This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.

Prof. Simona M.C. Porto
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, via S. Sofia n. 100, 95123 Catania, Italy

Basic Info


Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Biosystems engineering
0 Buildings for agriculture, animal husbandry, protected crops, rural dwellings
0 Analysis and modelling of biological systems in relation to rural buildings
0 Classification, recovery and enhancement of traditional rural building heritage
0 Survey, representation, analysis, modelling and planning of the rural territory

Honors and Awards

The user has no records in this section


Career Timeline

The user has no records in this section.


Short Biography

The user biography is not available.
Following
Followers
Co Authors
The list of users this user is following is empty.
Following: 0 users

Feed

Journal article
Published: 28 June 2021 in Journal of Agricultural Engineering
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Raw earth, like wood and stone, is one of the oldest building materials used across the world. Nowadays, given the growing role of circular economy, researchers are ever more interested in raw earth-based building materials, because they are widely available and environmentally friendly. The use of this traditional material has positive environmental consequences, especially in traditional rural building reuse and in rural landscape preservation. In fact, raw earth is locally available and totally recyclable and, thanks to its perfect integration into the landscape, it improves site visual perception. Additives and/or chemical stabilizer agents (i.e., Portland cement) are often used in the production of raw earthbased building components in order to increase their mechanical performance and durability. This production process reduces the environmental sustainability of the base material and causes a relevant increase on the embodied energy (i.e., the total energy required for the extraction, processing, manufacturing, and delivery of building components). This research work aimed at investigating how to improve the mix-design of earth-based building materials in order to increase their mechanical properties without any addition of chemical agents. A physical stabilization was performed on an original texture soil by adding various particle sizes. Mechanical tests were carried out on five different soil mixes by changing soil composition, aggregates, and water. Specimens made with mix-design 5 offered the best results in terms of flexural and compressive strength values which were 1.65 MPa and 6.74 MPa, respectively. Mix 3 obtained the lowest linear shrinkage rate (6.04%). Since raw earth-based materials are highly sensitive to soil composition and aggregates, this study attempted to obtain a repeatable process to produce semi-industrial adobes by optimizing and controlling various natural materials (i.e., soils, aggregates, and water).

ACS Style

Monica Parlato; Simona M.C. Porto; Giovanni Cascone. Raw earth-based building materials: An investigation on mechanical properties of Floridia soil-based adobes. Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2021, 52, 1 .

AMA Style

Monica Parlato, Simona M.C. Porto, Giovanni Cascone. Raw earth-based building materials: An investigation on mechanical properties of Floridia soil-based adobes. Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 2021; 52 (2):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Monica Parlato; Simona M.C. Porto; Giovanni Cascone. 2021. "Raw earth-based building materials: An investigation on mechanical properties of Floridia soil-based adobes." Journal of Agricultural Engineering 52, no. 2: 1.

Journal article
Published: 17 May 2021 in Sustainability
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Biomass is seen as one of the most dominant future renewable energy sources. In detail, agro-industrial by-products represent a cheap, renewable, and abundant feedstock useful for several new products, including biochemical, biomaterials, and above all biogas, which are taking on an ever-increasing role in Italy. In this context, the tomato chain was analysed aiming at estimating the amount of processed tomato and the related waste production as a new suitable resource for producing biofuel as a new frontier within the context of a circular economy. Due the importance of the tomato industry, this research aims at filling gaps in the knowledge of the production and yield of the by-products that are useful as biomass for energy use in those territorial areas where the biomethane sector is still developing. This aim could be relevant for planning the sustainable development of the biomethane sector by reducing both soil consumption for dedicated energy crops and GHG emissions coming from the biomass logistic supply. The achieved results show the localization of territorial areas highly characterized by this kind of biomass. Therefore, it would be desirable that the future policies of development in the biomethane sector consider the availability and the distribution of these suitable biomasses within the territory.

ACS Style

Roberta Selvaggi; Francesca Valenti; Biagio Pecorino; Simona Porto. Assessment of Tomato Peels Suitable for Producing Biomethane within the Context of Circular Economy: A GIS-Based Model Analysis. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5559 .

AMA Style

Roberta Selvaggi, Francesca Valenti, Biagio Pecorino, Simona Porto. Assessment of Tomato Peels Suitable for Producing Biomethane within the Context of Circular Economy: A GIS-Based Model Analysis. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (10):5559.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roberta Selvaggi; Francesca Valenti; Biagio Pecorino; Simona Porto. 2021. "Assessment of Tomato Peels Suitable for Producing Biomethane within the Context of Circular Economy: A GIS-Based Model Analysis." Sustainability 13, no. 10: 5559.

