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Prof. Andrea Nicolini
University of Perugia

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0 Renewable and Sustainable Energy
0 Energy Storage and Application
0 Noise pollution
0 Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
0 Biomass and bioenergy

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Journal article
Published: 04 August 2021 in Sustainability
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One of the primary targets for the new lignocellulosic feedstock-based biorefinery is the simultaneous valorization of holocellulose and lignin. Acidified organosolv treatment is among the most promising strategy for recovering technical lignin, water-soluble hemicellulose, and cellulose pulp with increased accessibility to hydrolytic enzymes. In this work, a design-of-experiment (DoE) approach was used to increase the cellulose recovery, digestibility, and the delignification of Cynara cardunculus L. feedstock. In the first treatment, the milled biomass was subjected to microwave-assisted extraction using an acidified GVL/water mixture to separate lignin and hemicellulose from cellulose. In the second treatment, the cellulose pulp was hydrolyzed by cellulolytic enzymes to demonstrate the enhanced digestibility. At the optimal condition (154 °C, 2.24% H2SO4, and 0.62 GVL/water ratio), the cellulose pulp showed a cellulose content of 87.59%, while the lignin content was lower than 8%. The cellulose recovery and digestibility were equal to 79.46% and 86.94%, respectively. About 40% of the initial hemicellulose was recovered as monosaccharides. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the two-step organosolv treatment for biomass fractionation; however, as suggested by DoE analysis, a confirmative study at a low temperature (<154 °C) should be performed to further increase the cellulose recovery.

ACS Style

Tommaso Giannoni; Mattia Gelosia; Alessandro Bertini; Giacomo Fabbrizi; Andrea Nicolini; Valentina Coccia; Paola Iodice; Gianluca Cavalaglio. Fractionation of Cynara cardunculus L. by Acidified Organosolv Treatment for the Extraction of Highly Digestible Cellulose and Technical Lignin. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8714 .

AMA Style

Tommaso Giannoni, Mattia Gelosia, Alessandro Bertini, Giacomo Fabbrizi, Andrea Nicolini, Valentina Coccia, Paola Iodice, Gianluca Cavalaglio. Fractionation of Cynara cardunculus L. by Acidified Organosolv Treatment for the Extraction of Highly Digestible Cellulose and Technical Lignin. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):8714.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tommaso Giannoni; Mattia Gelosia; Alessandro Bertini; Giacomo Fabbrizi; Andrea Nicolini; Valentina Coccia; Paola Iodice; Gianluca Cavalaglio. 2021. "Fractionation of Cynara cardunculus L. by Acidified Organosolv Treatment for the Extraction of Highly Digestible Cellulose and Technical Lignin." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 8714.

Journal article
Published: 28 July 2021 in Energies
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The brick industry is currently facing a shortage of natural resources. Despite this, the demand for construction bricks is progressively increasing. Alternative materials, such as dredged sediments and solid organic waste, have been recently proposed as options to replace natural clay in brick manufacturing. Potential exploitation of dredged sediments in clay bricks is evaluated in this study. The chemical composition of the mixtures and the opto-thermal properties of brick samples, which differed for the dredged sediment content (from 10% to 50% of the clay weight), were investigated. Chemical analyses detected lower concentrations of heavy metals in bricks incorporating dredged sediments (DS). Negligible variations in thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat were observed by increasing the amount of DS in the mixture. In particular, the thermal conductivity values ranged between 0.45 ± 0.03 W m−1 K−1 (DS-50) and 0.50 ± 0.03 W m−1 K−1 (DS-30). Conversely, the color shift value and spectral reflectance in the infrared field were found directly proportional to the concentration of DS. Using dredged sediments as building material demonstrated to be a solution to the problem of their disposal and the scarcity of raw materials, reducing the global warming score by up to 2.8%.

ACS Style

Mattia Manni; Fabiana Frota De Albuquerque Landi; Tommaso Giannoni; Alessandro Petrozzi; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana. A Comparative Study on Opto-Thermal Properties of Natural Clay Bricks Incorporating Dredged Sediments. Energies 2021, 14, 4575 .

AMA Style

Mattia Manni, Fabiana Frota De Albuquerque Landi, Tommaso Giannoni, Alessandro Petrozzi, Andrea Nicolini, Franco Cotana. A Comparative Study on Opto-Thermal Properties of Natural Clay Bricks Incorporating Dredged Sediments. Energies. 2021; 14 (15):4575.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mattia Manni; Fabiana Frota De Albuquerque Landi; Tommaso Giannoni; Alessandro Petrozzi; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana. 2021. "A Comparative Study on Opto-Thermal Properties of Natural Clay Bricks Incorporating Dredged Sediments." Energies 14, no. 15: 4575.

