14^th World Congress and Expo on Recycling October 19-20, 2022 Barcelona, Spain

Biography:

Abstract:

The implementation of guidelines for a circular economy, as well as a shortage of fossil resources, has caused a dynamic development of the bio-based materials market, which is related to the appearance of waste from these materials in existing waste management systems. Possible end-of-life scenarios for bio-based materials are recycling (organic, mechanical, chemical), or incineration. However, because the materials are labelled biodegradable, organic recycling should be a priority. Because organic recycling is defined as biological anaerobic and aerobic treatment of waste, both of these methods were used for determining the possibilities of biodegradation of Cel- and PBS-based materials.

Biodegradation was carried out at 55°C under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Under aerobic conditions, with a mature compost from biowaste as the inoculum, the biodegradability of these materials was determined based on oxygen consumption. Under anaerobic conditions, however, with the inoculum in the form of fermented sludge, the biodegradability was assessed based on methane production. During aerobic and anaerobic degradation, microscopic changes on the surfaces of the materials and the mechanical properties of the materials (based on the tensile test) were also observed.

Initially, both materials were transparent and smooth. Under anaerobic conditions, the mechanical properties of the Cel-based material were lost after 3 days, after which it was not possible to perform the tensile test. The material became severely weakened and fragile and was not visible in the inoculum after 4 days. The PBS-based material was more resistant to biodegradation: it lost its mechanical properties after 14 days, after which it was not visible in the inoculum.

Under aerobic conditions, the Cel-based material changed colour to light-yellow and lost its mechanical properties after 1 day, then it became fragile and crumbled when touched. After day 5, it was no longer visible in the compost. Under aerobic conditions, the PBS-based material lost its mechanical properties after a shorter time (7 days) than under anaerobic conditions. After this, the material fragmentated. It was visible until 14 days of biodegradation.

In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that Cel-based material is more susceptible to biodegradation than PBS under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

Biography:

Abstract:

The implementation of guidelines for a circular economy, as well as a shortage of fossil resources, has caused a dynamic development of the bio-based materials market, which is related to the appearance of waste from these materials in existing waste management systems. Possible end-of-life scenarios for bio-based materials are recycling (organic, mechanical, chemical), or incineration. However, because the materials are labelled biodegradable, organic recycling should be a priority. Because organic recycling is defined as biological anaerobic and aerobic treatment of waste, both of these methods were used for determining the possibilities of biodegradation of Cel- and PBS-based materials.

Biodegradation was carried out at 55°C under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Under aerobic conditions, with a mature compost from biowaste as the inoculum, the biodegradability of these materials was determined based on oxygen consumption. Under anaerobic conditions, however, with the inoculum in the form of fermented sludge, the biodegradability was assessed based on methane production. During aerobic and anaerobic degradation, microscopic changes on the surfaces of the materials and the mechanical properties of the materials (based on the tensile test) were also observed.

Initially, both materials were transparent and smooth. Under anaerobic conditions, the mechanical properties of the Cel-based material were lost after 3 days, after which it was not possible to perform the tensile test. The material became severely weakened and fragile and was not visible in the inoculum after 4 days. The PBS-based material was more resistant to biodegradation: it lost its mechanical properties after 14 days, after which it was not visible in the inoculum.

Under aerobic conditions, the Cel-based material changed colour to light-yellow and lost its mechanical properties after 1 day, then it became fragile and crumbled when touched. After day 5, it was no longer visible in the compost. Under aerobic conditions, the PBS-based material lost its mechanical properties after a shorter time (7 days) than under anaerobic conditions. After this, the material fragmentated. It was visible until 14 days of biodegradation.

In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that Cel-based material is more susceptible to biodegradation than PBS under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

Biography:

Graduated in Biological Sciences, completed her PhD in Food Science at Naples University, Italy. In 1988 she started her professional carrier as researcher at “Mediterranea” University of Reggio Calabria where she is still working as Full Professor in soil chemistry and ecology. Since 1990 she is reviewer for International Scientific Journals. Since 2008 she is evaluator of projects for EC, International Funding Research Agencies and Italian and Foreign Research Ministries. She is examiner of PhD dissertation. She has over 200 papers in international journals with IF, Citations: 3940; H index: 34. She is editorial board member of many International Journals. She is Associate Editor for JFR and Forests. She is part of the list “World’s Top 2% of scientist of their main subfield discipline, for 2020 and 2021 (Ioannidis JPA, Boyack KW, Baas J; 2020 Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators. PLoS Biol 18(10): e3000918. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000918).

She is appointed as expert member of ITPS by FAO for the period 2022/2025.

Abstract:

pathogens, when improperly disposed of and / or left in landfills, can cause significant environmental damage with negative effects on soils and crops. The residues of the industrial processing of oranges and olives, of which the Mediterranean countries are the major producers, being still rich in organic matter and bio-compounds, represent an important source of nutritional components. This work aims to recover and enhance the aforementioned biomasses through three different methods: anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion and use without any transformation (raw waste management) to transform these residues into fertilizers by identifying the most eco-sustainable methodology. The by-products, obtained from the different transformation processes, have been chemically analyzed and tested on soil, and on growth and quality of garlic (Allium sativum). The results showed that all the by-products positively influenced the characteristics of soil and the quality of garlic, even if the effects were different and dependent on the type of the by-product used and on the chemical characteristics of the biomass from which the by-products came. The by-products from orange waste (pastazzo) were somewhat more effective than those from olive pomace and among the types of by-products, compost was the most effective. All by-products improved both the productivity and the quality of the garlic.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that all biomass transformation methods have led to the production of fertilizers that can be successfully used in agriculture. All the processing methods used resulted sustainable, who more from an environmental, who more from an agricultural or an economic point of view.

Biography:

Abstract:

Plastic materials are essential in modern societies; they come mainly from fossil resources. That is why recycling is a very important step in the transition towards a circular economy, to avoid continuing to use fossil resources and thus close the cycle of production. PET is currently considered one of the plastics with the greatest potential for be recycled due to its good properties and ability to be processed by industrial processing. However, those processes may deteriorate its properties, such as tensile strength or thermal stability, since they involve high temperatures and shear stresses that together with the presence of moisture (due to the strong hydrophilic nature of PET) can accelerate the thermal oxidation of the polymer with a corresponding loss in molecular weight. When working with recycled PET the excess moisture contained in the material may be higher. Despite the importance that represents the drying stage for this resin, it has not yet been studied how different techniques of drying can influence the final mechanical properties of the processed parts and the cycle total (time/costs). In the present work, two drying techniques were applied, one conventional through an oven widely used in the industry and another novel one through infrared rays (which involved the construction of an infrared oven) to study its influence on the cycle of recycled and mainly in the final mechanical properties of PET parts obtained from of waste soda bottles and virgin material used for comparison. It was found that drying by infrared technology reduces drying time by 80% which implies a Drastic reduction in total recycling time for all materials (recycled and virgin). In addition, no significant differences were found in the conventional and non-conventional mechanical properties, which indicates that drying by infrared technology does not degrade or affect negatively the performance of the materials used in the present work.

Biography:

Abstract: