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A sustainable and environmentally alternative to commonly used air conditioning systems can be the solar cooling system due to the use of renewable and clean energy. Solar absorption systems can be used for greenhouse cooling in areas with high outdoor temperatures and solar radiation levels. These systems take advantage of the simultaneity between the solar energy availability and the greenhouse cooling demand allowing the reduction of conventional electricity and water consumption. This paper presents the results of the application of a solar cooling plant for the climate control of a greenhouse at the University of Bari, Italy. The experimental plant consists of a Mediterranean greenhouse, having a surface of 300 m2, and of a single effect LiBr-H2O absorption chiller fed by evacuated-tube solar collectors. Two different localized systems were chosen for the distribution of cold inside the greenhouse: the first system presents pipes placed centrally on the cultivation vessels; the second consists of pipes in contact with aluminium plates and of a transparent EVA film, used to border an area close to plants. The distribution system of cold with pipes, plate and EVA film provided a slightly higher cooling capacity due to the presence of the plates which increases the ability to dissipate energy.

Urban agriculture (UA) is steadily gaining supporters worldwide, and this is partly because constantly growing urban populations recognize the need to increase food production and promote a healthy diet. UA can also generate extra income, promote socialization leading to valorisation of urban areas. Nevertheless, UA faces several challenges, including limited available space, stressed natural resources, pollution in a context characterized by climate change and new consumption patterns. At the same time, if UA is practiced in the same way as other forms of agriculture, it may have some undesirable environmental impacts on urban areas. The use of indicators can provide decision makers with a tool to evaluate the sustainable insertion of agriculture in cities. This work aims to propose a minimum set of indicators as the basis for an index to assess progress of urban vegetable production towards sustainability. Nineteen urban sustainability indexes, composed of several indicators founded in the literature and already used by several institutions, were analysed. These indexes were broken down into a set of 1579 indicators. Analysis of the relevancy to issues such as food, energy, water, land and pollution, and the selection based on the criteria of being measurable, sensitive to stress, predictable, anticipatory, controllable, integrative, responsive and stable, led to a 26 basic indicators selection. These are proposed as the basis for an innovative UA sustainability index. This will be built based on the Delphi method and is intended to support communities in establishing sustainable and resilient cities.

The need of greater environmental sustainability in today’s living contexts can be significantly coped through the introduction of green infrastructures. Their benefits concern improvement of climate and comfort conditions. Among green infrastructures, vertical greenery systems, applied to buildings, contribute to the energy efficiency of buildings and to the improvement of outdoor and indoor microclimatic conditions. Green facades, a typology of vertical greenings, allow a considerable energy saving for air conditioning, by reducing the surfaces temperature of buildings and increasing the envelope thermal insulation. A realistic description of the functioning of green facades is essential to comprehend the real extent of their advantages. This paper aims to provide a first answer to the need of energy simulation models for green facades’ thermal behavior. The paper proposes a theoretical and an experimental approach. The main heat fluxes involved into the green facade system are investigated and described, by resorting to a schematic representation. The defined mathematical relations are applied to data collected during an experiment on a green facade conducted at the University of Bari. This work represents a contribution to the development of a model to forecast the thermal behavior of green facades and of the microclimate of buildings equipped with them.

Greenhouse microclimate control is important to reach high production yield and low environmental impacts. Ventilation, shading and evaporative cooling are methods for controlling air temperature and relative humidity inside the greenhouse. Ventilation and shading can be not sufficient to remove the excess heat, while evaporative cooling is based on the exploitation of huge amounts of water. In order to enhance the sustainability of the greenhouse industry, renewable energy sources can be exploited. Solar absorption systems can be used for greenhouse cooling in areas with high outdoor temperatures and solar radiation levels. These systems take advantage of the simultaneity between the solar energy availability and the greenhouse cooling demand allowing the reduction of conventional electricity and water consumption. They can be used in remote areas where conventional cooling is difficult and where there is abundant solar energy. This paper presents the results of the application of a solar cooling plant for climate control of a greenhouse. The system is sited at the University of Bari, Italy. The experimental plant consists of a Mediterranean greenhouse, having a surface of 300 m2 and by a single effect LiBr-H2O absorption chiller fed by evacuated-tube solar collectors. The application of two different localized distribution of cold inside the greenhouse was studied in order to evaluate the reduction of air temperature close to the cultivation area. A reduction of the greenhouse air temperature up 5.0°C was obtained.