Journal article
Published: 30 June 2021 in Biochemical Engineering Journal
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Cardoon is low-input biomass which can be efficiently exploited in the modern biorefinery for multi-purpose uses. In this work, cardoon lignocellulosic stalks underwent to acid-catalyzed steam explosion. A design of experiments approach was employed to assess the effect of the process variables (acid concentration, temperature and reaction time) on xylan recovery after direct hydrolysis and cellulose digestibility in the enzymatic hydrolysis step. According to the statistical model generated, the optimal conditions to maximize overall monosaccharides yield were 166 °C, 1.45% (w/w) and 10 min. A monosaccharides production and inhibitors formation of 36.76 g/100 g raw material (close to 70% of the maximal theoretical yield) and 1.80 g/100 g raw material, respectively, were achieved. The scale-up of the hydrolysis step showed superior performance of the washed solid fraction than to the whole slurry, resulting in cellulose conversion to glucose by 76% vs 58%. By employing the life cycle assessment approach, it was possible to determine the environmental impact in terms of the global warming potential (3.18 kgCO2eq/kg of fermentable carbohydrates) and cumulative energy demand (43.34 MJ/kg of fermentable carbohydrates). The low-inhibitor and high-sugar hydrolysate can be fermented to biochemicals and biofuels without any detoxification process.

ACS Style

Gianluca Cavalaglio; Mattia Gelosia; Tommaso Giannoni; Ramoon Barros Lovate Temporim; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana; Alessandro Bertini. Acid-catalyzed steam explosion for high enzymatic saccharification and low inhibitor release from lignocellulosic cardoon stalks. Biochemical Engineering Journal 2021, 174, 108121 .

AMA Style

Gianluca Cavalaglio, Mattia Gelosia, Tommaso Giannoni, Ramoon Barros Lovate Temporim, Andrea Nicolini, Franco Cotana, Alessandro Bertini. Acid-catalyzed steam explosion for high enzymatic saccharification and low inhibitor release from lignocellulosic cardoon stalks. Biochemical Engineering Journal. 2021; 174 ():108121.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gianluca Cavalaglio; Mattia Gelosia; Tommaso Giannoni; Ramoon Barros Lovate Temporim; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana; Alessandro Bertini. 2021. "Acid-catalyzed steam explosion for high enzymatic saccharification and low inhibitor release from lignocellulosic cardoon stalks." Biochemical Engineering Journal 174, no. : 108121.

Journal article
Published: 18 May 2021 in Energies
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Retro-reflectivity is a promising surface capability, which has attracted the interest of researchers for building applications in order to counteract Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. This work aims at studying the impact of the substrate material on the optic performance of retro-reflective (RR) coatings. Three types of substrate materials were investigated: smooth pine wood panels, rough plywood panels, and smooth acetate sheets. The RR coating samples were made by firstly adding a high reflective white paint onto the substrate material and a homogeneous RR glass beads layer on the top. As a reference case, also diffusive samples, without RR beads, were developed. Samples have been tested through a spectrophotometric and an angular reflectivity analysis. Results show that, despite a lower global reflectance of the RR samples with respect to the diffusive ones, the glass beads coating provides a good retro-reflective capability to all the diffusive samples. Additionally, the roughest RR sample exhibited the highest RR capability of up to 16%, with respect to the other smoother samples. Future developments may involve the optimum design of RR coatings, in terms of their optic performance by varying the substrate materials and roughness, the glass beads density and dimension.

ACS Style

Alessia Di Giuseppe; Marta Cardinali; Beatrice Castellani; Mirko Filipponi; Alberto Gambelli; Lucio Postrioti; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation. Energies 2021, 14, 2921 .

AMA Style

Alessia Di Giuseppe, Marta Cardinali, Beatrice Castellani, Mirko Filipponi, Alberto Gambelli, Lucio Postrioti, Andrea Nicolini, Federico Rossi. The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation. Energies. 2021; 14 (10):2921.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alessia Di Giuseppe; Marta Cardinali; Beatrice Castellani; Mirko Filipponi; Alberto Gambelli; Lucio Postrioti; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. 2021. "The Effect of the Substrate on the Optic Performance of Retro-Reflective Coatings: An In-Lab Investigation." Energies 14, no. 10: 2921.

Journal article
Published: 17 May 2021 in Sustainability
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Wine production is a key sector for the Italian economy, representing 13 billion euros per year. The proportion of the market raises concerns about improving the production technology at low cost, safe practices, and low environmental impacts. The recurrent life cycle assessment performed does not report on the impacts of frost protection. This study presents the potential environmental impact of a novel late frost protection technique for vineyards that is currently under development. It consists of an organic coating made of sugar and straw to prevent vine damage due to frosts in vineyards in the coldest hours of late winter and early spring. From previous research at the University of Perugia (Italy), the technique has proven to be an effective protection method for vine shoots. Currently, the yields are protected by highly energy-demanding methods. For this study, we simulated two different scenarios of frosting protection so we could point out possible hotspots for the field application of the novel method and compare it to a technique usually employed in central Italy. Under the Centrum voor Milieukunde Leiden (CML) method, the cotton candy technique is estimated at 316 kg CO2 equivalent emissions for hectare. Employing the organic sugar-coating means avoiding 69,375 kg of CO2 eq. compared to the traditional technique of oak wood-burning into the vineyard. Preliminary cost analysis demonstrated the economic viability of implementing the organic coating.

