This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Mariacrocetta Sambito holds her PhD in territorial infrastructures at the "Kore" University of Enna (Italy) since 2020 by discussing a thesis on the optimal positioning of water quality sensors in urban drainage networks, with the creation of a mathematical model in C language which embed a bayesian probabilistic approach in a sewer network model including uncertainty assessment and recursive implementation of measurement database. She has been organizing member of the 13th Hydroinformatics International Conference and guest editor of several special issues and is currently also reviewer board of Resources and Water Journal (MDPI) as well as voluntary reviewer in several others (publisher: MDPI, T&F, IWA, etc.). In 2018 she was the winner of the award for the best article written and presented by a PhD student at the International Conference on Hydroinformatics. She also spent a short period at Dublin City University (Ireland) during which she was able to carry out her research and establish international relations. Furthermore, she is a member of IAHR and IWA and was recently invited as a speaker at the first online forum on "Digital Transformation of Urban Wter Systems" organized by 'IAHR. She currently holds a research grant at the University of Palermo (Italy) for the implementation of numerical modeling of brackish water infiltration in sewers at urban basin scale and in general, she mainly deals with water quality and urban drainage systems.
In recent decades, maritime transport demand has increased along with world population and global trades. This is associated with higher pollution levels, including the emissions of GHG and other polluting gases. Ports are important elements within maritime transport and contribute themselves to pollutant emissions. This paper aims to offer a comprehensive yet technical review of the latest related technologies, explaining and covering aspects that link ports with emissions, i.e., analyzing, monitoring, assessing, and mitigating emissions in ports. This has been achieved through a robust scientific analysis of very recent and significant research studies, to offer an up-to-date and reliable overview. Results show the correlation between emissions and port infrastructures, and demonstrate how proper interventions can help with reducing pollutant emissions and financial costs as well, in ports and for maritime transportation in general. Besides, this review also wishes to propose new ideas for future research: new future experimental studies might spin-off from it, and perhaps port Authorities might be inspired to experiment and implement dedicated technologies to improve their impact on environment and sustainability.
Salvatore Barberi; Mariacrocetta Sambito; Larysa Neduzha; Alessandro Severino. Pollutant Emissions in Ports: A Comprehensive Review. Infrastructures 2021, 6, 114 .
AMA StyleSalvatore Barberi, Mariacrocetta Sambito, Larysa Neduzha, Alessandro Severino. Pollutant Emissions in Ports: A Comprehensive Review. Infrastructures. 2021; 6 (8):114.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSalvatore Barberi; Mariacrocetta Sambito; Larysa Neduzha; Alessandro Severino. 2021. "Pollutant Emissions in Ports: A Comprehensive Review." Infrastructures 6, no. 8: 114.
Due to urbanization, large portions of vegetated territory have been replaced by waterproof surfaces. The consequences are greater outflows, lower infiltration, and lower evapotranspiration. Pavement systems made with permeable surfaces allow the infiltration of water, ensuring reduction of runoff volume. In this paper, the methods of analysis of the hydrological and environmental performance of the pavement systems are reviewed in the context of urban drainage and regarding their durability. The purpose is to present an overview of the studies published during the last decade in the field. The Pubmed and Web Science Core Collection electronic databases were used to conduct the scientific literature survey. This generated 1238 papers, of which only 17 met the criteria and were included and discussed in this review. The evidence drawn from the knowledge on which the document is based provides useful critical interpretations of existing studies to progress the current understanding on hydrological performance and environment impacts in terms of conventional pollutant removal efficiency and the current permeable pavement systems.
Mariacrocetta Sambito; Alessandro Severino; Gabriele Freni; Larysa Neduzha. A Systematic Review of the Hydrological, Environmental and Durability Performance of Permeable Pavement Systems. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4509 .
