Anna Mazzi

Emergy analysis and sustainability efficiency analysis of different crop-based biodiesel in life cycle perspective.

Biodiesel as a promising alternative energy resource has been a hot spot in chemical engineering nowadays, but there is also an argument about the sustainability of biodiesel. In order to analyze the sustainability of biodiesel production systems and select the most sustainable scenario, various kinds of crop-based biodiesel including soybean-, rapeseed-, sunflower-, jatropha- and palm-based biodiesel production options are studied by emergy analysis; soybean-based scenario is recognized as the most sustainable scenario that should be chosen for further study in China. DEA method is used to evaluate the sustainability efficiencies of these options, and the biodiesel production systems based on soybean, sunflower, and palm are considered as DEA efficient, whereas rapeseed-based and jatropha-based scenarios are needed to be improved, and the improved methods have also been specified.

Prioritization of bioethanol production pathways in China based on life cycle sustainability assessment and multicriteria decision-making

PurposeThe study objectives are twofold: (i) combining the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) framework and the multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methodology for sustainability assessment and (ii) determining the most sustainable scenario for bioethanol production in China according to the preferences of the decision-makers/stakeholders.MethodsLife cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), and social life cycle assessment (SLCA) are combined to collect the corresponding criteria data on environmental, economic, and social aspects, respectively. The study develops a novel SLCA method for quantifying the social criteria. The decision-makers/stakeholders can use linguistic terms to assess these criteria, and fuzzy theory is used to transform the linguistic variables into real numbers. Once the sustainability assessment criteria are determined, the study develops an MCDM method that combines the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the VIKOR method to prioritize the alternatives. The AHP is used to determine the criteria weights that are a prerequisite when using VIKOR; the VIKOR method is then used to determine the sustainability sequence of the scenarios.Results and discussionThe study’s proposed method investigates an illustrative case about three alternative bioethanol production scenarios (wheat-based, corn-based, and cassava-based): The prior sequence (based on the sustainability performances) in descending order is cassava-based, corn-based, and wheat-based. The proposed methodology results allow Chinese decision-makers/stakeholders to select the most sustainable scenario among many alternatives. The proposed methodology is generic, meaning that further alternatives can be studied and the most sustainable option can be ultimately determined.ConclusionsThe main study contribution is to test the combination of an MCDM methodology and LCSA for sustainability decision-making by studying three alternative pathways for bioethanol production in China. The proposed method feasibly enables the decision-makers/stakeholders to find the most sustainable scenario to achieve their objectives among various alternatives.

LCA to choose among alternative design solutions: The case study of a new Italian incineration line

At international level LCA is being increasingly used to objectively evaluate the performances of different Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management solutions. One of the more important waste management options concerns MSW incineration. LCA is usually applied to existing incineration plants. In this study LCA methodology was applied to a new Italian incineration line, to facilitate the prediction, during the design phase, of its potential environmental impacts in terms of damage to human health, ecosystem quality and consumption of resources. The aim of the study was to analyse three different design alternatives: an incineration system with dry flue gas cleaning (without- and with-energy recovery) and one with wet flue gas cleaning. The last two technological solutions both incorporating facilities for energy recovery were compared. From the results of the study, the system with energy recovery and dry flue gas cleaning revealed lower environmental impacts in relation to the ecosystem quality. As LCA results are greatly affected by uncertainties of different types, the second part of the work provides for an uncertainty analysis aimed at detecting the extent output data from life cycle analysis are influenced by uncertainty of input data, and employs both qualitative (pedigree matrix) and quantitative methods (Monte Carlo analysis).

Quality Management of Body Donation Program at the University of Padova.

Quality management improvement has become a recent focus of attention in medical education. The program for the donation of bodies and body parts (Body Donation Program) at the University of Padova has recently been subjected to a global quality management standard, the ISO 9001:2008 certification. The aim of the present work is to show how the above standard is useful in enhancing the efficiency of body donation procedures and the quality and output of medical education. The program is managed by means of the following interlinked procedures: the collection of body donations, death certificates, data, and body parts from living donors; the transportation and identification of cadavers; the management of bodies, body parts, equipment, instruments, purchasing of necessary materials, and setting up anatomical training sessions; the management of preventive and corrective actions; the management of documents and registration; the management of internal and external quality audits; and the review of outcomes and improvement planning. Monitoring indicators are identified in the numbers of donors and of donated body parts per year, education sessions, and satisfaction of learners and donors, as evaluated by questionnaires. The process management approach, the integrated involvement of medical, technical, and administrative staff in defining procedures, and the application of monitoring indicators allow quality improvement in all aspects of the Body Donation Program. Anat Sci Educ.

