Degradation of biogas in a simulated landfill cover soil at laboratory scale: Compositional changes of main components and volatile organic compounds.

A laboratory experiment lasting 28 days was run to simulate a typical landfill system and to investigate the compositional changes affecting the main components (CH, CO, and H) and nonmethane volatile organic compounds from biogas generated by anaerobic digestion of food waste and passing through a soil column. Gas samples were periodically collected from both the digester headspace and the soil column at increasing distances from the biogas source. CH and H were efficiently degraded along the soil column.

Evaluation of the biochemical methane potential of residual organic fraction and mechanically-biologically treated organic outputs intended for landfilling.

Mechanical biological treatment (MBT) approaches are being adopted to manage residual municipal waste (RMW) to promote the prevention or reduction of potential environmental impacts of landfilling. From this perspective, the present study aimed to increase the knowledge of the biological (anaerobic) stability of different MBT organic outputs and, conversely, initial methane generation from residual organic waste. Biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests, along with initial and final characterisations of substrates and digestates, were conducted on: a mechanically separated organic fraction from RMW (ms-OFRMW); a first MBT organic output represented by a biostabilised organic fraction from RMW (bios-OFRMW); and a different MBT organic output represented by a biodried fine fraction from RMW (biod-FFRMW).

Proposal and application of a regional methodology of comparative risk assessment for potentially contaminated sites.

A possible approach for determining soil and groundwater quality criteria for contaminated sites is the comparative risk assessment. Originating from but not limited to Italian interest in a decentralised (regional) implementation of comparative risk assessment, this paper first addresses the proposal of an original methodology called CORIAN, which was created with initial attention to the context of potentially contaminated sites in the Marche Region (Central Italy). To deepen the technical-scientific knowledge and applicability of the comparative risk assessment, the following characteristics of the CORIAN methodology appear to be relevant: the simplified but logical assumption of three categories of factors (source and transfer/transport of potential contamination, and impacted receptors) within each exposure pathway; the adaptation to quality and quantity of data that are available or derivable at the given scale of concern; the attention to a reliable but unsophisticated modelling; the achievement of a conceptual linkage to the absolute risk assessment approach; and the potential for easy updating and/or refining of the methodology.

Generation and collection of restaurant waste: Characterization and evaluation at a case study in Italy.

Because restaurants (as a division of the hospitality sector) contribute to the generation of commercial and institutional waste, thus representing both a challenge and an opportunity, the objective of the present study was to deepen the knowledge of restaurant waste in terms of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of waste generation and the performance achievable by the implementation of a separate collection scheme. In this study, the generated waste was characterized and the implemented separate collection was evaluated at a relevant case study restaurant in a coastal tourist area of Central Italy (Marche Region, Adriatic Sea side). The qualitative (compositional) characterization of the generated total restaurant waste showed considerable incidences of, in decreasing order, food (28.

Biowaste home composting: experimental process monitoring and quality control.

Because home composting is a prevention option in managing biowaste at local levels, the objective of the present study was to contribute to the knowledge of the process evolution and compost quality that can be expected and obtained, respectively, in this decentralized option. In this study, organized as the research portion of a provincial project on home composting in the territory of Pesaro-Urbino (Central Italy), four experimental composters were first initiated and temporally monitored. Second, two small sub-sets of selected provincial composters (directly operated by households involved in the project) underwent quality control on their compost products at two different temporal steps.