Journal article
Published: 18 March 2021 in Journal of Agricultural Engineering
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Natural ventilation is the most used system to create suitable conditions, removing gases, introducing oxygen in livestock buildings. Its efficiency depends on several factors and above all on the number, the dimensions and the position of wall openings and internal layout of livestock buildings. The aim of this research was to develop optimized layout solutions for improving natural ventilation effectiveness in free-stall barns for dairy cows by using a CFD approach. A validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was applied in a case study which is highly representative of building interventions for renovating the layout of free-stall barns for dairy cows located in an area of the Mediterranean basin. Firstly, dairy cow behaviour was analysed by visual examination of time-lapse video-recordings. Then, simulations were carried out by using the validated CFD model and changing the position of internal and external building elements (i.e., internal office and external buildings for milking) in order to find the best condition for the thermal comfort of the animals. The results showed that the best conditions were recorded for a new configuration of the building in terms of air velocity distribution within the resting area, the service alley and the feeding alley for dairy cows, and in the pens for calves. In this new layout, the office areas and the north-west wall openings were located by mirroring them along the transversal axis of the barn. Therefore, the CFD approach proposed in this study could be used during the design phase, as a decision support system aimed at improving the natural ventilation within the barn.

ACS Style

Nicoletta Tomasello; Francesa Valenti; Giovanni Cascone; Simona M.C. Porto. Improving natural ventilation in renovated free-stall barns for dairy cows: Optimized building solutions by using a validated computational fluid dynamics model. Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2021, 52, 1 .

AMA Style

Nicoletta Tomasello, Francesa Valenti, Giovanni Cascone, Simona M.C. Porto. Improving natural ventilation in renovated free-stall barns for dairy cows: Optimized building solutions by using a validated computational fluid dynamics model. Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 2021; 52 (1):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nicoletta Tomasello; Francesa Valenti; Giovanni Cascone; Simona M.C. Porto. 2021. "Improving natural ventilation in renovated free-stall barns for dairy cows: Optimized building solutions by using a validated computational fluid dynamics model." Journal of Agricultural Engineering 52, no. 1: 1.

Paper
Published: 07 October 2020 in Green Chemistry
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Different treatments of six selected Mediterranean agro-industrial by-products, were investigated through LCA application with the aim of analysing their environmental sustainability, in terms of “level of greenness”.

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Wei Liao; Simona M. C. Porto. Life cycle assessment of agro-industrial by-product reuse: a comparison between anaerobic digestion and conventional disposal treatments. Green Chemistry 2020, 22, 7119 -7139.

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Wei Liao, Simona M. C. Porto. Life cycle assessment of agro-industrial by-product reuse: a comparison between anaerobic digestion and conventional disposal treatments. Green Chemistry. 2020; 22 (20):7119-7139.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Wei Liao; Simona M. C. Porto. 2020. "Life cycle assessment of agro-industrial by-product reuse: a comparison between anaerobic digestion and conventional disposal treatments." Green Chemistry 22, no. 20: 7119-7139.

Journal article
Published: 10 July 2020 in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Reads 0
Downloads 0

In precision livestock farming, accelerometers have been adopted to recognise cow’s behavioural activities with the final aim of generating early alarm of illness or specific physiological statuses. Accelerometers are widely used for their low cost and easy integration with other ICT devices and, when they are adopted to acquire data for cow’s behavioural activities recognition, models based on acceleration threshold values make it possible to obtain low computational classifiers. In this study, a model based on an acceleration threshold algorithm is proposed in order to detect cow’s oestrus activity. In detail, a threshold to predict oestrus onset was determined based on experimental data acquired during specific experimental tests carried out in a free-stall barn for dairy cows. Oestrus onset was validated by using images from a video-recording system. Novelty in the results achieved in this study regards the model features that are suitable for the production of a plug-and-play cow’s behaviour monitoring system based on specific firmware-equipped devices.

ACS Style

C. Arcidiacono; M. Mancino; S.M.C. Porto. Moving mean-based algorithm for dairy cow’s oestrus detection from uniaxial-accelerometer data acquired in a free-stall barn. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 2020, 175, 105498 .

AMA Style

C. Arcidiacono, M. Mancino, S.M.C. Porto. Moving mean-based algorithm for dairy cow’s oestrus detection from uniaxial-accelerometer data acquired in a free-stall barn. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 2020; 175 ():105498.

Chicago/Turabian Style

C. Arcidiacono; M. Mancino; S.M.C. Porto. 2020. "Moving mean-based algorithm for dairy cow’s oestrus detection from uniaxial-accelerometer data acquired in a free-stall barn." Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 175, no. : 105498.

