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To assess the sustainability of waste management scenario with energy recovery, it is necessary to carry out an adequate analysis of all influential criteria. The main problem in the analysis is to determine the indicators that clearly and fully sublimate the most important influential factors. The model for the assessment of the sustainability of waste treatment scenarios based on multi-criteria analysis AHP (analytic hierarchy process) method is developed. The model predicts an increase in the number of indicators, if it found that a selected number of indicators are not sufficient to distinguish between scenarios and new criterion for the selection of indicators: the relevance of the indicator for certain waste treatment. The model is verified in the case study the city of Nis. Four scenarios were selected and examined: business as usual scenario (landfilling of waste) and the other are created as scenarios with energy recovery and recourses preserving: composting organic waste with recycling inorganic waste, incineration of waste and anaerobic digestion of waste. The assessment of the sustainability of waste treatment scenarios was made in several steps. It is found that the best sustainable scenario is composting of organic and recycling of inorganic waste.

In this study, the effect of recycling the non-condensable gases (NCG) in the catalytic pyrolysis of hybrid poplar using FCC catalyst was investigated. A 50mm bench scale fluidized bed reactor at 475°C with a weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 2h(-1) and a gas recycling capability was used for the studies. Model fluidizing gas mixtures of CO/N(2), CO(2)/N(2), CO/CO(2)/N(2) and H(2)/N(2) were used to determine their independent effects. Recycling of the NCG in the process was found to potentially increase the liquid yield and decrease char/coke yield. The model fluidizing gases increased the liquid yield and the CO(2)/N(2) fluidizing gas had the lowest char/coke yield. The (13)C-NMR analysis showed that recycling of NCG increases the aromatic fractions and decreases the methoxy, carboxylic and sugar fractions. Recycling of NCG increased the higher heating value and the pH of the bio-oil as well as decreased the viscosity and density.

This study examined the effects of climate change on rice production in 30 Chinese provinces spanning 1998–2017. The study used the pooled mean group technique to capture the long-run and short-run effects of changing climatic conditions on rice production. It further employed the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test to examine the path of causality between the key variables and rice production. The study found that, in the long run, average temperature negatively influenced rice production, but average rainfall had a positive effect on rice production. The results indicated that the cultivated area and fertilizer usage were positively related to rice production in the long run. The short-run results accentuated that average temperature favourably influenced nationwide rice production, whereas average rainfall had no substantial effect on national rice production. The cultivated area had a significant positive short-term relationship with rice production, although the impact of fertilizer usage on rice production was negligible in the short run. Besides, the results established a bidirectional causality between rice output and the cultivated area, but there was a one-way causality running from fertilizer usage to rice output. Finally, the results indicated that, except for rainfall, a unidirectional causality exists between temperature and rice production. The study, therefore, recommends that in the case of crop failure due to weather conditions, policymakers could implement a new pricing policy to mitigate the deterioration of the farmers’ income. The government must also develop and implement an insurance scheme that compensates farmers for catastrophes induced by rainfall deficiency.

The growing threats of global warming and climate change are two of the main concerns of world society. The culprits are greenhouse gas emissions, which mainly result from the combustion of fossil fuels (i.e. the consumption and production of energy from oil, coal and natural gas), a well-known issue at the centre of many climate change debates. The European Parliament has endorsed the EU target of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 [1]. It is therefore essential to provide for sustainable energy development strategies such as biomass. The valorization of biomass makes it possible to alleviate environmental problems. we are able to obtain energy from what was, until recently, considered to be waste. this article assesses the contribution that chestnut skin biomass makes, in energy, environmental and economic terms, to the production process of the company Monsurgel Lda. The results show that the chestnut skin can contribute to an energy saving with a good investment payback time and also an environment contribution with the CO2 reduction. Proceedings of the 29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 26-29 April 2021, Online, pp. 515-521

Abstract Over the last decades, electricity markets across OECD countries have been subjected to profound structural changes with far-reaching implications on the economy and the environment. This paper investigates the effect of restructuring – changes in entry regulations, the degree of vertical integration and ownership structure – on GHG emissions. The findings show that competition policies – particularly reducing the degree of vertical integration and increasing privatization – correlate negatively with emission intensity. However, the environmental effect of reducing market entry barriers is generally insignificant. Integration of competition and stringent environmental policies are required to reduce GHG emissions and improve environmental quality.

Although the integrated energy and environmental planning processes of cities and territories with more than 50,000 inhabitants differ, previous studies suggest that long-term, model-based energy planning processes have a common scheme that can also be used as a framework for reviewing the methods and the tools that are used in the integrated energy planning of these cities and territories. This paper first presents a generic integrated energy planning procedure in which the planning activities are divided into four main phases. Second, the methods and the tools that are used for these diverse planning tasks are mapped to the suggested generic planning procedure tasks. Finally, the combined use of these methods and tools in the scope of integrated energy planning are briefly discussed from a mapping point of view.

This study explores the role of digital and smart technologies in cultural heritage organizations, particularly museums, in promoting sustainability and social inclusion. The rapid advancement of digital tools and smart technologies, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has shown their potential to overcome barriers and support the ambitious goals of the UN Agenda 2030. However, the widespread adoption and integration of these technologies present complex challenges for managers and policymakers. In the context of Italian museums, the use of innovative technologies for sustainability and social inclusion is still in its early stages and underutilized. Through a literature review and multiple case study analysis, this research examines the adoption of digital tools and smart technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, in leading Italian museums. The findings offer valuable insights to guide future research in this area.

Regional and local decision-makers still require relevant information and training in order to establish long-term strategies and to contribute to national and supranational energy and climate targets. As an example, a widespread participation of local authorities to comply with the Italian long-term building renovation strategy has not occurred so far. Thus, the overall target, annual 1% floor area of new or deeply renovated buildings to the nearly zero-energy building (nZEB) standard by 2020 (PanZEB 2015), proves to have been disregarded to date. Evidence-based, data-enabled assessment of the building stock and of its relationship with the energy system as a whole at a capillary level is crucial to this extent. In Italy, various building databases are already being used with the ultimate purpose of EPBD implementation and to track and record incentives for public and private building renovation. These datasets have an untapped potential for local energy planning that could be released from wider integration, also including energy consumption data and smart-metering data. Moreover, the regulatory landscape is changing toward an interaction of the building with the user, the energy grid and other buildings in a dynamic and functional way. Within this context, the paper will investigate how integrated data could unlock the value of a more evidence-based planning starting from the DIPENDE integrated dataset, a REQUEST2ACTION (IEE 2014–2017) pilot project combining data from energy performance certificates (EPCs) with bottom-up information on building renovation, and other data in order to support decision making at different territorial scales.