ACS Style

Fabiana Frota De Albuquerque Landi; Alessia Di Giuseppe; Alberto Gambelli; Alberto Palliotti; Andrea Nicolini; Anna Pisello; Federico Rossi. Life Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Technology against Late Frosts in Vineyard. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5562 .

AMA Style

Fabiana Frota De Albuquerque Landi, Alessia Di Giuseppe, Alberto Gambelli, Alberto Palliotti, Andrea Nicolini, Anna Pisello, Federico Rossi. Life Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Technology against Late Frosts in Vineyard. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (10):5562.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fabiana Frota De Albuquerque Landi; Alessia Di Giuseppe; Alberto Gambelli; Alberto Palliotti; Andrea Nicolini; Anna Pisello; Federico Rossi. 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Technology against Late Frosts in Vineyard." Sustainability 13, no. 10: 5562.

Journal article
Published: 16 October 2020 in Processes
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Natural gas hydrates represent a valid opportunity to counteract two of the most serious issues that are affecting humanity this century: climate change and the need for new energy sources, due to the fast and constant increase in the population worldwide. The energy that might be produced with methane contained in hydrates is greater than any amount of energy producible with known conventional energy sources; being widespread in all oceans, they would greatly reduce problems and conflicts associated with the monopoly of energy sources. The possibility of extracting methane and simultaneously performing the permanent storage of carbon dioxide makes hydrate an almost carbon-neutral energy source. The main topic of scientific research is to improve the recovery of technologies and guest species replacement strategies in order to make the use of gas hydrates economically advantageous. In the present paper, an experimental study on how salt can alter the formation process of both methane and carbon dioxide hydrate was carried out. The pressure–temperature conditions existing between the two respective equilibrium curves are directly proportional to the effectiveness of the replacement process and thus its feasibility. Eighteen formation tests were realized at three different salinity values: 0, 30 and 37 g/L. Results show that, as the salinity degree increases, the space between CO2 and CH4 formation curves grows. A further aspect highlighted by the tests is how the carbon dioxide formation process tends to assume a very similar trend in all experiments, while curves obtained during methane tests show a similar trend but with some significant differences. Moreover, this tendency became more pronounced with the increase in the salinity degree.

ACS Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli; Beatrice Castellani; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. Water Salinity as Potential Aid for Improving the Carbon Dioxide Replacement Process’ Effectiveness in Natural Gas Hydrate Reservoirs. Processes 2020, 8, 1298 .

AMA Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli, Beatrice Castellani, Andrea Nicolini, Federico Rossi. Water Salinity as Potential Aid for Improving the Carbon Dioxide Replacement Process’ Effectiveness in Natural Gas Hydrate Reservoirs. Processes. 2020; 8 (10):1298.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli; Beatrice Castellani; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. 2020. "Water Salinity as Potential Aid for Improving the Carbon Dioxide Replacement Process’ Effectiveness in Natural Gas Hydrate Reservoirs." Processes 8, no. 10: 1298.

Journal article
Published: 24 September 2020 in Solar Energy
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The study deals with the application of retro-reflective (RR) and angular-selective retro-reflective (AS-RR) coatings on surfaces (i.e. the street ground and the south-exposed façade) within the urban canyon. Solar analyses were conducted at different latitudes (Oslo, Milan, and Cairo) by varying the urban canyon height-to-width ratio (H/W) to determine the variation in solar irradiation absorbed by north and south façades. Both summer and winter conditions were considered, and up to five material patterns (one reference case and four enhanced scenarios) were investigated for each combination of latitude and height-to-width ratio values. A validated Monte Carlo-based numerical model was used to conduct full-ray tracing analyses and to simulate the behavior of these coatings. The outcomes allowed the development of guidelines for the adoptions of RR and AS-RR materials in different scenarios. It was demonstrated that RR and AS-RR materials applied to the street performed better in low-density urban environment (H/W ≤ 0.5) with a consequent increase of the solar energy gains on the north façade by up to 15%. Employing RR and AS-RR materials on the south-exposed façade showed greater effectiveness on high-density urban canyon (H/W ≥ 2.0) and reduced by up to −8% the solar irradiation absorbed by the façade.

