Carmelo Maucieri

Effects of olive mill wastewater physico-chemical treatments on polyphenol abatement and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) germinability.

Direct spreading on agricultural lands may represent an environmentally friendly disposal method and a possible use of water and nutrients from olive mill wastewaters (OMWs). However, the agronomic use of OMWs is limited, among others by polyphenols, which exert phytotoxic effects. Activated charcoal (AC) has been recognized as a very effective agent for polyphenol abatement, as it enables an irreversible process of phenol adsorption. Addition of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) has also been described as a cheap and effective method in polyphenols abatement. However, the effects of Ca(OH)2 addition to OMW on seed germination are unclear. In this paper, the effects of AC and/or Ca(OH)2 on OMW polyphenols abatement, and Lolium multiflorum seed germination have been investigated. The highest polyphenols removal, approximately 95%, was observed when 80xa0gxa0L(-1) of AC was added to OMWs (the maximum dose in this investigation). The addition of Ca(OH)2 not only improved the effectiveness of the AC treatment but also resulted in a significant rise in Lolium seed germination at the highest AC doses (60 and 80xa0gxa0L(-1)). Considering the high salinity (7300xa0μSxa0cm(-1)) of these wastewaters, low quantities of Ca(OH)2 may also exert a protective effect on soil structure counteracting the sodium-induced dispersion through the binding action of calcium cation on clays and organic matter.

Comparison of carbon balance in Mediterranean pilot constructed wetlands vegetated with different C4 plant species

This study investigates carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions and carbon (C) budgets in a horizontal subsurface flow pilot-plant constructed wetland (CW) with beds vegetated with Cyperus papyrus L., Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty, and Mischantus × giganteus Greef et Deu in the Mediterranean basin (Sicily) during the 1st year of plant growing season. At the end of the vegetative season, M. giganteus showed the higher biomass accumulation (7.4xa0kgxa0m−2) followed by C. zizanioides (5.3xa0kgxa0m−2) and C. papyrus (1.8xa0kgxa0m−2). Significantly higher emissions of CO2 were detected in the summer, while CH4 emissions were maximum during spring. Cumulative CO2 emissions by C. papyrus and C. zizanioides during the monitoring period showed similar trends with final values of about 775 and 1,074xa0gxa0m−2, respectively, whereas M. giganteus emitted 3,395xa0gxa0m−2. Cumulative CH4 bed emission showed different trends for the three C4 plant species in which total gas release during the study period was for C. papyrus 12.0xa0gxa0m−2 and ten times higher for M. giganteus, while C. zizanioides bed showed the greatest CH4 cumulative emission with 240.3xa0gxa0m−2. The wastewater organic carbon abatement determined different C flux in the atmosphere. Gas fluxes were influenced both by plant species and monitored months with an average C-emitted-to-C-removed ratio for C. zizanioides, C. papyrus, and M. giganteus of 0.3, 0.5, and 0.9, respectively. The growing season C balances were positive for all vegetated beds with the highest C sequestered in the bed with M. giganteus (4.26xa0kgxa0m−2) followed by C. zizanioides (3.78xa0kgxa0m−2) and C. papyrus (1.89xa0kgxa0m−2). To our knowledge, this is the first paper that presents preliminary results on CO2 and CH4 emissions from CWs vegetated with C4 plant species in Mediterranean basin during vegetative growth.

Influence of salinity and osmotic stress on germination process in an old sicilian landrace and a modern cultivar of triticum durum desf

In many world regions, osmotic and salt stresses are becoming the primary environmental conditions limiting successful establishment of crops. The old durum wheat landraces may provide a source of genes useful to enhance crop resilience to the abiotic stresses of dryland areas or foreseen as a result of climate change. With this in mind, in order to determine the effects of salt and osmotic stresses on durum wheat germination, an old Sicilian durum wheat landrace “Timilia” and a relatively recent cultivar “Mongibello” were investigated at various iso-osmotic solutions of NaCl and mannitol at osmotic potentials of: 0 − control, −0.125, −0.250, −0.500 and −0.750 MPa.

Olive mill wastewater spreading and AMF inoculation effects in a low-input semi-arid Mediterranean crop succession

ABSTRACT The study aimed to evaluate, in a marginal semi-arid Mediterranean agro-ecosystem (Sicily-Italy), the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation and raw olive mill wastewater (OMW) (40 and 80 m3 ha−1) on forage (durum wheat-snail medick intercropping) yield, and grain production of broad bean and chickpea. AMF inoculation significantly increased (+13.6%) forage dry biomass and durum wheat nitrogen (+22.8%) and phosphorus (+32.5%) uptake. AMF inoculation, significantly promoted broad bean phosphorus uptake (+11.5%) and root nodule number (+13.9%) in the absence of OMW. OMW spreading reduced weeds in the forage (−31.3%), root nodule number (−29.7%) and dry weight (−22.7%) in broad bean. OMW also significantly increased snail medick dry biomass (+19.3%) as compared to control treatments (0, 40 and 80 m3 H2O ha−1, average production 361 g m−2), and broad bean grain yield with a production of 2.46 ± 0.12 and 1.94 ± 0.09 Mg ha−1 with and without OMW, respectively. During the experiment AMF colonization was not affected by OMW volumes. The results obtained showed that in a marginal Mediterranean agro-ecosystem: 1) OMW, notwithstanding spreading volumes, is a valuable amendment to maximize legume yield while 2) AMF inoculation is a valuable practice to improve biomass production and N and P uptake in wheat.

Preliminary study of employ of an olive leaf extract on bakery products

Most baking processes in the food manufacturing sector involve use of gas-fired ovens. Only about one-third of the total nenergy used in these ovens adds value to the final product. The remaining two-thirds is discharged with the exhaust gases nat 150-250o nC and thus represents an opportunity for heat recovery. However, the low temperature range, fouling and presence of ncorrosive materials in the exhaust streams make heat recovery technically challenging and uneconomical. The existing low grade heat nrecovery technolgies mostly use gas to liquid heat transfer to produce hot water for use in other areas of the manufacturing plant. nThe performance of these systems is governed by hot water demand in the factory and is therefore not recommended if there are nfrequent fluctuations in demand or if a more efficient technology, such as combined heat and power, is already in place. This study ninvolves design, manufacturing and testing of a novel low-temperature gas to gas heat recovery system using an array of heat pipe heat nexchangers, for industrial-scale baking ovens at a large confectionary manufacturing plant. Unlike gas to liquid heat transfer, a gas to ngas heat transfer system provides direct savings in oven fuel consumption, independent of the hot water and other energy demands nelsewhere in the plant. The heat recovery potential of the system is estimated using a thermodynamic model developed based on nenergy and mass balance for the ovens. The design enables recovery of up to 50% of the energy available through the exhaust stack, nincreasing the energy efficiency of the overall process to 60% and reducing food manufacturing costs by one third.

Greenhouse Gases Formation and Emission

The rising temperature of earth, known as global warming, is partially the result of the rise of greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere since the beginning of the 20th century, mostly due to anthropogenic activities. Global warming is one of the major threats to the environment because of the resulting climate change. This article gives an overview of the formation of most important greenhouse gases which are released to the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases described in this article are carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and ozone (O 3 ). Particular attention has been paid to the soil conditions under which greenhouse gases are formed.