Sabino De Gisi

Plastic pollution of the natural environment has become a hot social tissue; with global plastic production of 335 million tons in 2016, numerous plastics are released into the environment during their life cycle or are not treated efficiently. To reduce this phenomenon, the market of bio-plastic has grown significantly by providing an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional fossil-based plastics. Recent surveys show that the trend in bio-plastics production is growing rapidly so as to change the product composition of conventional Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). In this context, the project aims to understand the behavior of cellulosic-based bio-plastics waste in MSW treatment plants (i.e., combined anaerobic digestion and composting plant, mechanical-biological treatment plant) in order to verify the resilience of such plants to new product compositions of the incoming MSW.

Asia has registered a steep growth in population and consumption of goods in the last decades. Similar to other parts of the world, the capability of its socio-economic systems to address the disposal of increasing waste amounts still needs to improve. Dedicated professionals for solid waste management are therefore a most valuable resource in these countries. Building capacities at different educational levels by developing specialized courses and training programs with sustainable governance is one important step to cultivate the professionals of tomorrow. The main objective of the project is to introduce new academic and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) products for teachers and trainers, addressing the most topical waste management issues.

The Adriatic-Ionian Region (ADRION) is at the forefront of innovation potential in Circular Economy. The sector covers the economic, social, environmental, and technological aspects of post-consumer materials and among the keywords are waste recycling, material and energy recovery, minimisation of waste generation, industrial symbiosis, and environmental protection. The Apulia Region plays a fundamental role in the ADRION territorial context, acting as a bridge between the Ionian and Adriatic realities. The main objective of this research is to increase the competences and skills of the ADRION countries on the topic of waste management and circular economy through the creation of joint master courses to be delivered at the most important universities of the ADRION countries.

Various materials such as ash, mill sludge and Black Liquor are generated in paper mills. Over the years, these wastes have generally been sent to landfill or incinerated according to their characteristics. Among them, Kraft Black Liquor (KBL) is of great importance. KBL is an aqueous solution of lignin residues, hemicelluloses and inorganic chemicals produced during the pulping process. It is sometimes classified as waste even if this definition is wrong in most of the cases where KBL is recovered by using it as fuel in boilers. In this process, the pulping chemicals are recovered and sent again to the cooking process of wood. KBL has more than half of the energy content of the inlet wood. It is generally used as an energy source although recovery boilers are still quite thermally inefficient compared to coal or gas fired power producing ones. In this context, the objective of this research is to investigate an alternative technological pathway to the status quo, based on the use of Supercritical Water Gasification (SCWG). The ambition is to obtain biofuels and chemical products with high added value in the paper production sector.