Urban Green Infrastructures (UGIs) improve the supply of urban ecosystem services. UGIs can provide benefits such as better urban climate conditions and lower temperature of urban air. They can also limit the development of extreme temperatures on buildings surface, in particular in Mediterranean climate areas. Green facades permit the physical shading of the building envelope, produce a cooling effect by means of evapotranspiration in summer, and improve the thermal insulation in winter. A reduction of the thermal flows between exterior and interior and more sustainable buildings can be obtained. A three years experimental test was carried out at the University of Bari (Italy) for assessing the thermal performance of two green facades characterized by two different climbing plants (Pandorea jasminoides variegated and Rhyncospermum jasminoides). The selected plants well adapt to the local climate, growing quickly and vigorously. The environmental conditions and several climatic parameters on the walls were monitored during the field test. The temperature on the external surface during July 2015 was used for fitting a regression model. The model was validated on July 2016. It can be applied for predicting the two green facades performance in a Mediterranean climate only by using an input dataset on climate conditions.

A sustainable technology for improving the energy efficiency of buildings is the use of urban greening in order to reduce the energy consumption for air conditioning in summer and to increase the thermal insulation in winter. A worldwide growing interest in urban green is encouraging the application of the greening technology for more sustainable buildings. Building indoor air temperature depends on several different parameters related to the climate of the region, the building itself and its use. The main parameters influencing the microclimate are: external air temperature and relative humidity, incident solar radiation, long wave radiation exchange between the building surfaces and its surroundings, wind velocity and direction, air exchanges, physical and thermal properties of the building's envelope materials, design variables such as building dimensions and orientation, presence of artificial light, electrical equipment. Green façades can allow the physical shading of the building and promote evapotranspiration in summer and increase the thermal insulation in winter. External wall surface temperature is a parameter useful to assess the effectiveness of green façades. An experimental test was carried out at the University of Bari (Italy) for three years. Three vertical walls, made with perforated bricks, were tested: two were covered with evergreen plants (Pandorea jasminoides variegated and Rhyncospermum jasminoides) while the third wall was kept uncovered and used as control. Several climatic parameters concerning the walls and the ambient conditions were collected during the experimental test. The experimental data were used for developing a multiple regression equation regarding the dependence of the difference of external surface temperature between the green façades and the control wall and the weather conditions. The model shows a good predicting ability.

Microclimate control in the greenhouse is important to improve yield and obtain low environmental impacts. Ventilation, shading, evaporative cooling and refrigeration are methods of controlling air temperature inside the greenhouse; nevertheless, ventilation and shading are often not sufficient to remove the excess heat, refrigeration is generally expensive and evaporative cooling is based on the use of large quantities of water. In order to enhance the sustainability of the greenhouse sector, renewable energy sources can be exploited with the application of solar absorption systems for greenhouse cooling in areas with high outdoor temperatures and solar insolation. This paper describes the application of a solar cooling plant with absorption chiller for thermal control of a greenhouse. The experimental system consisted of a Mediterranean greenhouse, with a surface of 300 m2, and a single-effect LiBr-H2O absorption chiller fed by evacuated-tube solar collectors, located at the University of Bari, Italy. The distribution system provides the cooling power only for the volume surrounding the crop. The research demonstrated that solar cooling systems provide an opportunity for reducing the air temperature around the crop, allowing the reduction of primary energy consumption by exploiting the contemporaneity between the cooling requirements and solar energy availability. © 2018 International Society for Horticultural Science. All Rights Reserved.

Plastic materials used in agriculture mostly derive from synthetic petro-chemical polymers. They require at the end of their lifetime a suitable waste management system for the collection and treatment. A research was carried out in order to define a GIS methodology for mapping the agricultural plastic waste on the land. The use in agriculture of plastics in Barletta-Andria-Trani Province – Apulia Region – was investigated by applying orthophotos analysis and remote sensing survey. Besides purposed Plastic Waste Indexes were created to release land use to waste generation. The data were organized in a specific geo-database. The analysis showed that the agricultural plastic waste yearly produced from covering films was 627 kg ha−1, from the anti-hail nets was 159 kg ha−1, from nets for crop protection was 192 kg ha−1, from shading nets was 131 kg ha−1, from irrigation pipes was 104 kg ha−1. Through GIS, the areas with high density of plastic wastes were pointed out and the suitable location of collection centres was defined. The produced maps and the GIS database can be always updatable tools, useful for monitoring and optimizing the collection of agricultural plastic waste from the farms and their transport to the recycling companies.

