliamente estudiados como procesos biologicos, son los principales tratamientos biologicos aplicados en la gestion de residuos organicos. Estos tratamientos son muy utilizados a nivel europeo como una alternativa eficaz a los vertederos. En este trabajo de tesis, ambas tecnologias de tratamiento de residuos han sido analizadas desde el punto de vista de la eficacia y de la eficiencia. No obstante, para establecer correctamente la eficiencia del proceso, era necesaria una medida fiable del contenido de materia organica biodegradable de los residuos. Medida que sera tambien muy util para determinar los puntos criticos de los procesos de tratamiento de residuos. Para alcanzar los objetivos marcados en la tesis, se han llevado a cabo analisis biologicos, tanto en condiciones aerobias (indices respirometricos) como anaerobias (test de biogas) para caracterizar la actividad biologica de los residuos organicos y la estabilidad del producto final. Para realizar el analisis aerobio, ha sido necesario construir un nuevo respirometro basado en un modelo anterior existente. La actividad biologica aerobia se ha calculado como velocidad de consumo de oxigeno y/o consumo de oxigeno acumulado en un tiempo determinado. El equipo se adapto para registrar el CO2 emitido durante el analisis respirometrico lo que permitio determinar el carbono organico biodegradable de la muestra y la relacion entre carbono biodegradable y nitrogeno. El potencial de produccion de biogas (anaerobico) se expresa como la produccion de biogas acumulada en un tiempo determinado. El ensayo se realizo con la finalidad de evaluar la eficiencia de la digestion anaerobia y para utilizarlo como un analisis alternativo a la respirometria aerobia en la determinacion del contenido de materia organica biodegradable.. El analisis de la eficiencia de las instalaciones comporta un muestreo de residuos intensivo y por tanto la necesidad sucesiva de almacenar las muestras organicas para evitar la degradacion microbiana descontrolada antes de la determinacion de los indices respirometricos. Por este motivo, ha sido necesario determinar el periodo maximo de tiempo de congelacion de las muestras organicas con el objetivo de reducir los errores debidos a la muerte y/o baja vitalidad de los microorganismos causadas por las bajas temperaturas. Los datos obtenidos durante el proceso de toma de muestras y los analisis sucesivos permitieron estudiar la evolucion de la materia organica biodegradable a lo largo del proceso de tratamiento y hacer un balance de masa de la instalacion. Ademas, tambien se realizo el seguimiento de la composicion macromolecular de la materia organica mediante las tecnicas DRIFT y pirolisis GC/MS en las diferentes fases del proceso asi como en el compost final obtenido. Les actividades agricolas representan la destinacion final del compost producido durante el tratamiento de los residuos organicos. La presente tesis incluye un estudio comparativo en terminos de indices respirometricos, de contenido de metales pesados y de composicion macromolecular de muestras de compost de procedencia diversa. Para justificar las caracteristicas del compost, tambien se han tenido en cuenta las diferentes tecnologias aplicadas al tratamiento de los residuos organicos. Para concluir, una parte de los resultados presentados en esta Tesis se obtuvieron en colaboracion con el grupo RICICLA de la Universita degli Studi di Milano (Facolta di Agraria, Dipartimento di Produzione vegetale [Di.Pro.Ve.]). Concretamente, se estudio la caracterizacion macromolecular y el efecto hormonal de la materia organica disuelta de un compost y de un digestato en la germinacion de las semillas y en la elongacion de las raices y del hipocotilo.

Biogas

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Hazard profiling of compostable shopping bags. Towards an ecological risk assessment of littering

Polymer Degradation and Stability (2021)

Marco Barbale Selene Chinaglia Antonio Gazzilli Alessandro Pischedda Michele Pognani

Littering represents an ecological threat. To date, studies have mainly focused on the formation and quantification of microplastics. Toxicity has generally been considered from the point of view of food safety rather than from an environmental viewpoint. There is an urgent need to develop a framework approach to assessing the ecological hazards associated with litter, particularly packaging litter. In fact, measuring the ecological impacts of packaging and single-use items is clearly a prerequisite for developing a control and mitigation strategy of accidental waste leakage. This study proposes a characterization methodology for the assessment of the ecological hazard of packaging and single-use items made with any material in the event of littering. This preliminary methodology is based on four aspects of ecological hazards: the migration of persistent ecotoxic chemicals by diffusion (type 1); the release of persistent ecotoxic chemicals after degradation (type 2); the physical persistence of the packaging (type 3); and the release of persistent micro-particles due to wear (type 4). A compostable shopping bag was tested using this classification in order to create a preliminary hazard profile. The bag released substances (6-7% of its mass) when soaked in water in less than three days. This leachate showed a high level of biodegradation and caused no adverse effects on germination and root development of cress seeds. The bag, tested according to the EN 13432 standard, does not cause ecotoxic effects after biodegradation when analysed with a plant growth test. The bag fragmented in soil and disappeared in 500 days. The bag, ground to microplastics, showed biodegradability when exposed to soil, with a half-life of 118 days.