ACS Style

Mattia Manni; Marta Cardinali; Gabriele Lobaccaro; Francesco Goia; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. Effects of retro-reflective and angular-selective retro-reflective materials on solar energy in urban canyons. Solar Energy 2020, 209, 662 -673.

AMA Style

Mattia Manni, Marta Cardinali, Gabriele Lobaccaro, Francesco Goia, Andrea Nicolini, Federico Rossi. Effects of retro-reflective and angular-selective retro-reflective materials on solar energy in urban canyons. Solar Energy. 2020; 209 ():662-673.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mattia Manni; Marta Cardinali; Gabriele Lobaccaro; Francesco Goia; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. 2020. "Effects of retro-reflective and angular-selective retro-reflective materials on solar energy in urban canyons." Solar Energy 209, no. : 662-673.

Journal article
Published: 18 August 2020 in Sustainability
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The PRIN (Research Project with Relevant National Interest) project “Biocheaper—biomasses circular holistic economy approach to energy equipments” started in September 2019 and involves several universities: Palermo as the university coordinator, Perugia, Cassino, Enna, Pavia and Bolzano. The main goal of the project is to increase the energy efficiency and reduce the pollutants emissions in small-scale biomass plant for energy (heat and power) production. The project focuses on residual lignocellulosic feedstocks from the agriculture and forestry sector, from energy crops in marginal lands and residues from rivers maintenance. Starting from the selection and characterization of potential feedstocks, the project aims at developing some prototypes for retrofit applications in existing biomass boilers, like a mini-cyclone for the reduction of particulate emissions and an exhaust air-water condensing system for the recovery of water and the reuse in agriculture. This work presents the first results of the project, in particular regarding the selection and the chemical–physical characterization of different biomass, available in different zones of Italy; in particular the authors investigated cardoon chips, carthamus chips, olive and wine pruning, residues from rivers maintenance. Each biomass sample was characterized in terms of moisture content, ashes content, volatile substances, fixed carbon, low and high heating value, content of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and main metals.

ACS Style

Gianluca Cavalaglio; Franco Cotana; Andrea Nicolini; Valentina Coccia; Alessandro Petrozzi; Alessandro Formica; Alessandro Bertini. Characterization of Various Biomass Feedstock Suitable for Small-Scale Energy Plants as Preliminary Activity of Biocheaper Project. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6678 .

AMA Style

Gianluca Cavalaglio, Franco Cotana, Andrea Nicolini, Valentina Coccia, Alessandro Petrozzi, Alessandro Formica, Alessandro Bertini. Characterization of Various Biomass Feedstock Suitable for Small-Scale Energy Plants as Preliminary Activity of Biocheaper Project. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (16):6678.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gianluca Cavalaglio; Franco Cotana; Andrea Nicolini; Valentina Coccia; Alessandro Petrozzi; Alessandro Formica; Alessandro Bertini. 2020. "Characterization of Various Biomass Feedstock Suitable for Small-Scale Energy Plants as Preliminary Activity of Biocheaper Project." Sustainability 12, no. 16: 6678.

Journal article
Published: 13 August 2020 in Energies
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Lignocellulosic biomass is a non-edible feedstock that can be used in integrated biorefinery for the production of biochemicals and biofuel. Among lignocellulosic biomass, Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon) is a promising crop thanks to its low water and fertilizer demand. Organosolv is a chemical treatment that uses numerous organic or aqueous solvent mixtures, and a small amount of acid catalyst, in order to solubilize the lignin and hemicellulose fractions, making the cellulose accessible to hydrolytic enzymes. Lignocellulosic residues of cardoon underwent a two-step treatment process to obtain fermentable glucose. In the first step, the milled biomass was subjected to microwave-assisted extraction using an acidified γ-valerolactone (GVL)/water mixture, yielding a solid cellulose pulp. In the second step, the pre-treated material was hydrolyzed by cellulolytic enzymes to glucose. The first step was optimized by means of a two-level full factorial design. The investigated factors were process temperature, acid catalyst concentration, and GVL/water ratio. A glucose production equal to 30.17 g per 100 g of raw material (89% of the maximum theoretical yield) was achieved after conducting the first step at 150 °C using an acidified water solution (1.96% H2SO4w/w).

ACS Style

Mattia Gelosia; Alessandro Bertini; Marco Barbanera; Tommaso Giannoni; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana; Gianluca Cavalaglio. Acid-Assisted Organosolv Pre-Treatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cynara cardunculus L. for Glucose Production. Energies 2020, 13, 4195 .

AMA Style

Mattia Gelosia, Alessandro Bertini, Marco Barbanera, Tommaso Giannoni, Andrea Nicolini, Franco Cotana, Gianluca Cavalaglio. Acid-Assisted Organosolv Pre-Treatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cynara cardunculus L. for Glucose Production. Energies. 2020; 13 (16):4195.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mattia Gelosia; Alessandro Bertini; Marco Barbanera; Tommaso Giannoni; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana; Gianluca Cavalaglio. 2020. "Acid-Assisted Organosolv Pre-Treatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cynara cardunculus L. for Glucose Production." Energies 13, no. 16: 4195.

Journal article
Published: 04 August 2020 in Sustainability
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Late frosts are one of the major impact factors on agriculture worldwide with large economic losses for agricultural crops, with a significant impact also in wine production. Given the importance of the wine sector in the world, more and more efforts are being made to identify innovative techniques capable of creating a low-cost and effective protection for vine shoots, as well as reducing energy consumption. In a previous work, cotton candy was identified as an insulating material to solve the problems related to late frosts on vineyards and limit its damages as much as possible. From the results of the previous research, it has proved that cotton candy is an excellent thermal insulator, but it degrades quickly in windy conditions. Thus, climatic tests carried out in windy condition showed that straw can greatly slow down the degradation of cotton candy over time, giving an indirect contribution to the protective effectiveness of cotton candy. In addition, several tests were conducted with different amounts of sugar and straw without wind to evaluate whether the straw can itself make a contribution in terms of thermal insulation, as well as contribute to the protective effectiveness of cotton candy, minimizing energy use as well.

ACS Style

Alessia Di Giuseppe; Alberto Gambelli; Federico Rossi; Andrea Nicolini; Nicola Ceccarelli; Alberto Palliotti. Insulating Organic Material as a Protection System against Late Frost Damages on the Vine Shoots. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6279 .

AMA Style

Alessia Di Giuseppe, Alberto Gambelli, Federico Rossi, Andrea Nicolini, Nicola Ceccarelli, Alberto Palliotti. Insulating Organic Material as a Protection System against Late Frost Damages on the Vine Shoots. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (15):6279.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alessia Di Giuseppe; Alberto Gambelli; Federico Rossi; Andrea Nicolini; Nicola Ceccarelli; Alberto Palliotti. 2020. "Insulating Organic Material as a Protection System against Late Frost Damages on the Vine Shoots." Sustainability 12, no. 15: 6279.

Conference paper
Published: 01 August 2020 in Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering
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ACS Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli; Beatrice Castellani; Mirko Filipponi; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. Chemical inhibitors as potential allied for CO2 replacement in gas hydrates reservoirs: sodium chloride case study. Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli, Beatrice Castellani, Mirko Filipponi, Andrea Nicolini, Federico Rossi. Chemical inhibitors as potential allied for CO2 replacement in gas hydrates reservoirs: sodium chloride case study. Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering. 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli; Beatrice Castellani; Mirko Filipponi; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. 2020. "Chemical inhibitors as potential allied for CO2 replacement in gas hydrates reservoirs: sodium chloride case study." Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 28 July 2020 in Energy and Buildings
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Urban areas are increasingly affected by the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon, which is mainly due to highly dense urban environments and to solar and radiative properties of outdoor surfaces. UHI has a strong impact on urban microclimate, significantly contributing to the deterioration of outdoor human thermal comfort. Solutions based on high reflective materials in outdoor applications, e.g. solar awnings, could represent an important issue for mitigating UHI and improving pedestrians’ thermal comfort. For this purpose, the present research aims to investigate the effect of different radiative properties of solar awning textiles on microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort below them. High reflective materials are usually used for awning textile, but they are often characterized by high emissivity properties downward that may affect the pedestrians’ thermal comfort. The proposed solution consists in an awning textile with highly-reflective, highly-emissive properties upward and highly-reflective but low-emissive properties downward. Different solar awning configurations were tested by a microclimate experimental campaign on summer 2019. Outdoor thermal comfort under each awning was assessed by evaluating Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET). Results show that a daily average PET reduction up to 2.5 °C is achieved thanks to the proposed solutions, proving benefits to pedestrians’ thermal comfort.

ACS Style

Federico Rossi; Marta Cardinali; Alberto Maria Gambelli; Mirko Filipponi; Beatrice Castellani; Andrea Nicolini. Outdoor thermal comfort improvements due to innovative solar awning solutions: An experimental campaign. Energy and Buildings 2020, 225, 110341 .

AMA Style

Federico Rossi, Marta Cardinali, Alberto Maria Gambelli, Mirko Filipponi, Beatrice Castellani, Andrea Nicolini. Outdoor thermal comfort improvements due to innovative solar awning solutions: An experimental campaign. Energy and Buildings. 2020; 225 ():110341.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Federico Rossi; Marta Cardinali; Alberto Maria Gambelli; Mirko Filipponi; Beatrice Castellani; Andrea Nicolini. 2020. "Outdoor thermal comfort improvements due to innovative solar awning solutions: An experimental campaign." Energy and Buildings 225, no. : 110341.