AMA StyleMariacrocetta Sambito, Alessandro Severino, Gabriele Freni, Larysa Neduzha. A Systematic Review of the Hydrological, Environmental and Durability Performance of Permeable Pavement Systems. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (8):4509.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMariacrocetta Sambito; Alessandro Severino; Gabriele Freni; Larysa Neduzha. 2021. "A Systematic Review of the Hydrological, Environmental and Durability Performance of Permeable Pavement Systems." Sustainability 13, no. 8: 4509.
In the urban drainage sector, the problem of polluting discharges in sewers may act on the proper functioning of the sewer system, on the wastewater treatment plant reliability and on the receiving water body preservation. Therefore, the implementation of a chemical monitoring network is necessary to promptly detect and contain the event of contamination. Sensor location is usually an optimization exercise that is based on probabilistic or black-box methods and their efficiency is usually dependent on the initial assumption made on possible eligibility of nodes to become a monitoring point. It is a common practice to establish an initial non-informative assumption by considering all network nodes to have equal possibilities to allocate a sensor. In the present study, such a common approach is compared with different initial strategies to pre-screen eligible nodes as a function of topological and hydraulic information, and non-formal ‘grey’ information on the most probable locations of the contamination source. Such strategies were previously compared for conservative xenobiotic contaminations and now they are compared for a more difficult identification exercise: the detection of nonconservative immanent contaminants. The strategies are applied to a Bayesian optimization approach that demonstrated to be efficient in contamination source location. The case study is the literature network of the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) manual, Example 8. The results show that the pre-screening and ‘grey’ information are able to reduce the computational effort needed to obtain the optimal solution or, with equal computational effort, to improve location efficiency. The nature of the contamination is highly relevant, affecting monitoring efficiency, sensor location and computational efforts to reach optimality.
Mariacrocetta Sambito; Gabriele Freni. Strategies for Improving Optimal Positioning of Quality Sensors in Urban Drainage Systems for Non-Conservative Contaminants. Water 2021, 13, 934 .
AMA StyleMariacrocetta Sambito, Gabriele Freni. Strategies for Improving Optimal Positioning of Quality Sensors in Urban Drainage Systems for Non-Conservative Contaminants. Water. 2021; 13 (7):934.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMariacrocetta Sambito; Gabriele Freni. 2021. "Strategies for Improving Optimal Positioning of Quality Sensors in Urban Drainage Systems for Non-Conservative Contaminants." Water 13, no. 7: 934.
In recent years, there has been a need to seek adequate preventive measures to deal with contamination in water distribution networks that may be related to the accidental contamination and the deliberate injection of toxic agents. Therefore, it is very important to create a sensor system that detects contamination events in real time, maintains the reliability and efficiency of measurements, and limits the cost of the instrumentation. To this aim, two problems have to be faced: practical difficulties connected to the experimental verification of the optimal sensor configuration efficiency on real operating systems and challenges related to the reliability of the network modelling approaches, which usually neglect the dispersion and diffusion phenomena. The present study applies a numerical optimization approach using the NSGA-II genetic algorithm that was coupled with a new diffusive-dispersive hydraulic simulator. The results are compared with those of an experimental campaign on a laboratory network (Enna, Italy) equipped with a real-time water quality monitoring system and those of a full-scale real distribution network (Zandvoort, Netherlands). The results showed the importance of diffusive processes when flow velocity in the network is low. Neglecting diffusion can negatively influence the water quality sensor positioning, leading to inefficient monitoring networks.
Stefania Piazza; E. J. Mirjam Blokker; Gabriele Freni; Valeria Puleo; Mariacrocetta Sambito. Impact of diffusion and dispersion of contaminants in water distribution networks modelling and monitoring. Water Supply 2019, 20, 46 -58.
AMA StyleStefania Piazza, E. J. Mirjam Blokker, Gabriele Freni, Valeria Puleo, Mariacrocetta Sambito. Impact of diffusion and dispersion of contaminants in water distribution networks modelling and monitoring. Water Supply. 2019; 20 (1):46-58.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefania Piazza; E. J. Mirjam Blokker; Gabriele Freni; Valeria Puleo; Mariacrocetta Sambito. 2019. "Impact of diffusion and dispersion of contaminants in water distribution networks modelling and monitoring." Water Supply 20, no. 1: 46-58.