The aim of the paper is the definition of territorial indexes to evaluate the quantity of agricultural plastic waste in a geographical region due to the main crop cultivations of that area. The local Authority of the Barletta, Andria, Trani Province, Italy, has shown interest to introduce modernization actions for the agricultural plastic waste management. The analysed territory is typically suited for vineyards, olive groves, and orchards. Several farms were examined by means of direct questions or compilation of questionnaires. Data gathered were elaborated in order to estimate territorial indexes as average values per year of the agricultural plastic waste quantities coming from different crops. The obtained results allowed to quantify the yearly generation of agricultural plastic waste as function of the typology.

Green facades can represent a sustainable solution for construction of new buildings and for retrofitting of existing buildings, in order to reduce the energy demands of the cooling systems, to mitigate the urban heat island and to improve the thermal energy performance of buildings. Green facades can allow the physical shading of the building and promote evapotranspiration in summer, and increase the thermal insulation in winter. An experimental test was carried out at the University of Bari (Italy) for two years. Three vertical walls, made with perforated bricks, were tested: two were covered with evergreen plants (Pandorea jasminoides variegated and Rhyncospermum jasminoides) while the third wall was kept uncovered and used as control. Several climatic parameters concerning the walls and the ambient conditions were collected during the experimental test. The daylight temperatures observed on the shielded walls during warm days were lower than the respective temperatures of the uncovered wall up to 9.0 °C. The nighttime temperatures during the cold days for the vegetated walls were higher than the respective temperatures of the control wall up to 3.5 °C. The thermal effects of the facades at daytime was driven by solar radiation, wind velocity and air relative humidity. The highest cooling effect of such parameters occurred with a wind speed of 3–4 ms−1, an air relative humidity within the range 30–60% and a solar radiation higher than 800 Wm−2. The long-term experimental test demonstrated that both Pandorea jasminoides variegated and Rhyncospermum jasminoides are suitable for green facades in the Mediterranean climatic area. The results shown in the present research allow to fill the gap in literature concerning the lack of data for all the seasons of the year, in order to obtain a complete picture of the building thermal performance in the Mediterranean climate region.

Green vertical systems have advantages in terms of building energy performance, but their environmental impact should be assessed in comparison to un-vegetated constructive systems. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the environmental loads of a green façade, which was compared to other building exterior wall systems. A Life Cycle Analysis approach was used to compare the green façade with constructive solutions commonly applied for enhancing the thermal insulation properties of the building exterior walls. The green façade and the other constructive solutions were characterised by an equivalent thermal behaviour. A green façade system prototype, realised with vegetation climbing on a steel frame, was used for the study. The comparison was carried out with exterior walls using insulation materials as expanded polystyrene, expanded cork and wood fibre. A double wall with an un-ventilated air gap was used as well. On average, the best environmental performance was recorded for the wall using cork as insulating material and for the double wall. The results highlighted the environmental criticalities of the green façade as the system having an environmental load among the most burdensome. Different scenarios of green façade with the use of alternative constructive solutions were hypothesized and compared by the life cycle analysis and life cycle impact assessment. The study showed that the adoption of a wooden frame in place of the steel one, as plant supporting structure, reduces the carbon footprint of the green façade by 58%. The environmental comparison was carried out also considering non-vegetated constructive solutions having an equivalent sun shading effect on the wall. The analysis showed that the green façade has the best environmental performance when compared with sun shading systems in aluminium or PVC.

The use of plastic materials in agriculture involves several benefits but it results in huge quantities of agricultural plastic waste to be disposed of. Input and output data on the use of plastics in agriculture are often difficult to obtain and poor waste management schemes have been developed. The present research aims to estimate and map agricultural plastic waste by using satellite images. Waste was evaluated by means of the indexes relating waste production to crop type and plastic application as defined by the land use map realized by classifying the Landsat 8 image. The image classification was carried out using Support Vector Machines (SVMs), and the accuracy assessment showed that the overall accuracy was 94.54% and the kappa coefficient equal to 0.934. Data on the plastic waste obtained by the satellite land use map were compared with the data obtained by using the institutional land use map; a difference of 1.74% was identified on the overall quantity of waste.