Journal article
Published: 20 May 2020 in Energies
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The Italian building stock consists of buildings mainly constructed until the mid-20th century using pre-industrial construction techniques. These buildings require energy refurbishment that takes into account the preservation of their architectural heritage. In this view, this work studies an innovative integrated modelling and simulation framework consisting of the implementation of Historical Building Information Modeling (HBIM) for the energy retrofit of historical buildings with renewable geothermal HVAC system. To this aim, the field case study is part of a medieval complex in Central Italy (Perugia), as representative ancient rural offshore architecture in the European countryside. The system involves of a ground source heat pump, a water tank for thermal-energy storage connected to a low-temperature radiant system, and an air-handling unit. The building heating energy performance, typically influenced by thermal inertia in historical buildings, when coupled to the novel HVAC system, is comparatively assessed against a traditional scenario implementing a natural-gas boiler, and made inter-operative within the HBIM ad hoc platform. Results show that the innovative renewable energy system provides relevant benefits while preserving minor visual and architectural impact within the historical complex, and also in terms of both energy saving, CO2 emissions offset, and operation costs compared to the traditional existing system. The integrated HBIM approach may effectively drive the path toward regeneration and re-functioning of heritage in Europe.

ACS Style

Cristina Piselli; Jessica Romanelli; Matteo Di Grazia; Augusto Gavagni; Elisa Moretti; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana; Francesco Strangis; Henk J. L. Witte; Anna Laura Pisello. An Integrated HBIM Simulation Approach for Energy Retrofit of Historical Buildings Implemented in a Case Study of a Medieval Fortress in Italy. Energies 2020, 13, 2601 .

AMA Style

Cristina Piselli, Jessica Romanelli, Matteo Di Grazia, Augusto Gavagni, Elisa Moretti, Andrea Nicolini, Franco Cotana, Francesco Strangis, Henk J. L. Witte, Anna Laura Pisello. An Integrated HBIM Simulation Approach for Energy Retrofit of Historical Buildings Implemented in a Case Study of a Medieval Fortress in Italy. Energies. 2020; 13 (10):2601.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cristina Piselli; Jessica Romanelli; Matteo Di Grazia; Augusto Gavagni; Elisa Moretti; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana; Francesco Strangis; Henk J. L. Witte; Anna Laura Pisello. 2020. "An Integrated HBIM Simulation Approach for Energy Retrofit of Historical Buildings Implemented in a Case Study of a Medieval Fortress in Italy." Energies 13, no. 10: 2601.

Journal article
Published: 04 March 2020 in Building and Environment
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This paper presents the results of the characterization of new retroreflective (RR) plasters for outdoor applications. The paint was obtained through deposition of four different types of RR microspheres on a traditional plaster for exterior applications. The plasters were characterized through a spectrophotometric, directional and colorimetric analysis. All the types of microspheres provide strong RR behavior for incident light directions from 0° to 60° with respect to the surface normal. However, the aluminum coating, with and without fluoropolymer coating, affects negatively the global reflectance and change completely the tiles’ original color, making the application of the aluminum RR tiles very limited. Glass and barium microspheres instead improve the optic properties of the original plaster, with negligible effects on the color. An analytic model was used to evaluate the amount of energy that is reflected beyond the canyon by the RR materials. It was found that at 42°N latitude, the best performing configurations are the combination of RR façade and RR pavement, for glass spheres. Two full-scale vertical surfaces, covered with RR plaster with glass microspheres and diffusive plaster respectively, were developed to investigate the visual comfort of pedestrians, in particular glare. Results show that the Daily Glare Probability (DGP) and superficial temperature for the RR wall is always lower than those for the diffusive wall.

ACS Style

Beatrice Castellani; Alberto Maria Gambelli; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. Optic-energy and visual comfort analysis of retro-reflective building plasters. Building and Environment 2020, 174, 106781 .

AMA Style

Beatrice Castellani, Alberto Maria Gambelli, Andrea Nicolini, Federico Rossi. Optic-energy and visual comfort analysis of retro-reflective building plasters. Building and Environment. 2020; 174 ():106781.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Beatrice Castellani; Alberto Maria Gambelli; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. 2020. "Optic-energy and visual comfort analysis of retro-reflective building plasters." Building and Environment 174, no. : 106781.

Journal article
Published: 11 November 2019 in Energies
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Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is a promising crop from which to obtain oilseeds and lignocellulosic biomass. Acid-catalyzed steam explosion is a thermochemical process that can efficiently pre-treat lignocellulosic biomass. The drawback is the production of a high number of carbohydrate degradation products in the liquid fraction that could inhibit microbial growth. In this work, the lignocellulosic biomass of cardoon, gathered from a dedicated field, were used as the raw material for the production of fermentable monosaccharides by employing acid-catalyzed steam explosion. The raw material was pre-soaked with a dilute 1% (w/w) sulfuric acid solution and then subjected to steam explosion under three different severity conditions. The recovered slurry was separated into solid and liquid fractions, which were individually characterized to determine total carbohydrate and inhibitor concentrations. The slurry and the washed solid fraction underwent enzymatic hydrolysis to release glucose and pentose monosaccharides. By conducting the pre-treatment at 175 °C for 35 min and hydrolyzing the obtained slurry, a yield of 33.17 g of monosaccharides/100 g of cardoon was achieved. At the same conditions, 4.39 g of inhibitors/100 g of cardoon were produced.