In the last decade, the growth of the micro-industry in urban areas has produced an increase in the frequency of xenobiotic polluting discharges in drainage systems. Wastewater treatment plants are usually characterized by low removal efficiencies in respect of such pollutants, which may have an acute or cumulative impact on environmental and public health. To facilitate the early isolation of illicit intrusions, this study aims to develop an approach for positioning water quality sensors based on the Bayesian decision network (BDN). The analysis is focused on soluble conservative pollutants, such as metals. The proposed methodology incorporates several sources of information, including network topology, flows and non-formal ‘grey’ information about the possible locations of contamination sources. The methodology is tested using two sewer systems with increasing complexity: a literature scheme from the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) manual and a real combined sewer in Italy. In both cases, the approach identifies the optimal sensor location gaining advantage from additional information, which reduces the computational effort needed to obtain the solution. In the real case, the application of the method yielded a better solution with regards to the real position of the implemented sensor network.
Mariacrocetta Sambito; Cristiana Di Cristo; Gabriele Freni; Angelo Leopardi. Optimal water quality sensor positioning in urban drainage systems for illicit intrusion identification. Journal of Hydroinformatics 2019, 22, 46 -60.
AMA StyleMariacrocetta Sambito, Cristiana Di Cristo, Gabriele Freni, Angelo Leopardi. Optimal water quality sensor positioning in urban drainage systems for illicit intrusion identification. Journal of Hydroinformatics. 2019; 22 (1):46-60.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMariacrocetta Sambito; Cristiana Di Cristo; Gabriele Freni; Angelo Leopardi. 2019. "Optimal water quality sensor positioning in urban drainage systems for illicit intrusion identification." Journal of Hydroinformatics 22, no. 1: 46-60.
In recent years, the evaluation of water quality in distribution systems has generated enormous interest in the scientific community due to the increasing concentration of population in urban areas and frequent issues connected with supply water quality. Following the wave of bioterrorism subsequent the events of September 11th 2001, a need can be foreseen to seek adequate preventive measures to deal with contamination in water distribution systems that may be related to the accidental contamination and deliberate injection of toxic agents of any origin in the distribution networks. Therefore, it is very important to create a sensor system that detects contamination events in real time, while maintaining the reliability and efficiency of the measurements, limiting the cost of the instrumentation. A reliable monitoring system, for this kind of problems, cannot be deployed without realistic modelling support. The current state-of-the-art in water distribution systems analysis usually adopt a simplified approach to water quality modelling, neglecting dispersion and diffusion and considering simplified reaction kinetics. Even if such simplifications are commonly acceptable in fully turbulent flows, they may take to relevant errors in transition flows with low velocity thus taking to unreliable interpretation of the contamination in complex networks. The present paper aims to compare different modelling approaches to the evaluation of contaminant dispersion in two distribution networks: one laboratory network in which contamination experiments were carried out in a controlled environment (Enna, Italy) and a full-scale real distribution network (Zandvoort, Netherlands).
Stefania Piazza; E.J. Mirjam Blokker; Gabriele Freni; Valeria Puleo; Mariacrocetta Sambito. Comparison Between Diffusive and Advective Approach in Quality Analysis of a Real Distribution Network. 2018, 1 .
AMA StyleStefania Piazza, E.J. Mirjam Blokker, Gabriele Freni, Valeria Puleo, Mariacrocetta Sambito. Comparison Between Diffusive and Advective Approach in Quality Analysis of a Real Distribution Network. . 2018; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefania Piazza; E.J. Mirjam Blokker; Gabriele Freni; Valeria Puleo; Mariacrocetta Sambito. 2018. "Comparison Between Diffusive and Advective Approach in Quality Analysis of a Real Distribution Network." , no. : 1.