Review
Published: 21 January 2020 in Sustainability
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Greasy sheep wool is currently considered a special waste for its high bacterial load, with expensive disposal costs for sheep breeders. For this reason, wool is often burned or buried, with serious consequences for the environment. On the other hand, sheep wool is well regarded as one of the most performative insulating natural fibers due to its thermo-hygrometric and acoustic properties. In the building sector, sheep wool meets the requirements of green building components because it is an eco-friendly material, there is a surplus of it, it is annually renewable, and totally recyclable. If used instead of common insulation materials (e.g., fiberglass, rock wool, polyurethane foam, polystyrene), sheep wool offers significant benefits for sustainability such as a reduction in the production costs for new insulating materials and in environmental pollution. Mechanical and physical properties of sheep wool investigated in previous studies were assessed and discussed with the aim of providing an organized framework of possible applications of wool fibers in building components. This paper highlights in detail aspects that have not yet been investigated enough to detect new potential uses of sheep wool fibers in rural buildings and the reuse of traditional ones.

ACS Style

Monica C.M. Parlato; Simona M.C. Porto. Organized Framework of Main Possible Applications of Sheep Wool Fibers in Building Components. Sustainability 2020, 12, 761 .

AMA Style

Monica C.M. Parlato, Simona M.C. Porto. Organized Framework of Main Possible Applications of Sheep Wool Fibers in Building Components. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (3):761.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Monica C.M. Parlato; Simona M.C. Porto. 2020. "Organized Framework of Main Possible Applications of Sheep Wool Fibers in Building Components." Sustainability 12, no. 3: 761.

Journal article
Published: 15 January 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
Reads 0
Downloads 0

This study focused on applying batch and continuous co-digestion approaches to investigate the effects of a feedstock mixture (FM) constituted by ten Mediterranean feedstocks highly available in the Mediterranean area (i.e., olive pomace, olive mill wastewater, citrus pulp, poultry litter, poultry and cattle manure, whey and cereal straw) on methane production for bioenergy generation. For the same feedstock mixture (FM), two different anaerobic digestion (AD) tests were carried out to evaluate the possible inhibitory effects of some biomasses on the biological process. The first AD test showed a methane yield equal to 229 Nm3CH4/tVS (27% lower than that measured during the batch test). During the second AD test, the specific production was 272 m3CH4/tVS. Both tests showed a similar methane content of methane in the biogas, equal to about 57%. The first AD test showed an inhibition effect of the process: total conversion of the organic matter into biogas was not ended. The second batch test demonstrated that the selected FM could be viable to carry out the co-digestion and could provide a flexible solution to generate advanced biofuels in biogas plants located in the Mediterranean area.

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M.C. Porto; Roberta Selvaggi; Biagio Pecorino. Co-digestion of by-products and agricultural residues: A bioeconomy perspective for a Mediterranean feedstock mixture. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 700, 134440 .

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Simona M.C. Porto, Roberta Selvaggi, Biagio Pecorino. Co-digestion of by-products and agricultural residues: A bioeconomy perspective for a Mediterranean feedstock mixture. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 700 ():134440.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M.C. Porto; Roberta Selvaggi; Biagio Pecorino. 2020. "Co-digestion of by-products and agricultural residues: A bioeconomy perspective for a Mediterranean feedstock mixture." Science of The Total Environment 700, no. : 134440.

Journal article
Published: 12 August 2019 in Buildings
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Natural ventilation is the most common passive cooling system in livestock buildings. The aim of this research is to assess airflow distribution inside a free-stall barn for dairy cows by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and simulation. The model is validated by using the average values of experimental data acquired in a free-stall barn, which is considered relevant because it is located in a region characterised by hot climate conditions during the summer that could induce animal heat stress. Simulations are carried out in steady-state conditions, and simulated data are validated by the average values of air velocity measurements. Since the modelled air velocity distribution in the barn fits the real one well, the CFD model is considered reliable to simulate other conditions. The application of the proposed CFD model in the simulation of specific building design alternatives could be aimed at studying the related airflow distribution in order to find the best configuration.

ACS Style

Nicoletta Tomasello; Francesca Valenti; Giovanni Cascone; Simona M. C. Porto. Development of a CFD Model to Simulate Natural Ventilation in a Semi-Open Free-Stall Barn for Dairy Cows. Buildings 2019, 9, 183 .