ACS Style

Alessandro Bertini; Mattia Gelosia; Gianluca Cavalaglio; Marco Barbanera; Tommaso Giannoni; Giorgia Tasselli; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana. Production of Carbohydrates from Cardoon Pre-Treated by Acid-Catalyzed Steam Explosion and Enzymatic Hydrolysis. Energies 2019, 12, 4288 .

AMA Style

Alessandro Bertini, Mattia Gelosia, Gianluca Cavalaglio, Marco Barbanera, Tommaso Giannoni, Giorgia Tasselli, Andrea Nicolini, Franco Cotana. Production of Carbohydrates from Cardoon Pre-Treated by Acid-Catalyzed Steam Explosion and Enzymatic Hydrolysis. Energies. 2019; 12 (22):4288.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alessandro Bertini; Mattia Gelosia; Gianluca Cavalaglio; Marco Barbanera; Tommaso Giannoni; Giorgia Tasselli; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana. 2019. "Production of Carbohydrates from Cardoon Pre-Treated by Acid-Catalyzed Steam Explosion and Enzymatic Hydrolysis." Energies 12, no. 22: 4288.

Journal article
Published: 11 September 2019 in Atmospheric Pollution Research
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Several benefits in clean energy and pollutant emissions can be offered from biomass energy application. This research analyzes a biomass gasifier installed at the University of Perugia and presents the description of a multifuel biomass energy plant with all its components: the combustion chamber and the heat exchanger, installed to supply the thermal input to the turbine, with 100 kW electric power and 1 MW thermal power. The application of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) prediction model can help to better understand the knowledge on chemical and thermofluidodynamic features linked to pollutant emissions. A numerical modelling based on Ansys Fluent code is realized with the aim to reproduce the behaviour of the gasifier. Two different stoichiometric woodchips:air ratios are taken into account in the numerical calculations. Experimental tests have been conducted to validate the results of the numerical analysis. The obtained results show that the experimental and the numerical analysis with the 1:5 stoichiometric ratio are comparable. The influence of the woodchips:air stoichiometric ratio on the temperature distribution that may be reached inside the gasifier is highlighted. The relationship between woodchips:air stoichiometric ratio, temperature and NOx emissions is considered. Furthermore, a comparison between the values of NOx and CO pollutants obtained with the numerical model and experimental tests has been done. The gasification process contributes to the production of renewable energy and it can be combined with other energy cycles (e.g. Organic Rankine Cycle). The novelty of the work consists in the definition and validation of a method for the analysis of the operating temperatures of the gasifier to verify how they can be combined with other heat exchange systems and in the analysis of the pollutants during the gasification process.

ACS Style

Franco Cotana; Sabrina Vittori; Guido Marseglia; Carlo Maria Medaglia; Valentina Coccia; Alessandro Petrozzi; Andrea Nicolini; Gianluca Cavalaglio. Pollutant emissions of a biomass gasifier inside a multifuel energy plant. Atmospheric Pollution Research 2019, 10, 2000 -2009.

AMA Style

Franco Cotana, Sabrina Vittori, Guido Marseglia, Carlo Maria Medaglia, Valentina Coccia, Alessandro Petrozzi, Andrea Nicolini, Gianluca Cavalaglio. Pollutant emissions of a biomass gasifier inside a multifuel energy plant. Atmospheric Pollution Research. 2019; 10 (6):2000-2009.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Franco Cotana; Sabrina Vittori; Guido Marseglia; Carlo Maria Medaglia; Valentina Coccia; Alessandro Petrozzi; Andrea Nicolini; Gianluca Cavalaglio. 2019. "Pollutant emissions of a biomass gasifier inside a multifuel energy plant." Atmospheric Pollution Research 10, no. 6: 2000-2009.

Journal article
Published: 05 September 2019 in Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering
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Separation of the components of gas mixtures is a critical problem. We considered the possibility of using the hydrate formation process to separate species contained in gas mixtures. We applied this strategy to mixtures of CH4 / CO2 produced through the Sabatier process. Both species tend to form hydrates, but through different conditions. The results reported here show that, depending on the methanation efficiency, three different hydrate formation results are possible. If the efficiency is in the range from 0.00 to 0.69, the formation mainly involves CO2. For values ranging from 0.90 to 1.00, the opposite occurs and methane can be stored as solid form. For efficiency values ranging from 0.70 to 0.89, the formation conditions of both species are very similar and therefore the method cannot give rise to CH4 / CO2 separation.