Environmental hazard

Ecotoxicity

Plastic bag

10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2021.109592

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Citations (17)

Opening bio-based markets via standards,labelling and procurement : Marine degradation test lab assessment: Marine degradation test of bio-based materials at laboratory and mesocosm scale assessed

Maurizio Tosin Michele Pognani Degli Innocenti Christian Lott Miriam Weber

Degradation

Mesocosm

Source

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Evaluation of hormone-like activity of the dissolved organic matter fraction (DOM) of compost and digestate

The Science of The Total Environment (2015)

Barbara Scaglia Michele Pognani Fabrizio Adani

Digestate

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.02.009

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Citations (72)

Isolation and characterization of surface‐active fractions responsible for foam formation during anaerobic digestion of municipal wastes

Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy (2016)

Michele Pognani Barbara Scaglia Giuliana D’Imporzano Fabrizio Adani

A simple and rapid method to isolate surfactant‐like fractions responsible for foaming production during anaerobic digestion (AD) is proposed. Alkaline extraction of organic matter and subsequent fractionation of extracts into alkali‐soluble/acid‐insoluble (humic acid, HA) and alkali‐soluble/acid‐soluble fractions (fulvic acid, FA) were performed on samples directly taken from a full‐scale plant operating anaerobic digestion. Lab‐tests performed to measure foaming ability of the isolated organic fractions, allowed the separation of the fraction responsible for foam production, fulvic acid. Fraction isolation and subsequent chemical characterization revealed its specific chemical nature, i.e. high hydrophobicity, due to low carboxylic group content, and the presence of high N‐containing molecules. These characteristics agreed with those reported in the literature for molecules responsible for foam formation during anaerobic digestion, confirming the ability of this simple fractionation procedure to isolate the fraction responsible for foam formation. Foam formation during anaerobic digestion (AD) represents a problem for AD plants, reducing process efficiency, and increasing operational costs. The proposal of a simple and rapid procedure to isolate the fraction responsible for foam production is useful because it allows better characterizing this fraction from a chemical point of view. Knowledge of the chemical nature of the foaming agent is an important factor contributing towards developing successful antifoaming strategies. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 359–365, 2017

Fraction (chemistry)

Defoamer

Digestion

Foam fractionation

10.1002/ep.12449

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Citations (5)

Environmental burdens of source-selected biowaste treatments: comparing scenarios to fulfil the European Union landfill directive. The case of Catalonia

Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences (2015)

Joan Colón Erasmo Cadena Michele Pognani Caterina Maulini Raquel Barrena

The Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW), or biowaste, can be valorized using different treatment technologies, such as anaerobic digestion and composting or the combination of them. The use of the end products (biogas and/or compost) generates benefits over the alternative of sending waste to landfill. The European Union regulations (i.e. Landfill Directive) encourage the diversion of untreated biodegradable waste from landfilling. However, OFMSW treatment installations also produce environmental impacts that must be assessed. This paper presents different future scenarios at regional scale proposed to accomplish the Landfill Directive and their environmental assessment in terms of environmental impact categories. The geographical area under study is Catalonia (Spain). Field data obtained in previous studies undertaken in the same geographical area are used to determine the environmental burdens of the present situation in order to compare them with different future scenarios. A combined scenario to treat 921 Gg of OFMSW source selected including the increase of the quantity of biowaste treated by anaerobic digestion (61.2% of the total biowaste), the modification of composting plants to ensure the treatment of all the gaseous emissions (25.3% and 8.1% of the total biowaste treated in in-vessel composting plants and in enclosed windrows composting plants respectively) and the incorporation of home composting as a waste treatment alternative (5.4% of total biowaste) results in the lowest impact scenario considered in the present study. Energy recovery through anaerobic digestion and benefits of gaseous emissions reduction are the key factors in the impact reduction of biowaste treatment.

Green waste

Mechanical biological treatment

Biodegradable waste

Biogas

Energy Recovery

10.1080/1943815x.2015.1062030

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Citations (8)