Danilo Monarca

The Semitransparent Photovoltaic Films for Mediterranean Greenhouse: A New Sustainable Technology

Mediterranean countries offer very favorable climatic conditions for growing plants in a protected environment: as a matter of fact, the high solar radiation allows the use of greenhouses with simple structures, covered with plastic film and without fixed installations for winter heating. They are called “Mediterranean greenhouses” and are totally different from those in Central and Northern Europe. In the photovoltaic greenhouses, the cover on the pitch facing south is usually replaced by very opaque panels. However, this solution compromises the possibility to grow plants in covered and protected environments since solar radiation availability is limited and strongly nonuniform. In order to overcome this problem, semitransparent photovoltaic materials can be used to let the solar energy, necessary for plant growth, pass into the green house. The aim of this research is to analyze the radiometric properties of innovative semitransparent flexible photovoltaic materials in order to evaluate their performances in comparison with materials commonly used in the coverage of the greenhouses. Particular attention is paid to the transmittance of these materials in the visible range and in the long wave infrared for the achievement of greenhouse effect.

Energy Characterization and Gasification of Biomass Derived by Hazelnut Cultivation: Analysis of Produced Syngas by Gas Chromatography

Modern agriculture is an extremely energy intensive process. However, high agricultural productivities and the growth of green revolution has been possible only by large amount of energy inputs, especially those coming from fossil fuels. These energy resources have not been able to provide an economically viable solution for agricultural applications. Biomass energy-based systems had been extensively used for transportation and on farm systems during World War II: the most common and reliable solution was wood or biomass gasification. The latter means incomplete combustion of biomass resulting in production of combustible gases which mostly consist of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2) and traces of methane (CH4). This mixture is called syngas, which can be successfully used to run internal combustion engines (both compression and spark ignition) or as substitute for furnace oil in direct heat applications. The aim of the present paper is to help the experimentation of innovative plants for electric power production using agro-forest biomass derived by hazelnut cultivations. An additional purpose is to point out a connection among the chemical and physical properties of the outgoing syngas by biomass characterization and gas-chromatography analysis.

The Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders for Workers due to Repetitive Movements during Tomato Harvesting

Tomatoes are the most common crop in Italy. The production cycle requires operations in the field and factory that can cause musculoskeletal disorders due to the repetitive movements of the upper limbs of the workers employed in the sorting phase. This research aims to evaluate these risks using the OCRA (occupational repetitive actions) index method This method is based firstly on the calculation of a maximum number of recommended actions, related to the way the operation is performed, and secondly on a comparison of the number of actions effectively carried out by the upper limb with the recommended calculated value. The results of the risk evaluation for workers who manually sort tomatoes during harvest showed a risk for the workers, with an exposure index greater than 20; the OCRA index defines an index higher than 3.5 as unacceptable. The present trend of replacing manual sorting onboard a vehicle with optical sorters seems to be appropriate to reduce the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and is supported from both a financial point of view and as a quality control measure.

Feasibility of the electric energy production through gasification processes of biomass: technical and economic aspects

Biomass is one of the main sources for energy production, indeed, due to its chemical and physical peculiarities, it can be used very well in thermo chemical processes such as combustion, pyrolysis and gasification. Furthermore, the considerable variability of bio fuels that can be produced allows the experimentation of new technologies that with a higher performance are able to produce not only heat but also electric power. On the other hand, due to problems in supplying and technology, the main disadvantage of such energetic system consists in its difficult application in a large scale production. The present study aims to highlight the possible use of biomasses in small energetic districts such as Viterbo area: the exploitation of wood and cellulose biomasses are described and the possible application with flowing bed technology is considered. This study wants to technically test the feasibility of a biomass supplied system, taking care of stocks availability and amount, use of gasification process based on flowing bed technology, chemical characteristic of syngas and energy power production.

Estimation of the risks of thermal stress due to the microclimate for manual fruit and vegetable harvesters in Central Italy.

Agricultural workers are exposed to various risks, including chemical agents, noise, and many other factors. One of the most characteristic and least known risk factors is constituted by the microclimatic conditions in the different phases of work (in field, in greenhouse, etc). A typical condition is thermal stress due to high temperatures during harvesting operations in open fields or in greenhouses. In Italy, harvesting is carried out for many hours during the day, mainly in the summer, with temperatures often higher than 30 degrees C. According to ISO 7243, these conditions can be considered dangerous for workers health. The aim of this study is to assess the risks of exposure to microclimatic conditions (heat) for fruit and vegetable harvesters in central Italy by applying methods established by international standards. In order to estimate the risk for workers, the air temperature, radiative temperature, and air speed were measured using instruments in conformity with ISO 7726. Thermodynamic parameters and two more subjective parameters, clothing and the metabolic heat production rate related to the workers physical activity, were used to calculate the predicted heat strain (PHS) for the exposed workers in conformity with ISO 7933. Environmental and subjective parameters were also measured for greenhouse workers, according to ISO 7243, in order to calculate the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT). The results show a slight risk for workers during manual harvesting in the field. On the other hand, the data collected in the greenhouses show that the risk for workers must not be underestimated. The results of the study show that, for manual harvesting work in climates similar to central Italy, it is essential to provide plenty of drinking water and acclimatization for the workers in order to reduce health risks. Moreover, the study emphasizes that the possible health risks for greenhouse workers increase from the month of April through July.