ACS Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli; Beatrice Castellani; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. Gas hydrate formation as a strategy for CH4/CO2 separation: Experimental study on gaseous mixtures produced via Sabatier reaction. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 2019, 71, 102985 .

AMA Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli, Beatrice Castellani, Andrea Nicolini, Federico Rossi. Gas hydrate formation as a strategy for CH4/CO2 separation: Experimental study on gaseous mixtures produced via Sabatier reaction. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering. 2019; 71 ():102985.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alberto Maria Gambelli; Beatrice Castellani; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. 2019. "Gas hydrate formation as a strategy for CH4/CO2 separation: Experimental study on gaseous mixtures produced via Sabatier reaction." Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 71, no. : 102985.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2019 in Solar Energy
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ACS Style

Mattia Manni; Gabriele Lobaccaro; Francesco Goia; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. Exploiting selective angular properties of retro-reflective coatings to mitigate solar irradiation within the urban canyon. Solar Energy 2019, 189, 74 -85.

AMA Style

Mattia Manni, Gabriele Lobaccaro, Francesco Goia, Andrea Nicolini, Federico Rossi. Exploiting selective angular properties of retro-reflective coatings to mitigate solar irradiation within the urban canyon. Solar Energy. 2019; 189 ():74-85.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mattia Manni; Gabriele Lobaccaro; Francesco Goia; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. 2019. "Exploiting selective angular properties of retro-reflective coatings to mitigate solar irradiation within the urban canyon." Solar Energy 189, no. : 74-85.

Journal article
Published: 08 July 2019 in Energies
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Renewable energy sources can help the countries to achieve some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provided from the recent 2030 Agenda, allowing for clean, secure, reliable and affordable energy. Biomass technology is a relevant renewable energy to contribute to reach a clean and affordable energy production system with important emissions reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG). An innovative technological application of biomass energy consisting of a burner coupled with an external fired gas turbine (EFGT) has been developed for the production of electricity. This paper shows the results of the plant modelling by Aspen Plus environment and preliminary experimental tests; the validation of the proposed model allows for the main parameters to be defined that regulate the energy production plant supplied by woodchips.

ACS Style

Guido Marseglia; Carlo Maria Medaglia; Alessandro Petrozzi; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana; Federico Sormani. Experimental Tests and Modeling on a Combined Heat and Power Biomass Plant. Energies 2019, 12, 2615 .

AMA Style

Guido Marseglia, Carlo Maria Medaglia, Alessandro Petrozzi, Andrea Nicolini, Franco Cotana, Federico Sormani. Experimental Tests and Modeling on a Combined Heat and Power Biomass Plant. Energies. 2019; 12 (13):2615.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guido Marseglia; Carlo Maria Medaglia; Alessandro Petrozzi; Andrea Nicolini; Franco Cotana; Federico Sormani. 2019. "Experimental Tests and Modeling on a Combined Heat and Power Biomass Plant." Energies 12, no. 13: 2615.

Journal article
Published: 05 March 2019 in Energies
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Natural gas hydrates are the largest reservoir of natural gas worldwide. This paper proposes and analyzes the CH4-CO2 replacement in the hydrate phase and pure methane collection through the use of membrane-based separation. The investigation uses a 1 L lab reactor, in which the CH4 hydrates are formed in a quartz sand matrix partially saturated with water. CH4 is subsequently dissociated with a CO2 stream supplied within the sediment inside the reactor. An energy and environmental analysis was carried out to prove the sustainability of the process. Results show that the process energy consumption constitutes 4.75% of the energy stored in the recovered methane. The carbon footprint of the CH4-CO2 exchange process is calculated as a balance of the CO2 produced in the process and the CO2 stored in system. Results provide an estimated negative value, equal to 0.004 moles sequestrated, thus proving the environmental benefit of the exchange process.

ACS Style

Beatrice Castellani; Alberto Maria Gambelli; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. Energy and Environmental Analysis of Membrane-Based CH4-CO2 Replacement Processes in Natural Gas Hydrates. Energies 2019, 12, 850 .

AMA Style

Beatrice Castellani, Alberto Maria Gambelli, Andrea Nicolini, Federico Rossi. Energy and Environmental Analysis of Membrane-Based CH4-CO2 Replacement Processes in Natural Gas Hydrates. Energies. 2019; 12 (5):850.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Beatrice Castellani; Alberto Maria Gambelli; Andrea Nicolini; Federico Rossi. 2019. "Energy and Environmental Analysis of Membrane-Based CH4-CO2 Replacement Processes in Natural Gas Hydrates." Energies 12, no. 5: 850.