Marco Vocciante

Electrokinetic remediation of soils contaminated by potentially toxic metals: Dedicated analytical tools for assessing the contamination baseline in a complex scenario

In order to assess the capabilities of a remediation technology, and to judge of its efficacy, it is necessary to evaluate the initial average contamination level of the soil, an operation that can be difficult because of the inhomogeneity of the contamination itself. The goal is even more challenging when different contaminants are present, greatly differing both in terms of nature and of concentration. By referring to an industrial site contaminated mainly by As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb, Tl and Zn, we present a new approach for the necessary processing of sampling data, in order to establish the pre-intervention baseline: an estimate of the average contamination has been obtained through a suitable integration of the volume underlying the distribution curve of each contaminating species. This information, otherwise not accessible by means of sampling of discrete points, is useful in evaluating the effectiveness of the remediation technology under investigation, and can also be considered for other reclamation approaches as well. Since chemometrically acceptable results are typically achieved by increasing the number of samples (with related analytical investments), the proposed approach can help keep low these ancillary costs, while providing results that are more reliable.

Assisted phytoremediation of a multi-contaminated soil: Investigation on arsenic and lead combined mobilization and removal

The removal of contaminants from an earthy matrix by phytoremediation requires the selection of appropriate plant species and a suitable strategy to be effective. In order to set up an assisted phytoremediation intervention related to a disused industrial site affected by an arsenic and lead complex contamination, an extensive experimental investigation on micro and mesocosm scale has been conducted. Particular attention was given to the choice of plant species: using crop plants (Lupinus albus, Helianthus annuus and Brassica juncea) a series of parallel test campaigns have been realized to investigate different scenarios for the reclamation. With regard to the arsenic contamination, which is certainly the most worrying, the possibility of employing a hyper-accumulator species (Pteris vittata) has also been investigated, highlighting advantages and difficulties associated with such an approach. The application of various mobilizing agents in different concentrations was tested, in order to maximize the extraction efficiency of plants in respect of both contaminants, showing the necessity of a chemically assisted approach to promote their uptake and translocation in the shoots. Phosphate addition appears to produce the desired results, positively affecting As phyto-extraction for both hyper-accumulator and crop plants, while minimizing its toxic effects at the investigated concentrations. With regard to Pb, although tests with EDDS have been encouraging, EDTA should be preferred at present due to lower uncertainties about its effectiveness. The performed tests also improved the addition of mobilizing agents, allowing the simultaneous removal of the two metals despite their great diversity (which in general discourages such approach), with significant saving of time and an obvious improvement of the overall process.

Numerical Evaluation of Different Turbulence Models for Single-Phase Flow in the Outer Pillow-Plate Channel

Abstract Pillow-plate heat exchangers (PPHE) are fabricated as stacks of pillow plates with alternating inner and outer channels. In this contribution, we show results of a numerical investigation of the turbulent single-phase flow (3000xa0≤ Rexa0≤ 8000) in the outer channels performed with the aid of the OpenFOAM® simulation software. Several turbulence models based on different approaches (RANS, DES, LES) were tested. The simulation results were compared with pressure loss measurements conducted earlier by our group. Despite inherent simplifications, some advanced RANS models are capable of adequately capturing the complex fluid dynamics in the outer pillow-plate channels, showing results comparable to those of the more time-consuming LES simulations.

Bismuth oxide-related photocatalysts in green nanotechnology: A critical analysis

A survey addressing the uses of bismuth oxide in photocatalysis is presented. The richness of literature on such a specific topic proves the growing importance of this compound as a valid tool in pollution abatement and environmental decontamination. Many research groups have focused their activity on how to improve the photocatalytic properties of this semiconductor and several solutions have been adopted in the synthesis method, often based on wet-chemical processes. The impressive development of nanoscience helped in understanding and identifying process variables and operative conditions aiming at optimizing the yield of this promising photocatalytic material in the utilization of solar energy.