Air pollution and gaseous effluent treatment technologies

Research focus

The Peer review has evaluated this group as Good

Research on this topic aims at: a) assessing air quality, through environmental data acquisition and statistical elaboration; b) developing and updating pollutants inventories and emission factors; c) evaluating treatment and control technologies; d) assessing waste-to-energy plants and waste management, as detailed here below. 1. Air quality. Research activities span over a large spectrum, namely: a) meteorological and air quality data acquisition and treatment for their statistical modeling; b) fine atmospheric particulate sampling and characterization for the assessment of the role of sources and correlation to health effect; c) air quality analysis in critical sites where large pollution sources are present; d) methodologies for the assessment of large pollution sources on air quality; e) quantitative health risk evaluation linked to persistent toxic pollutants in the environment. 2. Air emissions inventory. Research is focused on the atmospheric emissions from large combustion processes (thermal power stations, waste-to-energy plants, clinker furnaces) and from traffic: emission factors and inventories, with particular reference to fine particulate matter (PM10; PM2.5; PM1); the role of emissions of precursors in the formation of secondary fine particulate; 3. Control technologies. Focus is posed: (i) to the evaluation and the assessment analysis of the best available technologies for atmospheric emission control and (ii) to the development of technologies for the control of volatile organic compounds, with special reference to the use of biofiltration. 4. Waste-to-energy and waste management assessment. In spite that European policy for waste management states that “waste minimization” is a priority, strategic goals declared in the last decades have not been achieved: municipal and industrial wastes are still produced at a very high rate. Also, current practice is very far from optimum solutions and a much broader vision of waste management has to be developed as well as a far deeper insight into the “waste problem” has to be pursued. Environmental, as well as energetic and economic assessments of waste management options (starting from selective collection and ending up to final disposal of unrecoverable residuals to sanitary landfills) still has to be evaluated. Therefore research in the field of solid wastes should focus on optimization and integration of the entire sequence of management options. Research is also necessary to find out the most efficient solutions and options also for specific catchment areas. In particular, energy and material recovery allow consistent savings in non-renewable resources and primary energy. The actual potential of these activities is remarkable, as you consider that, for example, energy recovery from municipal solid wastes used as fuel in high efficiency plants can satisfy more than one/fourth of the entire household and municipal energy demand. Moreover, greenhouse emissions of such plants are remarkably low if compared with traditional fossil fuels. This research field has started from the environmental assessment of waste-to-energy plants and has been recently extended to the assessment of energy recovery from wastes by means of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) techniques and assessment of technologies for dioxin emission control from waste-to-energy plants.

Dipartimento di afferenza

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Idraulica, Ambientale, Infrastrutture Viarie, Rilevamento (DIIAR)

Docenti afferenti

Full Professors
Michele Giugliano
Associate Professors
Stefano Cernuschi
Assistant Professors
Giovanni Lonati
Mario Grosso