In the last decades, the growth of mini- and micro-industry in urban areas has produced an increase in the frequency of xenobiotic polluting discharges in drainage systems. Such pollutants are usually characterized by low removal efficiencies in urban wastewater treatment plants and they may have an acute or cumulative impact on environment. In order to facilitate early detection and efficient containment of the illicit intrusions, the present work aims to develop a decision-support approach for positioning the water quality sensors. It is mainly based on the use of a decision-making support of the BDN type (Bayesian Decision Network), specifically looking soluble conservative pollutants, such as metals. In the application and result section the methodology is tested on two sewer systems, with increasing complexity: a literature scheme from the SWMM manual and a real combined sewer.
Mariacrocetta Sambito; Cristiana Di Cristo; Gabriele Freni; Angelo Leopardi; Claudia Quintiliani. Pre-Conditioning Approach to Bayesian Decision Networks for Water Quality Sensors Positioning in Urban Drainage Systems. 2018, 1 .
AMA StyleMariacrocetta Sambito, Cristiana Di Cristo, Gabriele Freni, Angelo Leopardi, Claudia Quintiliani. Pre-Conditioning Approach to Bayesian Decision Networks for Water Quality Sensors Positioning in Urban Drainage Systems. . 2018; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMariacrocetta Sambito; Cristiana Di Cristo; Gabriele Freni; Angelo Leopardi; Claudia Quintiliani. 2018. "Pre-Conditioning Approach to Bayesian Decision Networks for Water Quality Sensors Positioning in Urban Drainage Systems." , no. : 1.
In integrated urban water systems, energy consumption, and consequently the amount of produced CO2, depends on many environmental, infrastructural, and management factors such as supply water quality, on which treatment complexity depends, urban area orography, water systems efficiency, and maintenance levels. An important factor is related to the presence of significant water losses, which result in an increase in the supply volume and therefore a higher energy consumption for treatment and pumping, without effectively supplying users. The current European environmental strategy is committed to sustainable development by generating action plans to improve the environmental performance of products and services. The analysis of carbon footprints is considered one such improvement, allowing for the evaluation of the environmental impact of single production phases. Using this framework, the aim of the study is to apply a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to quantify the carbon footprint of an overall integrated urban water system referring to ISO/TS 14067 (2013). This methodology uses an approach known as “cradle to grave” and presumes to conduct an objective assessment of product units, balancing energy, and matter flows along the production process. The methodology was applied to a real case study, i.e., the integrated urban water system of the Palermo metropolitan area in Sicily (Italy). Each process in the system was characterized and globally evaluated from the point of view of water loss, energy consumption, and CO2 production, and some mitigation strategies are proposed and evaluated to reduce the energy consumption and, consequently, the environmental impact of the system.
Mariacrocetta Sambito; Gabriele Freni. LCA Methodology for the Quantification of the Carbon Footprint of the Integrated Urban Water System. Water 2017, 9, 395 .
AMA StyleMariacrocetta Sambito, Gabriele Freni. LCA Methodology for the Quantification of the Carbon Footprint of the Integrated Urban Water System. Water. 2017; 9 (6):395.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMariacrocetta Sambito; Gabriele Freni. 2017. "LCA Methodology for the Quantification of the Carbon Footprint of the Integrated Urban Water System." Water 9, no. 6: 395.
The present paper describes different energy production, recovery and saving measures which can be applied in an integrated urban water system. Production measures are often based on the installation of photovoltaic systems; the recovery measures are commonly based on hydraulic turbines, exploiting the available pressure potential to produce energy; saving measures are based on substitution of old pumps with higher efficiency ones. The possibility of substituting some of the pipes of the water supply system can be also considered in a recovery scenario in order to reduce leakages and recovery part of the energy needed for water transport and treatment. The reduction of water losses can be obtained through the Active Leakage Control (ALC) strategies resulting in a reduction in energy consumption and in environmental impact. Measures were applied to a real case study to tested it the efficiency, i.e., the integrated urban water system of the Palermo metropolitan area in Sicily (Italy).
