Idiano D'Adamo

A multi-objective optimization strategy for energy plants in Italy

In recent years, Europe has promoted a series of waste regulations to achieve greater protection of the environment. This objective can be obtained by adopting an integrated management system for the reduction of waste production and developing systems for waste sorting, energy recovery and waste recycling. Such interventions that find their justification in an environmental perspective must be also sustainable from an economic perspective. An analysis of the Italian situation highlights a dependency on landfills; this phenomenon must be reduced to identify actions aimed at safeguarding and protecting the environment. The aim of this paper is to analyse the economic and environmental benefits from diverting waste from landfills towards energy recovery in twenty Italian regions.

Modelling the correlations of e-waste quantity with economic increase

Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE or e-waste) is regarded as one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world and is becoming an emerging issue owing to adverse consequences on the natural environment and the human health. This research article reveals the presence of a strong linear correlation among global e-waste generation and Gross Domestic Product. The obtained results indicate that the best fit for data can be reached by comparing e-waste collected volumes and GDP PPS. More in detail, an increase of 1000 GDP PPS means an additional 0.27kg of e-waste collected and 0.22kg of e-waste reused/recycled. Furthermore, for each additional citizen, there will be an increase of 7.7kg of e-waste collected and 6.2kg of e-waste reused/recycled. The better collection of e-waste acts an important role concerning the circular economy, and it can be an advantageous approach. Therefore, e-waste could be considered as an opportunity for recycling or recovery of valuable metals (e.g., copper, gold, silver, and palladium), given their significant content in precious metals than in mineral ores.