Three pillars of sustainability in the wake of COVID-19: A systematic review and future research agenda for sustainable development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has immensely impacted the economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainability in human lives. Due to the scholars' increasing interest in responding to the urgent call for action against the pandemic, the literature of sustainability research considering COVID-19 consequences is very fragmented. Therefore, a comprehensive review of the COVID-19 implications for sustainability practices is still lacking.

Conceptualizing environmental effects of carsharing services: A system thinking approach.

Emerging carsharing services and their interconnections with other modes of urban transport, regulations, car manufacturing and population have affected the dynamics of energy consumption, environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emission within a complex system. However, although some aspects of environmental impacts of transport sector have been investigated in the literature, well-deserved studies on the environmental effects of carsharing services following a system thinking approach is missing. This research aims at providing a comprehensive conceptual framework to systematize the interconnections between carsharing services and their environmental effects.

Application of unsupervised learning and process simulation for energy optimization of a WWTP under various weather conditions.

This paper outlines a hybrid modeling approach to facilitate weather-based operation and energy optimization for the largest Italian wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Two clustering methods, K-means algorithm and Gaussian mixture model (GMM) based on the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, were applied to an extensive dataset of historical and meteorological records. This study addresses the problem of determining the intrinsic structure of clustered data when no information other than the observed values is available.

Energy optimization of a wastewater treatment plant based on energy audit data: small investment with high return.

Ambitious energy targets in the 2020 European climate and energy package have encouraged many stakeholders to explore and implement measures improving the energy efficiency of water and wastewater treatment facilities. Model-based process optimization can improve the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) with modest investment and a short payback period. However, such methods are not widely practiced due to the labor-intensive workload required for monitoring and data collection processes.

Assessment of weather-based influent scenarios for a WWTP: Application of a pattern recognition technique.

This study proposes an integrated approach by combining a pattern recognition technique and a process simulation model, to assess the impact of various climatic conditions on influent characteristics of the largest Italian wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) at Castiglione Torinese. Eight years (viz. 2009-2016) of historical influent data namely influent flow rate (Q), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium (N-NH) and total suspended solids (TSS), in addition to two climatic attributes, average temperature and daily mean precipitation rates (P) from the plant catchment area, are evaluated in this study.

Reuse of paint sludge in road pavements: Technological and environmental issues.

This paper presents some of the results obtained in a research project focused on the use of paint sludge (PS) as a modifying agent in the production of bituminous binders for paving applications. The scope of the project was to provide an innovative, sustainable and profitable solution to waste management problems which automotive industries have to face worldwide as a result of the production of PS. The authors applied for a patent which defines the industrial process for the production of PS modified binders (PSMBs).

Achieving low concentrations of chromium in drinking water by nanofiltration: membrane performance and selection.

This study evaluates nanofiltration as a feasible process to reach low concentrations of chromium in drinking water and provides means for the selection of the most suitable membrane based on the specific treatment needs. Chromium removal is concerning since new stringent limits (10 μg/L) for hexavalent Cr concentration in potable water were recently adopted in various countries. Three commercial nanofiltration membranes were tested against this threshold value: two membranes made of semi-aromatic polyamide and the third having a sulfonated polyethersulfone asymmetric film as the selective layer.

Environmental analysis of a potential district heating network powered by a large-scale cogeneration plant.

Among the solutions for the achievement of environmental sustainability in the energy sector, district heating (DH) with combined heat and power (CHP) systems is increasingly being used. The Italian city of Turin is in a leading position in this field, having one of the largest DH networks in Europe. The aim of this work is the analysis of a further development of the network, addressed to reduce the presence of pollutants in a city that has long been subject to high concentration levels.

Strategies for the enhancement of automobile shredder residues (ASRs) recycling: results and cost assessment.

With reference to the European regulation about the management of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs), Directive 2000/53/EC imposes the achievement of a recycling target of 85%, and 95% of total recovery by 2015. Over the last few years many efforts have been made to find solutions to properly manage the waste coming from ELVs with the aim of complying with the targets fixed by the Directive. This paper focuses on the economical evaluation of a treatment process, that includes physical (size and density), magnetic and electrical separations, performed on the light fraction of the automobile shredder residue (ASR) with the aim of reducing the amount of waste to dispose of in a landfill and enhancing the recovery of valuable fractions as stated by the EU Directive.

Environmental-sanitary risk analysis procedure applied to artificial turf sports fields.

Owing to the extensive use of artificial turfs worldwide, over the past 10 years there has been much discussion about the possible health and environmental problems originating from styrene-butadiene recycled rubber. In this paper, the authors performed a Tier 2 environmental-sanitary risk analysis on five artificial turf sports fields located in the city of Turin (Italy) with the aid of RISC4 software. Two receptors (adult player and child player) and three routes of exposure (direct contact with crumb rubber, contact with rainwater soaking the rubber mat, inhalation of dusts and gases from the artificial turf fields) were considered in the conceptual model.

Participatory approach, acceptability and transparency of waste management LCAs: case studies of Torino and Cuneo.

The paper summarises the main results obtained from two extensive applications of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the integrated municipal solid waste management systems of Torino and Cuneo Districts in northern Italy. Scenarios with substantial differences in terms of amount of waste, percentage of separate collection and options for the disposal of residual waste are used to discuss the credibility and acceptability of the LCA results, which are adversely affected by the large influence of methodological assumptions and the local socio-economic constraints. The use of site-specific data on full scale waste treatment facilities and the adoption of a participatory approach for the definition of the most sensible LCA assumptions are used to assist local public administrators and stakeholders showing them that LCA can be operational to waste management at local scale.

Anaerobic digestion of extruded OFMSW.

Organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was used to feed two pilot plants of 1000 l working in anaerobic conditions. The OFMSW had previously been treated using a system of extrusion which, due to exerted pressure, separates the undesired fractions of waste from organic waste and reduces the organic fraction in a kind of homogeneous jam. Pilot tests were performed in semi-continuous conditions with a stepwise progressive increase of the total solids content (TS) of the input material from 3% TS w/w (1.

Evaluation of mutual connections between zero-valent iron reactivity and groundwater composition in trichloroethylene degradation.

Zero-valent iron Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRBs) are an efficient and relatively low cost in situ technology for the remediation of aquifers polluted by chlorinated solvents. The groundwater composition and the zero-valent iron reactive material are linked by mutual connections. The groundwater, to a certain extent depending on its composition, is able to oxidize the metallic iron, thus decreasing its reactivity; on the other hand, the dechlorination process and the leaching of chemical species from the reactive substrate may deeply modify groundwater composition.

Experimental study of the pH influence on the transport mechanisms of phenols in soil.

The study of the transport mechanisms connected to solid-liquid interactions is fundamental in the determination of the extension of the pollution of a site and in the evaluation of the best remediation process to be applied. The sorption of hydrophobic ionizable organic contaminants from the groundwaters is supervised not only by the physico-chemical properties of soil and pollutants, but also by the groundwaters pH, which deeply influences their solubility in the aqueous media, and consequently their transport mechanisms in the aquifer. In this work an experimental study of the sorption of phenol and 2-nitrophenol on two soils, different in particle-size distribution, CEC and organic carbon content, was realized.

Foundry waste recycling in moulding operations and in the ceramic industry.

An industrial treatment was performed by the Sasil plant of Brusnengo (Biella, Northern Italy), which is part of the Gruppo Minerali S.p.A.