Michele Notarnicola

Plastic packaging plays an important role in protecting goods as they pass through the economy and, above all, in reducing food waste and its impact on the climate. However, the current plastic system needs to be corrected, as not all plastic packaging waste is valorized in terms of material and energy recovery. Among them, PET trays, a type of recyclable packaging that allows the incorporation of recycled material directly in its production phase are of great importance. Generally, PET trays are delivered by the user into the plastic bin and then separated from other plastics (i.e., HDPE, PE) in suitable sorting plants. The resulting fraction is at best thermally valorized through the combustion of PLASMIX. Alternatively, PET trays are destined for landfill disposal. The project aims to explore new technologies for mechanical and chemical recycling of PET trays as well as to estimate the environmental impact of recycling.

The research aims to develop new materials derived from end-of-waste or by-products for engineering applications. The materials under investigation include incinerator ash, blast furnace slag and biochar derived from the processing of wood waste. The research also includes the use of life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, transport and use of the new materials to be developed.

EDSSs (Environmental Decision Support Systems) are recognised tools that, based on a scientific approach, provide information to policy makers. The development of EDSSs is site-specific and includes a mathematical/software component and one linked to the domain being investigated (e.g. an environmental compartment such as water, sediment). The research aims at the development of EDSSs that are able to model the complex environmental (and social) problem tackled, discretised as a multi-disciplinary reality.

Mathematical modelling and process optimisation have become a powerful tool for designing sustainable and efficient waste treatment processes. Fields of investigation include the modelling of anaerobic digestion processes of organic waste or the treatment of contaminated marine sediments such as In-Situ capping. The research aims to develop mathematical models that can predict process behaviour from a solid setting of a real process.

The research aims to investigate new biological processes for the treatment of contaminated soils and sediments. Biological processes can be applied individually or in combination with chemical-physical processes.