The Italian greenhouse vegetable industry is an important sector that requires thermal energy as much as 0.74 Mtoe, derived mostly from fossil fuels, which corresponds to 2 MtCO2 emissions. The Energy Strategy 2020 of the European Commission calls for increased use of renewable resources in the energy system, thus pushing the technology of wood biomass system for space heating of the greenhouses, since this resource is considered as ‘greenhouse gas’ (GHG) neutral when converted to heat, excluding the GHG generation during harvesting, transportation, and pre-processing of raw materials. Taking into account the different climatic areas in the Italian peninsula, power energy load was estimated to be between 30 Wm-2 (in southern regions) and more than 175 Wm-2 (in northern regions), while the energy consumption was estimated in the range from 21 to 546 kWhthm-2year-1 according to different internal air temperatures. Moreover, the CO2 enrichment in greenhouses from the exhaust gas of a biomass heating system can bring benefits for greenhouse plant production, along with optimal management strategies to reduce fuel consumption. Unfortunately, CO2 enrichment from the exhaust gas of biomass boilers is still challenging and expensive, considering that wood biomass boilers generate a higher volume of particulate matters (PM) and ash emissions than other fossil fuels. However, wet scrubbers and other recent flue gas conditioning devices could help to reduce costs and make this process more feasible. Thus, a techno-economic assessment is highly recommended to ascertain the economic feasibility of wood biomass boilers for the greenhouse industry. Finally, some economic considerations are provided to make cost-effective use of the solid biomass in relation to the economic incentives by the National Decree of 28 December 2012, so-called “White Certifies”.

The greenhouses cultivation causes in summer season inner conditions characterized by high thermal levels such as to generate problems that can damage crops. Always more frequently for this reason it is common to provide greenhouse with air conditioning plants. In this work it will be presented an application of a solar cooling plant with absorption cooling machine for thermal control of a greenhouse and an advanced simulation model able to evaluate optimal plant configurations and controls. Solar cooling systems can be applied for greenhouse climate control in regions with high values of solar irradiation as alternative to traditional evaporative systems, allowing the reduction of primary energy consumption by exploiting the contemporaneity between the cooling requirements and the solar energy availability. The plant consists of a single effect LiBr-H2O absorption chiller fed by evacuated-tube solar collectors; the model was developed in Matlab-Simulink and is able to simulate dynamically, with time steps up to 15 minutes, the greenhouse cooling demand and the production of the solar field. Present study proposes a plant configuration with a distribution system in which the cooling power is not provided for the entire volume of the greenhouse, but only for the air volume surrounding the crop with a considerable saving of reduction of energy demand and an extremely efficient use of solar energy. The simulation study is based on the experimental data collected at the experimental center of the University of Bari, Southern Italy. The aim of the work is to demonstrate that solar cooling system could provide significant energy-saving opportunities for cooling greenhouses allowing the reduction of primary energy consumption by exploiting the contemporaneity between the cooling requirements and the solar energy availability.

The current intensification of the use of plastic materials in agriculture, although has increased significantly the productivity, is also generating growing adverse effects on the environment of the agro-ecosystem. The agriculture is responsible for a massive use of plastic materials, in addition to energy and water inputs, chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Besides the pollution generated during the manufacture, at the end of their lifetime plastic materials used for crop covering, soil mulching, packaging, containers, pots, irrigation and drainage pipes, may became a pollution source when improperly disposed, leaved on the ground or burned. Instead the agricultural plastic waste (APW), if correctly collected, can be used as a new secondary raw material or as an energy source. An adequate APW management can prevent economical losses and environmental damages. The territory of the Barletta, Andria, Trani Province (BAT), in the Apulia Region, South Italy, is an agricultural area characterized by vineyards, olive groves, orchards and vegetables; it represents an area of intense production of plastic wastes and with a widespread problem linked to the application of unacceptable disposal practices. The goal of this study is to define and quantify the different types of plastic waste produced by the agricultural practice in a restricted area of the municipal area of Trani and Barletta, to localize the points where the most remarkable quantities of them are generated, and to provide the local Authorities and the decision makers of a useful tool for implementing an efficient and effective waste management. A dedicated geo-referenced database was designed using land use maps in a GIS environment and applying a methodology that can be functional for any kind of agricultural plastic waste. The resulting database gives updated and complete information on the plastic waste generation, over the land, related to the cultivation kind.

