Olive oil and dairy production are among the most important and widespread agro-food activities in southern Italy and particularly in the Puglia region. According to a territorial survey of the Puglia region, the related wastes, olive pomace (OP), olive mill wastewater (OMWW) and whey milk are very abundant (741,000 tons/year) and represent potential sources of contamination for the land and aquifers; however, these wastes also represent an interesting feedstock for biogas production through anaerobic digestion. OP, OMWW and whey milk are high in organic content (100 g/l, 65 g/l and 60 g/l, respectively), are acidic (with pH values between 3.5 and 5.5), and have high total solid percentage concentrations (30% (w/w), <5% (w/w) and 5% (w/w), respectively). In this study, the results of two experimental campaigns, both conducted at Asja Ambiente's research center in Ceglie Messapica (Italy) are reported. In the first campaign, different waste mixtures obtained from OP, OMWW and whey milk were fed into a 45-L anaerobic reactor to evaluate their biogas yields. In the second campaign, a combination of whey milk and OP was fed into an anaerobic pilot plant with a volume of 1.6 m(3). In the case of feed composed of 25% (w/w) OP and 75% (w/w) whey, a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) reduction of 64% and a biogas production of approximately 1.3 L/L day were obtained, which correspond to 0.013 L-biogas/gTS(in). This performance is potentially able to cover 0.015% of Puglia's yearly total demand for energy. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Olive husks, typical solid by-products from the olive oil industry, were selected to carry out anaerobic digestion tests. Before digestion, olive husks were subjected to ultrasonic or thermal pretreatments in order to release the organic matter into solution. Both sonication and thermal pretreatment allowed to solubilize the particulate matter with 22% and 72% increase in soluble organics of olive husks, respectively. Nevertheless, such pretreatments caused the release of unwanted molecules in solution, with the related risks of inhibition of the methanogenic process. Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) tests on olive husks mixed with olive-mill wastewater and dairy wastewater, either pretreated or not, showed that ultrasound pretreatment resulted in 15% increase in volatile solids reduction and a 13% increase in biogas production, while after thermal pretreatment no benefits were observed.

The present work represents an innovative attempt to give a solution to the double necessity of seeking for new energy sources, and avoiding the disposal of the most abundant wastes from agricultural and food activities in the Apulia region in order to preserve the environment.In particular olive pomaces, olive mill wastewaters and whey milk have a high organic content (100 g/l, 60 g/l and 60 g/l respectively), they are acid (pH between 3,5 - 5,5), total solid percentage concentrations of 30%, <5% and 5% respectively. These chemical characteristics make these wastes potential sources of contamination for the land and aquifers, but also an interesting feedstock for biogas production through anaerobic digestion process.This work includes two experimental campaigns, both conducted at Asja Ambiente's research centre in Ceglie Messapica (Italy). In the first one, different waste-mixtures, obtained from olive pomace, olive mill wastewaters and whey milk, were feeded in a 45 liters anaerobic reactor in order to evaluate their biogas yields. The best feed mixture was the combination of olive pomace at 25% w/w concentration with whey milk, with a daily biogas production of about 40 liters, approximately 0,75 liters of biogas per liter of reactor.The second experimental campaign was carried out using the above combination of whey milk and olive pomace has the main feed mixture in a anaerobic pilot plant of 1.8 m3 of volume. The duration of campaign was of 75 days and, after a period of acclimatization of the biomass to the substrates charged in the reactor, lead to a stable daily biogas production of about 2000 liters (approximately 1,1 liter of biogas per liter of reactor), with a methane concentration in the range 65-70% w/w

Biogas utilization in MCFC systems requires a high level of gas purification in order to meet the stringent sulfur tolerance limits of both the fuel cells and the reformer catalysts. In this study, two commercial activated carbons (ACs) have been tested for H2S removal from the biogas produced at the Montescarpino Municipal Solid Waste landfill in Genoa, Italy. The performed analyses show a low selectivity of activated carbon towards the adsorption of only sulfur species. This represents a drawback for the use of this type of system, however, the use of mixed beds of different ACs has demonstrated to be advantageous in improving the removal efficiency of H2S. Thus, the adsorption treatments with AC can ensure the high level of gas desulfurization required for fuel cell application. Nevertheless, the low adsorption capacity observed using landfill biogas would lead to high operative costs that suggest the application of a preliminary gas-scrubbing stage.