Significance of the use of non-renewable fossil CED as proxy indicator for screening LCA in the beverage packaging sector

PurposeThis study discusses the significance of the use of non-renewable fossil cumulative energy demand (CED) as proxy indicator in the beverage packaging sector, in order to detect those situations in which companies can benefit from the use of proxy indicators before a full life cycle assessment (LCA) application. Starting from a case study of two milk containers, the objectives of this paper are to assess if the use of this inventory indicator can be a suitable proxy indicator both (1) to decide which is the packaging alternative with the lowest environmental impact and (2) to identify the most impacting process units of the two products under study.MethodThe analysis was made according to ISO14040-44. The goal of the comparative LCA was to evaluate and to compare the potential environmental impacts from cradle to grave of a laminated carton container and a HDPE bottle. The results of the comparative LCA obtained with the non-renewable CED indicator are compared with a selection of impact categories: climate change, particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, fossil depletion, photochemical oxidant formation. A further analysis is made for the two products under study in order to determine which are the environmental hot spots in terms of life cycle stages, by the means of a contribution analysis.Results and discussionFrom the comparative LCA, the use of non-renewable CED revealed to be useful for a screening as the results given by the non-renewable CED indicator are confirmed by all the impact categories considered, even if underestimated. If the aim of the LCA study was to define which is the packaging solution with a lower environmental impact, the choice of this inventory indicator could have led to the same decision as if a comprehensive LCIA method was used. The contribution analysis, focusing on the identification of environmental hot spots in the packaging value chain, revealed that the choice of an inventory indicator as non-renewable CED can lead to misleading results, if compared with another impact category, such as climate change.ConclusionsAs in the future development of beverage packaging system, LCA will be necessarily integrated in the design process, it is important to define other ways of simplifying its application and spread its use among companies. The LCI indicator non-renewable fossil CED can effectively be used in order to obtain a preliminary estimation of the life cycle environmental impacts of two or more competing products in the beverage packaging sector.

A model of quality assurance and quality improvement for post-graduate medical education in Europe

Background: The issue of quality assurance (QA) and quality improvement (QI), being the quality of medical education intimately related to the quality of the health care, is becoming of paramount importance worldwide. Aim: To describe a model of implementing a system for internal QA and QI within a post-graduate paediatric training programme based on the ISO 9001:2000 standard. Methods: For the ISO 9001:2000 standard, the curriculum was managed as a series of interrelated processes and their level of function was monitored by ad hoc elaborated objective indicators. Results: The training programme was fragmented in 19 interlinked processes, 15 related procedures and 24 working instructions. All these materials, along with the quality policy, the mission, the strategies and the values were made publicly available. Based on the measurable indicators developed to monitor some of the processes, areas of weakness of the system were objectively identified and consequently QI actions implemented. The appropriateness of all this allowed the programme to finally achieve an official ISO 9000:2001 certification. Conclusions: The application of the ISO 9001:2000 standard served to develop an internal QA and QI system and to meet most of the standards developed for QA in higher and medical education.

Water Footprint to Support Environmental Management: An Overview

The issue of water and its management is central to international debate: water is a scarce resource, although renewable; climate changes, agricultural, industrial and civilians use have limited the availability of this resource for future generations. In recent years, companies have shown a growing interest in consequences of water use and consumption, especially the agri-food sector companies. In this chapter, through an overview of methodological and operational approaches used in scientific literature to assess water use and consumption, we summarize their main applications in agri-food sector and we indicate future developments in the field.

Organization Life-Cycle Assessment (OLCA): Methodological Issues and Case Studies in the Beverage-Packaging Sector

The management of packaging materials and their interactions with the environment is central to international debate. The reasons are manifold: packaging is essential to guarantee the good quality of the products they contain; its production can require the significant use of natural resources; and consumers’ decisions are influenced by the environmental performances of packaging with particular reference to their management at the end of life. In this context, packaging companies has proved to be particularly interested in the application of environmental management and improvement tools such as life-cycle assessment. One of the latest developments of this methodology is its application at the organizational level, which was recently standardized in the ISO/TS 14072. Even if the interest around this topic is rapidly increasing and significant experiences are emerging (e.g., Organizational Environmental Footprint Programme of the European Union), no relevant applications have been published in the packaging sector. The objective of this chapter is to present the most relevant challenges in the application of the organizational life-cycle assessment for the packaging sector from the choice of the functional unit and the definition of the system boundaries to the choice on the aggregation approaches and the assessment of environmental impacts. Such issues will also be presented from a practical perspective presenting relevant case studies and lessoned learned in the beverage-packaging sector.

The quality of life in Padova municipality and the ISO 14031 model - an experience to measuring urban sustainability by context indicators and performance indicators

In order to analyse and carry out the sustainability through a decisional process, it is necessary, as a first step, to be able to measure it. International organizations suggest the use of economical, social and environmental indicators, corresponding to the three main dimensions of the sustainable development. Since the issues of urban sustainability are deeply connected to each other, it is clear that a measurement activity in this field can be effective if the set of indicators we use is able to represent this complexity, yielding at the same time a clear and complete informative framework. The study considers instruments and methods that can be used to obtain a measure of sustainability, easily communicable to citizens and other stakeholders and coherently representing the reality, which it is related to. The effectiveness of an index is often indirectly proportional to its simplicity; however this study avoided generalizations, which could compromise the significance of the final results. Starting off from the methodology of environmental performance evaluation (ISO 14031), this work allowed the definition of an index of quality of life. The case study for the research is the Padova municipality (North-East of Italy), and its way to realize a local agenda 21 process.