Green technology can represent a sustainable solution for construction of new buildings and for retrofitting of existing buildings, in order to reduce the energy demands of the buildings’ cooling systems, to mitigate the urban heat island and to improve the thermal energy performance of buildings. Green walls can allow the physical shading of the building, promote evapotranspiration in summer and increase thermal insulation in winter. An experimental test was carried out at the University of Bari (Italy) for 2 years. Three vertical walls, made with perforated bricks, were tested: two were covered with evergreen plants (Pandorea jasminoides and Rhyncospermum jasminoides), while the third wall was kept uncovered and used as a control. Several climatic parameters concerning the walls and the ambient conditions were collected during the experimental test. Daylight temperatures observed on the shielded walls during warm days were lower than the respective temperatures of the uncovered wall by up to 9.0°C. Night-time temperatures during cold days for the vegetated walls were higher than the respective temperatures of the control wall by up to 6.0°C. The absence in the literature of data concerning different seasons of the year is overcome in order to obtain a complete picture of building thermal performance in the Mediterranean climate region. © 2018 International Society for Horticultural Science. All Rights Reserved.

Building greenery systems can represent a sustainable solution for new buildings design and for existing buildings retrofitting, in order to improve the thermal energy performance of buildings, to decrease building energy loads and to contrast the Urban Heat Island. Green façades can influence thermal properties of a building by means of different important mechanisms: the shading, the cooling, the insulating and the wind barrier effect. Moreover, green façades accomplish heating effect in the cold season and at nighttime. An experimental test was developed at small scale at the University of Bari (Italy) from 2014 to 2016 for testing two different green façades. The plant species chosen were Pandorea jasminoides variegated and Rhyncospermum jasminoides, two evergreen climbing plants. A third uncovered wall was used as control. The thermal behaviour of the plants was analysed during the 2016 summer season, by keeping in consideration the external surface temperature of the building and the temperature of the airgap behind the green vertical systems. The daylight temperatures observed on the plant-covered walls during representative days were lower than the respective temperatures of the uncovered wall up to 7.0°C. During nighttime, the temperatures behind the plants were higher than the respective temperatures of the control wall up to 2.2°C. The results shown in the present research allow delineating the behaviour of the two plant species during summer in the Mediterranean climate region.

Green technology can represent a sustainable solution for construction of new buildings and for retrofitting of existing buildings, in order to reduce the energy demands of the cooling systems of buildings, to mitigate the urban heat island and to improve the thermal energy performance of buildings. Green walls can allow the physical shading of the building and promote evapotranspiration in summer and increase the thermal insulation in winter. Three vertical walls, made with perforated bricks, were tested at the University of Bari (Italy): two were covered with evergreen plants (Pandorea jasminoides variegated and Rhyncospermum jasminoides) while the third wall was kept uncovered and used as control. Several climatic parameters concerning the walls and the ambient conditions were collected during the experimental test. The daylight temperatures observed on the shielded walls during warm days were lower than the respective temperatures of the uncovered wall up to 8.4°C. The night-time temperatures during the cold days for the vegetated walls were higher than the respective temperatures of the control wall up to 3.6°C. © ISHS.

Plastic materials have been worldwide applied in agriculture for soil mulching, greenhouse covering, irrigation and drainage pipes, bags, containers, pots, and agrochemical containers. All of these plastic materials require, at the end of their lifetime, suitable collection and treatment systems. Agricultural activities in some areas of the Apulia Region, Southern Italy, are characterized by huge quantities of plastic wastes and local authorities and farmers associations have been interested in solving this problem by applying modern land management tools such as Geographical Information System (G.I.S.). In this paper a G.I.S. methodology is applied to an area of 10,200 ha in the Trani municipality, included in the Province of Barletta, Andria, Trani (BAT) - Apulia Region, in order to assess the agricultural plastic waste generation. The use of plastics at the agricultural farms has been investigated and related to the land use by applying statistical analysis, orthophoto analysis and remote sensing surveys. These data were introduced in a specific geo-database, and the agricultural plastic waste quantity and localization were defined. Vineyards and olive groves are scattered in this area, so the agricultural plastic waste mostly consists in irrigation pipes, after-use covering films and anti-hail nets used on vineyards. The analysis carried out showed that up to 614 kg ha-1 of covering films waste are yearly produced in some areas while the estimation of waste from the anti-hail nets was up to 159 kg ha-1 and the waste yearly produced from irrigation pipes was up to 83 kg ha-1. Through the use of the G.I.S., the areas with high density of plastic wastes were pointed out thus allowing to determine the suitable location of temporary storage areas and collecting points, in order to optimize the transport of agricultural plastic waste from the farms to the collecting points and to the recycling firms.