AMA Style

Nicoletta Tomasello, Francesca Valenti, Giovanni Cascone, Simona M. C. Porto. Development of a CFD Model to Simulate Natural Ventilation in a Semi-Open Free-Stall Barn for Dairy Cows. Buildings. 2019; 9 (8):183.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nicoletta Tomasello; Francesca Valenti; Giovanni Cascone; Simona M. C. Porto. 2019. "Development of a CFD Model to Simulate Natural Ventilation in a Semi-Open Free-Stall Barn for Dairy Cows." Buildings 9, no. 8: 183.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2019 in Energies
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The necessity to investigate suitable alternatives to conventional fossil fuels has increased interest in several renewable energy resources, especially in biomasses that are widely available and make it possible to reach environmental and socio-economic improvements. Among solutions for bioenergy production, anaerobic digestion technology allows biogas production by reusing agricultural residues and agro-industrial by-products. By considering the basic concepts of the Biogasdoneright® method, the objective of this study was to estimate the theoretical potential net electricity and heat production from anaerobic digestion of citrus pulp and olive pomace highly available worldwide. A model was developed and applied in a study area of the Mediterranean basin, where the biogas sector is still very limited despite the importance of both agricultural and agro-industrial activities, especially with regard to citrus and olive cultivation processing. Firstly, the application of a geographical information system (GIS) software tool allowed the estimation of the biogas potentially produced from citrus pulp and olive pomace re-use. Then, the development of a technical assessment demonstrated that 15.9 GWh electricity and 88,000 GJ heat per year could be generated from these by-products, satisfying approximate 17% of the electricity demand of the agricultural sector of the study area (90.2 GWh y−1). The achieved results could be relevant with regard to the intervention priorities established by the European Union related to the planning activities supported by the European Structural and Investment Funds within the Smart Specialisation Strategy.

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M. C. Porto. Net Electricity and Heat Generated by Reusing Mediterranean Agro-Industrial By-Products. Energies 2019, 12, 470 .

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Simona M. C. Porto. Net Electricity and Heat Generated by Reusing Mediterranean Agro-Industrial By-Products. Energies. 2019; 12 (3):470.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M. C. Porto. 2019. "Net Electricity and Heat Generated by Reusing Mediterranean Agro-Industrial By-Products." Energies 12, no. 3: 470.

Journal article
Published: 22 September 2018 in Buildings
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The development of environmentally-friendly methods as alternatives to chemical fumigation for controlling insect pests has attracted public attention. Among these methods, heat treatment is based on the use of fan heaters that are positioned by operators who typically establish their number and position within buildings to be treated. The aim of this research was to improve heat treatment effectiveness by applying a validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for planning fan heater positions within the building environment. Based on a CFD model, which was built and validated according to experimental data acquired during heat treatment of a flour mill, simulations were carried out by changing the position and/or rotation of fan heaters with the aim of enhancing temperature distribution inside the building. The results showed that in some simulations the percentage of internal wall surfaces having a temperature value lower than that required for heat treatment efficacy was considerably reduced, by up to 56.7%. Therefore, the CFD approach proposed in this study could be used as a decision support system for improving heat treatment efficacy.

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Nicoletta Tomasello; Paolo Lanteri; Simona M. C. Porto. Application of a CFD Validated Model to Plan Fan Heater Position within Flour Mills during a Heat Treatment for Insect Pest Control. Buildings 2018, 8, 132 .

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Nicoletta Tomasello, Paolo Lanteri, Simona M. C. Porto. Application of a CFD Validated Model to Plan Fan Heater Position within Flour Mills during a Heat Treatment for Insect Pest Control. Buildings. 2018; 8 (10):132.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Nicoletta Tomasello; Paolo Lanteri; Simona M. C. Porto. 2018. "Application of a CFD Validated Model to Plan Fan Heater Position within Flour Mills during a Heat Treatment for Insect Pest Control." Buildings 8, no. 10: 132.

Journal article
Published: 06 July 2018 in Journal of Environmental Management
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The suitability of the co-digestion of feedstock-mixtures (by-products and agricultural residues) depends on their ability to produce biogas. In this study, the effects of mixing five feedstocks (citrus pulp, olive pomace, poultry manure, Italian sainfoin silage and opuntia fresh cladodes) on anaerobic digestion for biogas production have been investigated by carrying out biomethane potential (BMP) tests on six different mixing ratios of the selected five biomasses. The BMP test results demonstrated that all the six studied feedstock-mixtures could be potentially used for renewable energy generation by biogas plants. More in detail, two mixing ratios of the studied feedstock-mixtures showed the best biomethane potential of 249.9 and 260.1 Nm3CH4/tVS, respectively. Since this research study made it possible to screen the suitability and technical feasibility of the feedstock-mixtures analysed, the results provide the basis for subsequent pilot scale evaluation of anaerobic digestion in Mediterranean area, where by-products and agricultural residues are profuse and necessary to produce advanced biofuels.

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M.C. Porto; Roberta Selvaggi; Biagio Pecorino. Evaluation of biomethane potential from by-products and agricultural residues co-digestion in southern Italy. Journal of Environmental Management 2018, 223, 834 -840.