Gabriele Freni; Mariacrocetta Sambito. Energy saving and recovery measures in integrated urban water systems. PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING 2017 (ICCMSE-2017) 2017, 1 .
AMA StyleGabriele Freni, Mariacrocetta Sambito. Energy saving and recovery measures in integrated urban water systems. PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING 2017 (ICCMSE-2017). 2017; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGabriele Freni; Mariacrocetta Sambito. 2017. "Energy saving and recovery measures in integrated urban water systems." PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING 2017 (ICCMSE-2017) , no. : 1.
Water is one of the primary resources provided for maintaining quality of life and social status in urban areas. As potable water is considered to be a primary need, water service has usually been managed without examining the economic and environmental sustainability of supply processes. Currently, due to increases in energy costs and the growth of environment preservation policies, reducing water leakage, energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) production have become primary objectives in reducing the environmental footprint of water service. The present paper suggests the implementation of some performance indicators that show the interdependence of water loss, energy consumption and GHG emission. These indicators are used to compare a few possible mitigation scenarios involving water loss reduction and increasing the system’s energy efficiency. The proposed indicators were applied to a complex urban water supply system serving the city of Palermo (Italy).
Valeria Puleo; Mariacrocetta Sambito; Gabriele Freni. An Environmental Analysis of the Effect of Energy Saving, Production and Recovery Measures on Water Supply Systems under Scarcity Conditions. Energies 2015, 8, 5937 -5951.
AMA StyleValeria Puleo, Mariacrocetta Sambito, Gabriele Freni. An Environmental Analysis of the Effect of Energy Saving, Production and Recovery Measures on Water Supply Systems under Scarcity Conditions. Energies. 2015; 8 (6):5937-5951.
Chicago/Turabian StyleValeria Puleo; Mariacrocetta Sambito; Gabriele Freni. 2015. "An Environmental Analysis of the Effect of Energy Saving, Production and Recovery Measures on Water Supply Systems under Scarcity Conditions." Energies 8, no. 6: 5937-5951.
In the last decades, a growing attention on energy saving associated with water resources usage and leakages reduction has been recorded at both national and international level. Scientific research has focused on implementation of several methodologies aimed at the understanding of energy transformation processes occurring in the integrated water system.The main concern is then identifying energy impacts associated to each macro-area of integrated water system, such as collection, treatment and distribution, and analysing the potential interactions between them. Unfortunately, only overall energy consumptions are usually available at national level. The main objective of the paper is to present a decision support tool, developed in the framework of the ALADIN project, able to analysing the water and energy balance in the integrated water service. In order to achieve a sustainable use of water resources, the tool allows an assessment of the energy impact of different macro - areas of integrated water system. Moreover, each macro - area can be treated as an element able to share energy with other elements, aiming to obtain an energy saving on the whole integrated water system. In this way, the decision support tool could suggest efficient solutions, according to the operator objectives,with regard to energy and water losses management. Therefore, the tool could provide guidelines for choosing the best management solutions, depending on the particular analysed system, and allow, at the same time, the energy and water resources saving. The proposed tool was applied to a complex water supply system, the Favara di Burgiosystem (Sicily, Italy) in order to show its reliability
Vincenza Notaro; Valeria Puleo; Chiara Fontanazza; Mariacrocetta Sambito; Goffredo La Loggia. A Decision Support Tool for Water and Energy Savingin the Integrated Water System. Procedia Engineering 2015, 119, 1109 -1118.
AMA StyleVincenza Notaro, Valeria Puleo, Chiara Fontanazza, Mariacrocetta Sambito, Goffredo La Loggia. A Decision Support Tool for Water and Energy Savingin the Integrated Water System. Procedia Engineering. 2015; 119 ():1109-1118.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVincenza Notaro; Valeria Puleo; Chiara Fontanazza; Mariacrocetta Sambito; Goffredo La Loggia. 2015. "A Decision Support Tool for Water and Energy Savingin the Integrated Water System." Procedia Engineering 119, no. : 1109-1118.