Building indoor air temperature depends on several different parameters related to the climate of the region, the building itself and its use. The main parameters influencing the microclimate are: external air temperature and relative humidity, incident solar radiation, long wave radiation exchange between the building surfaces and its surroundings, incidence and speed of the wind, air exchanges, physical and thermal properties of the building's envelope materials, design variables such as building dimensions and orientation, presence of artificial light, electrical equipment. A sustainable technology for improving the energy efficiency of buildings and to mitigate urban heat island is the use of green roofs and walls. The green technology can allow the physical shading of the building and promote evapotranspiration in summer and increase the thermal insulation in winter. An experimental test was carried out at the University of Bari (Italy). Three vertical walls, made with perforated bricks, were tested: two were covered with plants (one with Pandorea jasminoides variegated, the second with Rhyncospermum jasminoides) while the third wall was kept uncovered and used as control. A system composed by a data logger and sensors was used to measure and record the following parameters: temperature of the wall surface under solar radiation and of the surface on the other side of the wall, solar radiation falling on the wall, and external air temperature. The use of the green walls during cold months allowed increasing the thermal insulation performance of the walls by keeping the external surface temperature in nighttime hours up to about 2.8°C over the surface temperature of the wall not covered with plants. © 2017 ISHS.

Monitoring and controlling environmental parameters inside a greenhouse are required to reach high yields and low environmental impacts. Ventilation, shading, evaporative cooling and refrigeration are methods of controlling air temperature and relative humidity in Mediterranean greenhouses. Nevertheless ventilation and shading are often not sufficient to remove the excess heat, refrigeration is generally expensive and evaporative cooling is based on the exploitation of high quality water, a resource to be preserved in the Mediterranean areas. In order to enhance the sustainability levels of the greenhouse sector, renewable energy sources can be exploited with the application of solar absorption systems for greenhouse cooling in areas with high outdoor temperatures. These systems take advantage of the simultaneity between the solar energy availability and the greenhouse cooling demand allowing the reduction of conventional electricity. This paper presents the simulation and optimization of a solar cooling system designed for a Mediterranean greenhouse, having a surface of 300 m2, using 68 m2 of evacuated tube solar collectors, a LiBr absorption unit with a cooling capacity of 17.6 kW and a pilot distribution system providing the cooling power for the volume surrounding the crop. The simulation study, predicting the performance of the unit, was based on the experimental data collected at the experimental centre of the University of Bari, Southern Italy. The results of the simulation indicated that the system is seasonally in phase with the climatic data; the delivered yearly cooling capacity for the greenhouse was 113 GJ, the required solar energy 157 GJ and the available solar energy on the 68 m2 capturing surface, with a slope of 30°, was 265 GJ. The simulation can be used as a forecasting tool of the effects of the changes on the parameters of the system before applying them on the greenhouse system. © 2017 ISHS.

More than 0.7 million ton of oil equivalent is the total requirement for thermal energy in the Italian greenhouse vegetable industry, derived mostly from fossil fuels, which corresponds to 2 Mt CO2 emissions. The technology of wood biomass system is a good candidate for heating greenhouses, since this resource is considered as 'greenhouse gas' (GHG) neutral when converted to heat, excluding the GHG generation during harvesting, transportation, and pre-processing of raw materials. Besides, the CO2 enrichment in greenhouses from the exhaust gas of a biomass heating system can bring benefits for greenhouse production, along with optimal management strategies to reduce fuel consumption. Unfortunately, CO2 enrichment from the exhaust gas of biomass boilers is still challenging and expensive, considering that wood biomass boilers generate a higher volume of particulate matters (PM) and ash emissions than other fossil fuels. However, wet scrubbers and other recent flue gas conditioning devices could help to reduce costs and make this process more feasible. In the Italian peninsula, the power energy load for greenhouses heating was estimated to be between 30 and 175 W m-2, while the thermal energy consumption varies between 21 to 546 kWh m-2 year-1 according with internal air temperature and climatic zones. In general, the total cost of a heating system with boiler, loading system, accumulator, control system and safety, installation, and heat delivering can vary from a maximum of 1400 € kW-1 for systems with power up to 100 kW, 600-800 € kW-1 for power over 100 kW, to a minimum of 400 € kW-1 for systems with power over 1000 kW. Thus, a techno-economic assessment is highly recommended to ascertain the economic feasibility of wood biomass boilers for the greenhouse industry, as related to the economic incentives by the National Decree of 28 December 2012, so-called "White Certifies". © 2017 ISHS.