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Simona M.C. Porto, Roberta Selvaggi, Biagio Pecorino. Evaluation of biomethane potential from by-products and agricultural residues co-digestion in southern Italy. Journal of Environmental Management. 2018; 223 ():834-840.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M.C. Porto; Roberta Selvaggi; Biagio Pecorino. 2018. "Evaluation of biomethane potential from by-products and agricultural residues co-digestion in southern Italy." Journal of Environmental Management 223, no. : 834-840.

Journal article
Published: 28 May 2018 in Waste Management
Reads 0
Downloads 0

To valorize agricultural wastes and byproducts in southern Italy, anaerobic co-digestion of six feedstocks (citrus pulp, olive pomace, cattle manure, poultry litter, whey, and corn silage) was studied to produce biogas for renewable energy generation. Both batch and semi-continuous co-digestion approaches were adopted to carry out the investigation. The feedstocks were mixed at different percentages according to their availabilities in southern Italy. The batch anaerobic co-digestion demonstrated that six studied feedstock mixtures generated an average of 239 mL CH4/g VS loading without significant difference between each other, which concluded that the feedstock mixtures can be used for biogas production. Considering the feedstock availability of citrus pulp and olive pomace in Sicily, three feedstock mixtures with the highest volatile solids concentration of citrus pulp (42% citrus pulp, 17% corn silage, 4% cattle manure, 8% poultry litter, and 18% whey; 34% citrus pulp, 8% olive pomace, 17% corn silage, 4% cattle manure, 8% poultry litter, and 18% whey; and 25% citrus pulp, 16% olive pomace, 17% corn silage, 4% cattle manure, 8% poultry litter, and 18% whey, respectively) were selected to run the semi-continuous anaerobic digestion. Under the stabilized culture condition, the feed mixture with 42% citrus pulp, 17% corn silage, 4% cattle manure, 8% poultry litter, and 18% whey presented the best biogas production (231 L methane/kg VS loading/day). The corresponding mass and energy balance concluded that all three tested feedstock mixtures have positive net energy outputs (1.5, 0.9, and 1.2 kWh-e/kg dry feedstock mixture, respectively).

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Yuan Zhong; Mingxuan Sun; Simona M.C. Porto; Attilio Toscano; Bruce E. Dale; Fabrizio Sibilla; Wei Liao. Anaerobic co-digestion of multiple agricultural residues to enhance biogas production in southern Italy. Waste Management 2018, 78, 151 -157.

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Yuan Zhong, Mingxuan Sun, Simona M.C. Porto, Attilio Toscano, Bruce E. Dale, Fabrizio Sibilla, Wei Liao. Anaerobic co-digestion of multiple agricultural residues to enhance biogas production in southern Italy. Waste Management. 2018; 78 ():151-157.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Yuan Zhong; Mingxuan Sun; Simona M.C. Porto; Attilio Toscano; Bruce E. Dale; Fabrizio Sibilla; Wei Liao. 2018. "Anaerobic co-digestion of multiple agricultural residues to enhance biogas production in southern Italy." Waste Management 78, no. : 151-157.

Journal article
Published: 24 March 2018 in Buildings
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Heat treatment of the indoor environment of flour mills is an alternative technique to chemical fumigation for controlling insect pests. The aim of this research was to assess temperature distribution inside a flour mill during a heat treatment for insect pest control by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and simulation. The model was validated by using the average values of experimental data acquired during a heat treatment carried out in a flour mill, which is representative of the building materials and techniques used in the milling industry of South Italy. Simulations were carried out in steady-state conditions, and simulated data were validated by the average values of air and wall temperature measurements. Since the modelled temperature distribution in the mill fit the real one with a good accuracy (maximum error equal to 2.57 °C), the CFD model was considered reliable to simulate other operating conditions. Since it was observed that the internal surface temperatures of the mill were much lower than the value required for the success of the heat treatment, equal to 45 °C, the CFD model could be used for improving the effectiveness of heat treatments in the flour mill. Application of the proposed CFD model in the simulation of specific interventions could be aimed at improving both building performance and fan heaters’ localisatio,n in order to find the best configuration.

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona Maria Carmela Porto; Nicoletta Tomasello; Claudia Arcidiacono. Enhancing Heat Treatment Efficacy for Insect Pest Control: A Case Study of a CFD Application to Improve the Design and Structure of a Flour Mill. Buildings 2018, 8, 48 .