Plant for the production of chips and pellet: technical and economic aspects of an case study in the central Italy

This work is the result of a technical and economic analysis about the process of transformation of forest wood in biofuels, pellets and wood chips. The experimental pilot plant is managed by a forest consortium located in the province of Terni, Umbria Region (central Italy), near the Mountain Community Valle del Nera and Mountain San Pancrazio. The structure and all the machinery of the consortium have been realized utilizing government incentives and involving public and private subjects that operate in the district. The production process of woodpellet is more articulated: it is necessary to refine the mixture a bit more, creating a wood dust which is immediately compressed to form the classical cylindrical pellets shape and to provide a uniform dough-like mass. The study of the productivity of machinery employed in the transformation of the wood material was made analyzing the cards compiled daily from the technicians of the consortium. The economic evaluation has been completed following an analytical procedure considering the hourly manpower cost and the single machines utilized in all the process phases.

Near infrared spectroscopy is suitable for the classification of hazelnuts according to Protected Designation of Origin

BACKGROUNDnThis study investigates the possibility of using near infrared spectroscopy for the authentication of the Nocciola Romana hazelnut (Corylus avellana L. cvs Tonda Gentile Romana and Nocchione) as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) hazelnut from central Italy. Algorithms for the selection of the optimal pretreatments were tested in combination with the following discriminant routines: k-nearest neighbour, soft independent modelling of class analogy, partial least squares discriminant analysis and support vector machine discriminant analysis.nnnRESULTSnThe best results were obtained using a support vector machine discriminant analysis routine. Thus, classification performance rates with specificities, sensitivities and accuracies as high as 96.0%, 95.0% and 95.5%, respectively, were achieved. Various pretreatments, such as standard normal variate, mean centring and a Savitzky-Golay filter with seven smoothing points, were used. The optimal wavelengths for classification were mainly correlated with lipids, although some contribution from minor constituents, such as proteins and carbohydrates, was also observed.nnnCONCLUSIONnNear infrared spectroscopy could classify hazelnut according to the PDO Nocciola Romana designation. Thus, the experimentation lays the foundations for a rapid, online, authentication system for hazelnut. However, model robustness should be improved taking into account agro-pedo-climatic growing conditions.

Use of Semi-transparent Photovoltaic Films as Shadowing Systems in Mediterranean Greenhouses

In Mediterranean greenhouses, active and passive cooling systems are almost always needed due to high values of solar radiation (nearly 1000 Wm− 2) -especially during summer season- and high values of air temperature (near 40°C). Nevertheless, the use of the above-mentioned systems imply the increase of the operating costs of greenhouses.

Effect of alternative postharvest control treatments on the storability of 'Golden Delicious' apples

BACKGROUNDnApples are subject to a high degree of fungal diseases, but the use of synthetic fungicides has been questioned because of public safety concerns, social rejection, and the development of resistance in pathogens. Thus, development of new postharvest treatments against apple fungal pathogens is necessary. Most studies have reported their effectiveness, but not all report the effects on the quality and storability of the fruit. In this study, the effects of physical (hot water), chemical (quercetin) and biological (yeast antagonist) microfungal control on the quality of Golden Delicious apple during storage at 2u2009±u20090.5u2009°C, and 90u2009±u20092% of relative humidity, for 2u2009months were investigated and compared.nnnRESULTSnHeat-treated apples exhibited peel fruit damage (surface browning and internal breakdown disorders) and promoted ripening in the fruit. The quercetin caustic spray caused the development of peel chemical burn in all treated fruit. Both yeast antagonist and quercetin treatments did not affect the apple ripening process but stimulated an increase in ethylene production and in respiratory activity.nnnCONCLUSIONnThe data indicated that the effects on quality and storability were dependent on the method of treatment used, and antagonistic yeast was the best microfungal control because of it did not cause any disorders or negative effects on apple quality during storage.

Review: Recent Advances in the Use of Non-Destructive near Infrared Spectroscopy for Intact Olive Fruits:

The objective of this review is to illustrate the state of the art in the use of non-destructive near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for quality evaluation of intact fruit in the olive industry. First, the most recent studies regarding the application of non-destructive NIR spectroscopy methods for the assessment of external olive quality are reviewed. External defects including mechanical damage, bruising, ground origin and insect infestation, and the consequences of these defects for finished products are reported. Second, research regarding chemical parameters of olive fruits is reviewed; in particular, the use of portable instruments to measure quality parameters such as moisture, oil and phenolic content while the fruit is on the tree, with the goal of monitoring the trends in these parameters during olive development. Finally, research on intact olive authenticity, an important aspect for legal and economic reasons, is reviewed. As most studies cited indicate the feasibility of NIR spectroscopy for non-destructive evaluation of many quality parameters, this review stresses the urgent need for technology transfer to olive facilities to enhance product quality while reducing production costs.