Agricultural activities need plastics for many applications such as films for soil mulching and pots for plants transplanting. The use of plastic products, made of fossil raw materials, such as polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene results in huge quantities of plastic wastes to be disposed of. In the past two decades, the growing environmental awareness strongly encouraged researchers and industries toward the use of biodegradable polymers for solving the plastic waste problem. Researchers have made strong efforts to identify new biopolymers coming from renewable sources as valid ecosustainable alternatives to petroleum based plastic commodities. The main research results and current applications concerning the biodegradable plastics in agriculture, such as thermo-extruded Mater-Bi and sprayable water-born polysaccharides based coatings, are described in this chapter. A lineup of biopolymers coming from raw and renewable sources, such as polysaccharides, are reported; the intrinsic chemico-physical properties of polysaccharides, responsible for the realization of dry water stable hydrogels, suitable for the formation of both soil mulching coatings and transplanting biopots, are investigated. A description of the natural additives, fillers and cellulosic fibers included in the polymeric matrices, able to enhance the mechanical performance of coatings and pots is provided, together with the outputs in the specific applications.

An innovative wireless monitoring system for measuring greenhouse climatic parameters was developed to overcome the problems related to wires cabling such as presence of a dense net of wires hampering the cultivation practices, wires subjected to high temperature and relative humidity, rodents that can damage wires. The system exploits battery-powered environmental sensors, such as air temperature and relative humidity sensors, wind speed and direction, and solar radiation sensors, integrated in the contest of an 802.15.4-based wireless sensors network. Besides, a fruit diameter measurement sensor was integrated into the system. This approach guarantees flexibility, ease of deployment and low power consumption. Data collected from the greenhouse are then sent to a remote server via a general packet radio service link. The proposed solution has been implemented in a real environment. The test of the communication system showed that 0.3% of the sent data packed were lost; the climatic parameters measured with the wireless system were compared with data collected by the wired system showing a mean value of the absolute difference equal to 0.6°C for the value of the greenhouse air temperature. The wireless climate monitoring system showed a good reliability, while the sensor node batteries showed a lifetime of 530 days.

Research was conducted to evaluate how solar radiation, agrochemical contamination, and different light stabilizer systems influence the mechanical properties of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA/C) based films suitable for crop protection. Three independent outdoor trials were performed at the experimental field of the University of Bari (Italy) in 2006, 2007, and 2008. During each trial each film type was installed in the field as new covering of two low tunnels: one of the tunnels was periodically sprayed inside with agrochemicals containing sulfur, chlorine and iron, while the other one, not sprayed, was used as control. Besides, artificial photoaging tests were carried out on the films in laboratory. The research showed that the different light stabilizer systems influenced the mechanical behavior of the films in the presence of the progressively absorbed agrochemicals. An improved resistance to the agrochemicals was recorded for the EVA/C films stabilized with aminoether type hindered amine light stabilizer (NOR-HALS) and ultra violet filter.

Aim of the research is the development of biodegradable polymeric materials based on hydrolyzed proteins, derived from waste products of the leather industry. Particular attention has been devoted to evaluate the application of such biobased materials in the agricultural practice of mulching. Biobased mulching films were generated in situ by low-pressure spraying of polymeric water dispersion on the soil; the mulches were tested in an ornamental cultivation carried out inside a greenhouse. The innovative spray films based on biodegradable components lasted in the field up to 12 months, keeping their mulching effect, thus guarantying weed suppression and preserving soil aggregates.