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Simona Maria Carmela Porto, Nicoletta Tomasello, Claudia Arcidiacono. Enhancing Heat Treatment Efficacy for Insect Pest Control: A Case Study of a CFD Application to Improve the Design and Structure of a Flour Mill. Buildings. 2018; 8 (4):48.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona Maria Carmela Porto; Nicoletta Tomasello; Claudia Arcidiacono. 2018. "Enhancing Heat Treatment Efficacy for Insect Pest Control: A Case Study of a CFD Application to Improve the Design and Structure of a Flour Mill." Buildings 8, no. 4: 48.

Modeling and analysis
Published: 22 March 2018 in Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Biogas obtained from the anaerobic digestion of biomasses has increasingly been considered a feasible alternative to energy production from fossil fuel because of the possible advantages derived from both the reduction of the environmental burden and the reuse of by‐products and agricultural residues. Italy is the third largest biogas producer in the world after China and Germany, but the biogas sector in southern Italy, especially in Sicily, is still developing. The objective of this study was to contribute to the sustainable development of the biogas sector in Sicily by developing a method for the localization of geographical areas suitable for biogas production. First, a feedstock mixture found in previous research studies (which investigated several mixes of main agricultural residues and by‐products available in Sicily for the enhancement of biogas production in terms of methane content) was used to evaluate each feedstock territorial distribution in a study area. Then a GIS‐based model for the computation of a spatial index of feedstock‐mixture availability, ifm_a , was developed. The computed spatial index was applied on a GIS map to investigate the availability of the feedstock mixture in the area under study. The results of the territorial analyses obtained by applying the index showed the geographical areas suitable for the development of new biogas plants. The results of this study could be helpful in reducing the significant transport costs of each feedstock as well as the environmental impact of biogas production. In this regard, the results are in line with the policy priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy, which aims to valorize by‐products and agricultural residues through their reuse. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Wei Liao; Simona Mc Porto. A GIS-based spatial index of feedstock-mixture availability for anaerobic co-digestion of Mediterranean by-products and agricultural residues. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 2018, 12, 362 -378.

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Wei Liao, Simona Mc Porto. A GIS-based spatial index of feedstock-mixture availability for anaerobic co-digestion of Mediterranean by-products and agricultural residues. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. 2018; 12 (3):362-378.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Wei Liao; Simona Mc Porto. 2018. "A GIS-based spatial index of feedstock-mixture availability for anaerobic co-digestion of Mediterranean by-products and agricultural residues." Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 12, no. 3: 362-378.

Preprint
Published: 02 March 2018
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The necessity to investigate suitable alternatives to conventional fossil fuels has developed the interests in many renewable energy alternatives, especially biomass resources which are widely available and allow to reach both environmental and socio-economic improvements. Among the bioenergy solutions the anaerobic digestion technology makes it possible to produce biogas by reusing and valorising agricultural residues and by-products. In Southern Italy, to date, the development of biogas sector is still very limited, despite the importance of the agricultural sector, especially of citrus and olive cultivation. For this reason, in previous studies the availability of two by-products, i.e., citrus pulp and olive pomace, was analysed in order to choose the most suitable area for a sustainable development of new biogas plants according to the new Biogasdoneright concept. In this paper, after a resume of the multi-step methodology which allowed the computation of biogas production, it was demonstrated that 15.9 GWh-e electricity and 24.5 GWh-e heat per year could be generate by reusing only these two kind of by-products, and could satisfy approximate 17% of the total electricity demand of the agricultural sector (90.2 GWh-e/year) in Catania.

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M.C. Porto; Paolo Lanteri; Claudia Arcidiacono. Potential Energy Production from Citrus Pulp and Olive Pomace: A Case Study in a Region of Mediterranean Basin. 2018, 1 .

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Simona M.C. Porto, Paolo Lanteri, Claudia Arcidiacono. Potential Energy Production from Citrus Pulp and Olive Pomace: A Case Study in a Region of Mediterranean Basin. . 2018; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M.C. Porto; Paolo Lanteri; Claudia Arcidiacono. 2018. "Potential Energy Production from Citrus Pulp and Olive Pomace: A Case Study in a Region of Mediterranean Basin." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 17 November 2017 in Biosystems Engineering
Reads 0
Downloads 0
ACS Style

Simona M.C. Porto; Francesca Valenti; Salvatore Bella; Agatino Russo; Giovanni Cascone; Claudia Arcidiacono. Improving the effectiveness of heat treatment for insect pest control in flour mills by thermal simulations. Biosystems Engineering 2017, 164, 189 -199.

