The growing utilization of renewable and residual biomasses for environmental preservation and remediation are important goals to be pursued to minimize the environmental impact of human activities. In this paper, sodium alginate (derived from brown algae) was crosslinked using chitosan (mainly derived from the exoskeleton of crustaceans) in the presence of biowaste-derived substances isolated from green compost (BBS-GC), to produce hydrogels and dried films. The obtained materials were tested as adsorbents for wastewater remediation. To this purpose, gels were characterized using a multi-analytical approach and used as active substrates for the removal of three differently-charged molecules, chosen as model pollutants: crystal violet, rhodamine B, and orange II. The effectiveness of the gel formulations was demonstrated and attributed to the variety of active functionalities introduced by the different precursors, the structural factors and the peculiar physicochemical properties of the resulting materials.

Urban art as a shared expression of street art between artists, citizenship and municipalities has always had an important role in the social life and appearance of modern cities. However, the durability of urban and street artworks is susceptible to the degradation processes that the employed commercial paint formulations undergo once outdoors. These are complex mixtures of compounds, differently sensitive to environmental agents according to their chemical nature. Starting from the colorimetric analysis of murals created in 2010, 2011 and 2018 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, documenting their degradation already after a few months, this study aimed at understanding the stability of the most unstable paints used by the artists in these artworks. A multi-analytical approach evaluated the commercial products under the chemical point of view, after natural and accelerated ageing. Additionally, two manufactured anti-UV varnishes were evaluated for their possible use as coatings. The results pinpointed the weaknesses of the selected paints and highlighted how the application of an anti-UV coating might slightly affect the visual aspect of the artwork, though ensuring a greater resistance to the outdoor conditions due to their minor chemical sensitivity to environmental agents.

A novel workflow is proposed to combine the use of two powerful techniques in the study of ancient manuscripts: multispectral imaging and optical microprofilometry. Multispectral imaging is routinely used and allows to examine each individual folium as a superposition of layers that give different responses in the UV-Vis-NIR bands. It enables the analysis of the conservation state of an object, the mapping of previous restorations or the detection of writings no longer visible. The downside of this technique is the lack of quantitative data on surface morphology . On the other hand, surface microprofilometry on book heritage is unexplored. The optical scanning microprofilometer used in this work employs single-point, interferometric depth-sensors that enable to measure the surface topography of the manuscript (deformation and roughness) in full-field (areas of tens of centimeters) at micrometer scale. The crucial task of spatial referencing the surface topography at micrometer scale to the visible features (e.g., written text) is performed with a novel procedure that solves the problem of the lack of reference points in the microprofilometer height data. We exploit the raw intensity signal collected by the laser depth sensor to fuse the interferometric measurements with the multispectral image stack. The full-field integration of quantitative microsurface measurements and in-band imaging responses enables a more comprehensive exploration of ancient manuscripts, by integrating materials-surface analysis, advancing the diagnostic protocol.

A multi-analytical approach has been employed to investigate the painting Natura Morta (1954–1955) by Andreina Rosa (1924–2019) to assess the state of conservation and to understand more about the painting materials and techniques of this artwork, which was recently donated by the painter’s heirs to the International Gallery of Modern Art Ca’ Pesaro (Venice-Italy). A comprehensive and systematic diagnostic campaign was carried out, mainly adopting non-invasive imaging and spectroscopic methods, such as technical photography, optical microscopy, Hyperspectral Imaging Spectroscopy (HIS), fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), External Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ER-FTIR), and Raman spectroscopies. Microsamples, collected from the edges of the canvas in areas partially detached, were studied by Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). By crossing the information gained, it was possible to make inferences about the composition of the groundings and the painted layers, the state of conservation of the artwork, and the presence of degradation phenomena. Hence, the present study may be of interest for conservation purposes as well as for enhancing the artistic activity of Andreina Rosa. The final aim was to provide useful information for the Gallery which recently included this painting in its permanent collection.