The use of plastic materials in agriculture, for greenhouse covering, soil mulching, irrigation pipes, containers and bags, generates a huge amounts of plastic waste that must be properly disposed of. An adequate waste management and disposal system requires the knowledge of the waste generation on the land. This paper presents the results of a research, based on the application of a Geographical Information System, for mapping the waste generation in the municipality of Trinitapoli, Italy. Aim of the research is to identify the points of waste generation and to quantify the waste. A dedicated geo-referenced database with data on the spatial distribution and amount of the plastic wastes was created; waste density ranged from 3.3 kg ha-1yr-1 to 861 kg ha-1yr-1. L’uso di materiali plastici in agricoltura, quali film per la copertura di serre, film per la pacciamatura del terreno, tubi d’irrigazione, contenitori di pesticidi e sacchetti di fertilizzanti, genera un enorme quantita di rifiuti plastici che devono essere correttamente smaltiti. Un sistema adeguato di gestione e smaltimento delle plastiche presuppone la conoscenza della produzione dei rifiuti sul territorio. Questo lavoro presenta i risultati di una ricerca, basata sull’applicazione di un Sistema di Informazione Geografica, per la mappatura della produzione di rifiuti nel comune di Trinitapoli, in Italia. Lo scopo della ricerca e quello di identificare i punti di generazione dei rifiuti plastici e di quantificarli. E stato creato un database georeferenziato dedicato, con i dati sulla distribuzione spaziale e la quantita di rifiuti di plastica generati. La densita dei rifiuti prodotti varia da 3,3 kg ha-1 a 861 kg ha-1 per anno.

In the present paper, the mechanical behaviour of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films under various combinations of pre-tension and uniform pressure schemes is investigated experimentally and numerically using the finite element method of analysis. The behaviour of the film is simulated by means of numerical models and with the material properties obtained in the laboratory by using standard testing methods. The finite element models used include both a commercial finite element program and a recently developed research non-linear finite shell element, capable of modelling membrane behaviour. The numerical analysis results obtained under appropriate boundary conditions and different analysis options are compared with experimental results obtained from a specifically designed experimental arrangement. For the cases tested experimentally, the two numerical approaches gave results in a good agreement with the experiment results, in the linear elastic region. Subsequently, using the research finite element model, design criteria are developed for the reliable design of LDPE greenhouse films.

Evaporative systems are generally used in warm regions for commercial greenhouse cooling, such systems require large quantity of water that is often a scarce natural resource in Mediterranean areas. Solar absorption cooling systems can be applied for greenhouse climate control in regions with high values of solar irradiation as alternative to evaporative systems by exploiting renewable energy sources. The paper presents the preliminary results of a research on the application of a solar absorption cooling system to a Mediterranean greenhouse. The aim of the research was to assess the potential of the system in terms of energy absorption related to the solar collector surface and to the greenhouse covered area. The simulation study was realized based on the experimental data collected at the experimental centre of the University of Bari, Southern Italy, in order to control the temperature of a plastic film covered greenhouse, having a surface of 300 m2. The cooling system was designed by adopting suitable technologies of energy saving, in order to reduce cooling energy needs. The designed system consists of an absorption chiller having a cooling capacity of 35 kW and of 80 m2 of evacuated-tube solar collectors.

Nowadays the growth of the cities increased built and paved areas, energy use and heat generation. The phenomenon of urban warming, called urban heat island, influences negatively outdoor comfort conditions, pollutants concentration, energy demand for air conditioning, as well as increases environmental impact due to the demand of energy generation. A sustainable technology for improving the energy efficiency of buildings is the use of green roofs and walls in order to reduce the energy consumption for conditioning in summer and improve the thermal insulation in winter. The use of green roofs and walls can contribute to mitigate the phenomenon of heat island, the emissions of greenhouse gases, and the storm water runoff affecting human thermal comfort, air quality and energy use of the buildings. Recently, a number of municipalities started to adopt regulations and constructive benefits for renovated and new buildings which incorporate green roofs and walls. The aim of this paper is to describe the green roofs and walls plant technology.

L’efficienza energetica rappresenta la policy europea di maggiore interesse per favorire la riduzione dei consumi energetici nei diversi settori produttivi e la riduzione delle emissioni di CO2. In particolare, questo lavoro e focalizzato sul settore agricoltura e industria alimentare nazionale di cui riporta un quadro generale in termini di consumi energetici delle diverse filiere produttive; inoltre il lavoro brevemente affronta le innovazioni disponibili per migliorare l’efficienza energetica ai fini della diminuzione dei consumi di energia fossile nella produzione di beni alimentari. Vengono descritte le caratteristiche tecniche relative all’impiego della biomassa solida e alla tecnologia solar cooling per la climatizzazione nel comparto dei sistemi serra. Inoltre, viene presa in considerazione la tecnologia dei tetti verdi e delle pareti vegetali per sostenere il miglioramento dell’efficienza energetica degli edifici e la diminuzione delle emissioni di CO2 nelle citta. .