AMA Style

Simona M.C. Porto, Francesca Valenti, Salvatore Bella, Agatino Russo, Giovanni Cascone, Claudia Arcidiacono. Improving the effectiveness of heat treatment for insect pest control in flour mills by thermal simulations. Biosystems Engineering. 2017; 164 ():189-199.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Simona M.C. Porto; Francesca Valenti; Salvatore Bella; Agatino Russo; Giovanni Cascone; Claudia Arcidiacono. 2017. "Improving the effectiveness of heat treatment for insect pest control in flour mills by thermal simulations." Biosystems Engineering 164, no. : 189-199.

Journal article
Published: 16 November 2017 in Biosystems Engineering
Reads 0
Downloads 0
ACS Style

Claudia Arcidiacono; Simona M.C. Porto; Massimo Mancino; Giovanni Cascone. A software tool for the automatic and real-time analysis of cow velocity data in free-stall barns: The case study of oestrus detection from Ultra-Wide-Band data. Biosystems Engineering 2017, 173, 157 -165.

AMA Style

Claudia Arcidiacono, Simona M.C. Porto, Massimo Mancino, Giovanni Cascone. A software tool for the automatic and real-time analysis of cow velocity data in free-stall barns: The case study of oestrus detection from Ultra-Wide-Band data. Biosystems Engineering. 2017; 173 ():157-165.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Claudia Arcidiacono; Simona M.C. Porto; Massimo Mancino; Giovanni Cascone. 2017. "A software tool for the automatic and real-time analysis of cow velocity data in free-stall barns: The case study of oestrus detection from Ultra-Wide-Band data." Biosystems Engineering 173, no. : 157-165.

Journal article
Published: 12 September 2017 in Journal of Agricultural Engineering
Reads 0
Downloads 0

This paper presents the results of a research study which had the objective of investigating the effect of a sprinkler system coupled with forced ventilation on the heat stress of dairy cows bred in a free stall barn without paddock. To this aim, an experiment was carried out inside a free-stall dairy house equipped with two different cooling systems: a fogging system associated with forced ventilation in the resting area and a sprinkler system associated with forced ventilation in the feeding alley. The experiment regarded two adjacent pens of the barn and was constituted by three different trials carried out in the following periods: 27th June – 7th July (P1), 25th July – 4th August (P2), 24th August – 3rd September (P3). The experimental protocol of each trial required that the treatment group was housed in one pen where the two cooling systems were always activated following an established timetable, whereas the control group was housed in the other pen, where the sprinkler system associated with forced ventilation was always deactivated. Climatic parameters were measured inside each pen of the barn and outside. Then, thermal humidity index (THI) was calculated. Rectal temperature and respiration rate of a sample of dairy cows were monitored each day during the three periods considered (P1, P2 and P3). During the three trials the cows of both groups were subjected to climatic conditions that resulted in average daily THI values between 72.8 and 74.7, corresponding to mild or moderate heat stress. However, during daytime, air temperature and relative humidity reached values corresponding to a severe heat stress, as attested by the maximum THI values that were higher than or very close to 80. Furthermore, it was observed that the sprinklers do not influence the microclimatic conditions. However, the physiological parameters values of the treatment group were always significantly lower than the corresponding ones of the control group. Specifically, the system especially influenced the respiration rate that, in the treatment group, was close to 50 breath/min, while in the control group it reached 70 breath/min. The sprinkler system had more limited effects on rectal temperature that, however, in the treatment group was significantly lower than in the control group (38.7°C to 38.8°C vs 39.1°C 39.4°C) in all the three periods of the experiment. These results show that the sprinkler system could be useful to mitigate heat stress in dairy cows.

ACS Style

Alessandro D'emilio; Simona M.C. Porto; Giovanni Cascone; Marco Bella; Marco Gulino. Mitigating heat stress of dairy cows bred in a free-stall barn by sprinkler systems coupled with forced ventilation. Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2017, 48, 190 -195.

AMA Style

Alessandro D'emilio, Simona M.C. Porto, Giovanni Cascone, Marco Bella, Marco Gulino. Mitigating heat stress of dairy cows bred in a free-stall barn by sprinkler systems coupled with forced ventilation. Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 2017; 48 (4):190-195.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alessandro D'emilio; Simona M.C. Porto; Giovanni Cascone; Marco Bella; Marco Gulino. 2017. "Mitigating heat stress of dairy cows bred in a free-stall barn by sprinkler systems coupled with forced ventilation." Journal of Agricultural Engineering 48, no. 4: 190-195.