Several Li-Cr delafossite catalysts were prepared via the so-called " Solution Combustion Synthesis (SCS)" method, characterized and tested as catalysts for the combustion of diesel soot. These catalysts already showed appreciable activity at 350 °C even under loose contact conditions. An in situ SCS method was tailored to the preparation of a LiCr 0.9 O 2 -catalyzed trap based on a SiC wall-flow monolith. Engine bench tests on these catalytic traps showed that the presence of the catalyst enabled both a more complete regeneration and a one-third fold reduction of the regeneration time compared to the case of a non-catalytic trap.

Nano-structured perovskite-type lanthanum ferrites La1−xAxFe1−yByO3 (where A=Na, K, Rb and B=Cu), prepared by the solution combustion synthesis (SCS) method and characterized by BET, XRD, FESEM, AAS and catalytic activity tests in microreactors as well as on an engine bench, proved to be effective in the simultaneous removal of soot and NO, the two prevalent pollutants in diesel exhaust gases in the temperature range 350–450°C. The best compromise between soot and nitrogen oxide abatement was shown by the La-K-Cu-FeO3 catalyst which displayed the highest catalytic activity towards carbon combustion and the highest NO conversion activity.

Four perovskite catalysts LaBO3 (where B = Cr, Mn, Fe, and Co) were prepared via a highly exothermic and self-sustaining reaction, the so-called "solution combustion synthesis (SCS)", and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, BET, field-emission scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive spectrometry, and H-2-temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) analyses. The performance of these catalysts toward the decomposition of N2O to N-2 and O-2 was evaluated in a temperature programmed reaction (TPRe) apparatus in the absence and the presence of different oxygen concentrations. Among the catalysts screened, LaCoO3 showed the best performance, with 50% conversion of N2O at 455 degrees C and 490 degrees C in the absence and presence of 5% of oxygen, respectively. The LaCoO3 catalyst was deposited by in situ SCS directly over a ceramic honeycomb monolith and then tested in a lab-scale test rig. The coated ceramic monolith gave 50% N2O conversion performance similar to that obtained on powder for GHSV values of industrial interest (10 000-30 000 h(-1)). The correlation between the observed oxygen inhibition and the proposed N2O decomposition mechanism as well as the relationship between the observed activity and the reducibility of the B site, determined from TPR experiments, is discussed.

This paper concerns the development of a LiCoO2 catalyst which shows appreciable activity towards the catalytic combustion of soot already at 300 °C. An in situ combustion synthesis method was then tailored to the preparation of a LiCoO2-catalysed trap based on a silicon carbide wall-flow monolith. Engine bench tests on this catalytic trap (trap loading with soot and then its regeneration induced by a temperature rise entailed by catalytic combustion of post-injected fuel) showed that the presence of the catalyst in the wall-flow trap enables both a more complete regeneration (78% opposed to just 52% of the non-catalytic trap) and a reduction of the regeneration time, with consequent saving of post-injected fuel.

The effect of specific aging protocols (thermal treatment at 400 °C for 96 h and 650 °C for 24 h) in the presence of potentially deactivating species present in diesel exhaust gases (SO 2 and water), was studied on some promising catalysts (LaCrO 3 , La 0.9 CrO 3 , La 0.9 Na 0.1 CrO 3 , La 0.9 Rb 0.1 CrO 3 , La 0.8 Cr 0.9 Li 0.1 O 3 ) for diesel particulate combustion. The catalytic activity was almost completely retained. The catalyst La 0.8 Cr 0.9 Li 0.1 O 3 was found to allow the best compromise between satisfactory catalytic activity and stability. This catalyst was then deposited on a SiC wall-flow trap, submitted to the same aging treatments and then tested in a diesel engine bench showing satisfactory stability. Engine bench tests on this catalytic trap (trap loading and regeneration inducing a temperature increase by the catalytic combustion of suitably post-injected fuel) showed that the presence of the catalyst in the wall-flow trap enabled both a more complete regeneration and a significant reduction of the regeneration time compared to that of a non-catalytic trap, with a consequent saving of post-injected fuel.