Journal article
Published: 13 July 2017 in Journal of Agricultural Engineering
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Renewable energy sources represent a suitable alternative to conventional fossil fuels, due to the possible advantages in terms of environmental impact reduction. Anaerobic digestion of biomasses could be considered an environmental friendly way to treat and revalorise large amounts of by-products from farming industries because it ensures both pollution control and energy recovery. Therefore, the objective of this study was to define a methodology for evaluating the potential biogas production available from citrus pulp and olive pomace, which are suitable agricultural by-products for biogas production. In the first phase of the study, the spatial distribution of both olive and citrus-producing areas was analysed in Sicily, a geographical area of the Mediterranean basin highly representative of these types of cultivation. Then, a GIS-based model, which had been previously defined and utilised to evaluate the amount of citrus pulp and olive pomace production, was applied to this case study. Based on the results obtained for the different provinces of Sicily, the province of Catania was chosen as the study area of this work since it showed the highest production of both citrus pulp and olive pomace. Therefore, a further analysis regarded the quantification of olive pomace and citrus pulp at municipal level. The results of this analysis showed that the total amount of available citrus pulp and olive pomace corresponded theoretically to about 11,102,469 Nm3/year biogas. Finally, the methodology adopted in this study made it possible to identify suitable areas for the development of new biogas plants by considering both the spatial distribution of the olive and citrus growing areas and the locations of the existing processing industries.

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M.C. Porto; Giovanni Cascone; Claudia Arcidiacono. Potential biogas production from agricultural by-products in Sicily: a case study of citrus pulp and olive pomace. Journal of Agricultural Engineering 2017, 48, 196 -202.

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Simona M.C. Porto, Giovanni Cascone, Claudia Arcidiacono. Potential biogas production from agricultural by-products in Sicily: a case study of citrus pulp and olive pomace. Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 2017; 48 (4):196-202.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Simona M.C. Porto; Giovanni Cascone; Claudia Arcidiacono. 2017. "Potential biogas production from agricultural by-products in Sicily: a case study of citrus pulp and olive pomace." Journal of Agricultural Engineering 48, no. 4: 196-202.

Modeling and analysis
Published: 08 June 2017 in Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Recently, to obtain biogas from biomass, an innovative system based on both sustainable intensification of crop rotation and use of by‐products was developed. This system derives from BIOGASDONERIGHT concept, which was put forward with the aim of making more sustainable biogas production. Among the by‐products that could be considered for the anaerobic digestion within this new concept, olive pomace (OP) has been the object of research studies aimed at evaluating its possible reuse for energy purpose in terms of economic sustainability. This possibility is of relevant importance to reduce the environmental burden caused by disposal processes of the residues of olive oil industries. However, to the authors’ knowledge, the amount of processed olives in olive‐producing areas, as well as the correct planning of OP use for energy purposes, has not yet been the object of research activities. Therefore, the aim of this research study was to compute the availability of OP, the main waste from the olive oil industry to be disposed of, by following a methodology which included a geographic information system (GIS) based model that allowed the computation of indicators suitable to describe OP potential production within geographical areas. In the first phase of the study, the spatial distribution of the olive‐producing areas in Sicily, a geographical area of the Mediterranean Basin highly representative of olive oil production, was analyzed. Then, a GIS‐based model, previously defined and applied to evaluate the amount of citrus pulp production, was applied to this case study to estimate OP potential production by the computation of a suitable index. The model required information about olive oil industries, which was gathered by performing specific surveys, and included the computation of indicators regarding olive‐producing areas, the amount of olive oil produced, and the amount of OP obtained. In the second phase of this study, the quantification of OP that can be available for biogas production was carried out at a provincial level in an area described by the highest potential of OP production. The total amount of OP available for biogas production corresponded theoretically to 1.9 million Nm3 biogas. This result proved that OP has a high potential to be converted into a resource for renewable energy production, such as biogas. Therefore, it constituted a potential solution to issues related to the environmental burden of OP disposal. Furthermore, the GIS‐based model applied in this case study, by giving the potential production of OP, could contribute to build an information base aimed at improving the sustainability of biogas sector. In this context, by considering the availability and distribution of other agricultural biomasses, the results of this study could be useful for applications in geographical areas where biogas sector is still developing. In fact, the obtained results could help identifying the best location of new biogas plants in terms of optimization of the logistics of biomasses supply. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

ACS Style

Francesca Valenti; Claudia Arcidiacono; Gaetano Chinnici; Giovanni Cascone; Simona MC Porto. Quantification of olive pomace availability for biogas production by using a GIS‐based model. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 2017, 11, 784 -797.

AMA Style

Francesca Valenti, Claudia Arcidiacono, Gaetano Chinnici, Giovanni Cascone, Simona MC Porto. Quantification of olive pomace availability for biogas production by using a GIS‐based model. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. 2017; 11 (5):784-797.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesca Valenti; Claudia Arcidiacono; Gaetano Chinnici; Giovanni Cascone; Simona MC Porto. 2017. "Quantification of olive pomace availability for biogas production by using a GIS‐based model." Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 11, no. 5: 784-797.