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In the present paper, different types of pure and commercial plastic waste from different EU countries (UK, France, Italy, and Romania) were investigated for microstructure surface morphology and chemical properties by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). The goal of the current investigation was to determine the chemical composition of selected packaging materials and compare these measurements with data obtained through a carbon-hydrogen-nitrogen-sulfur-oxygen (CHNS-O) elemental analyzer, which is conventionally used to characterize waste materials. The capabilities of the experimental approach are discussed in connection with their application to the study of waste sample materials and in comparison with alternative experimental methods such as elemental analysis. The CHNS-O comparison is made between the present data obtained with SEM-EDXS instrument and EA 3000 elemental analyzer used in previews studies conducted by the authors. Results show a difference of composition among packaging from different countries that can affect the treatment adopted for its valorization and the strategies of circular economy.

The paper examines from an empirical point of view the state of economic sustainability of Romania on the period 2007 - 2017. To this end, a set of macroeconomic indicators for sustainability was used. To be mentioned this set of indicators is elaborated within The Centre for Financial and Monetary Research "Victor Slăvescu", in its annual publication named "Financial stance of Romania". Although the obtained results in the past are coherent with the main macroeconomic dynamics on the analysed period, it seems that these results must be correlated with the so-called cyclical position of the economy, but this analysis will be done in the future. The study puts into evidence the importance of sustainability analyses in addition to the usual descriptive analyses, because they indicate not only the macroeconomic evolution, but also the national economy tendencies from the sustainability perspective.

The paper makes some theoretical contributions, regarding the concept of the theory of rightness. In the first part, several scientific concepts are identified and defined as elements that belong to the theory of rightness as fairness. The second part of the paper analyzes the logical relations between rightness and justice, affirming and arguing that rightness is the state of a social system in which the natural right is verified, and justice is the state of a social system in which positive right is verified. Finally, the concept of the theory of rightness is defined logically, epistemologically and methodologically.

This work aimed to study the effect of gasification process operating conditions on syngas composition and properties, and process efficiency. A rotary kiln gasifier lab-scale pilot plant with capacity ≅ 30 kg/h and a power of 30 kWe was used for gasification tests applied to cherry wood at different loads, for a temperature of about 600°C, while the air was used as gasification agent for all tests. The syngas composition was measured and analyzed. The results have shown that conversion of wood cherry through gasification lead to a lean fuel gas of 3.5 MJ/Nm3 and installation characteristics have a major influence both on process and syngas properties. This is happened because the rotary kiln gasifier allows some air infiltrations, and consequently a high N2 content in the syngas composition. The energy balance of the cherry biomass gasification processes was calculated. It was found also that gas density varies slightly from 1.26 to 1.43 kg/m3, while the specific heat of the gas varies from 1.04 to 1.34 kJ/kgK.

At present, the principles of sustainable development are being implemented in almost all economy sectors whereas one of the key drivers of the transition to a new concept is higher education system also. The inclusion of special academic disciplines on sustainable development, the implementation of environmental protection measures, financial support for research in the field of environmental sciences, campuses landscape – all these stimulates the process of transition to a concept of sustainable development. In addition, higher education makes it possible to form an ecological worldview among the younger generation that is an effective tool in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). University graduates who understand the need to achieve the SDGs and provide environmental protection, lead an eco-friendlier lifestyle and pass on the knowledge they have gained to their children or other family members. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the involved activity of universities in the field of sustainable development and the implementation of large-scale government programs to achieve environmental sustainability. The study will examine the experience of Eu and non-EU universities and state environmental protection programs. The results obtained allow us to conclude about the correlation between educational activities in the higher education system and achievements at the state level of environmental sustainability.

Waste generation is growing every day and its disposal presents multiple challenges. One particular type of waste consists of food court waste (FCW) from food areas in malls. Its disposal requires many stages, starting with transportation, continuing with sorting and recycling, and ending with landfilling or combustion. Thus, this study managed to convert FCW into valuable products, disposing of it at the same time in an environmentally friendly way. For this ex situ catalytic pyrolysis process, experiments were performed by passing products from pyrolysis performed at 500 °C through HZSM5 or MeHZSM5 catalyst (Me = Co, Mo) kept at 300, 350 or 400 °C. The upgraded oil contained levoglucosan as main component when HZSM5 catalyst was used, regardless of the catalyst temperature, whereas when CoHZSM5 or MoHZSM5 catalysts were used, the levoglucosan formation was inhibited, with formation of ethylene glycol monoacetate as main component in the produced oil. The best performing catalyst for ethylene glycol monoacetate formation (∼80 % of bio-oil) proved to be MoHZSM5 at 350 °C. Therefore, our study managed address several issues simultaneously: a) costs cuts due to lack of sorting and processing; b) production of important chemicals from waste; c) waste disposal in an environmentally friendly way.

This article presents the classification of solid recovered fuel from the Massafra municipal solid waste treatment plant in Southern Italy in compliancy with the EN 15359 standard. In order to ensure the reproducibility of this study, the characterisation methods of waste input and output flow, the mechanical biological treatment line scheme and its main parameters for each stage of the processing chain are presented in details, together with the research results in terms of mass balance and derived fuel properties. Under this study, only 31% of refused municipal solid waste input stream from mechanical biological line was recovered as solid recovered fuel with a net heating value (NC=HV) average of 15.77 MJ kg

This paper addresses the topic of food waste management in a circular economy and presents data concerning the significant amount of waste annually generated and the importance of its valorization. The main waste considered here is Food Court Waste generated in the food court areas of malls, shopping centers, airports etc. Its composition, proximate and ultimate analysis, and its heating value are calculated/determined and presented in order to emphasize its properties as a feedstock in thermochemical conversion processes. Due to its composition - paper, cardboard, plastic, organic residues and wood - this waste represents an alternative possible source of green energy, since all its components are already proven as suitable for energy production through thermochemical conversion.

The paper presents an analysis of diverse biomass species concerning their physical-chemical properties as primary source for biofuels production. The study integrates the European framework and developments in the field of biofuels production as well as main thermochemical processes for their production. Biomass properties: physical structure, volatile matter content, fixed carbon, chemical composition and specific energy content were analyzed together with conversion process type to identify the relation between process input data and the reaction products distribution as intermediate substances for biofuels production. The results offer information on wood and agriculture biomass properties linked to pyrolysis reaction products both from quantitative and qualitative perspective.

The topic of the presented research was to analyze the awareness on renewable energy sources among the students of three universities: the Ural Federal University (Russia), the University of Trento (Italy) and Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (Romania). The survey included 6 basic multiple-choice questions about the main points of the renewable energy topic. Data were collected and analyzed in aid of percentage ratio of right answers among students on each possible answer. The approach adopted in the three universities for the education on topics related to renewable energy is different. This difference explains the different point of view of students on renewable energy.

The paper presents the experimental results of Food Court Waste air gasification using a batch reactor. This type of waste is generated mainly in the food court areas of services spaces, shopping centers, airports and malls and is generally composed of paper & cardboard, plastic, organic, wood, metal and glass waste. The process operating parameters were: temperatures between 650°C and 850°C and an equivalent ratio of 0.25 and 0.4 respectively. The study focused on the influence of process parameters on the energy conversion rate considering the cold gas and hot gas efficiency correlated with the feedstock carbon conversion rate. The recorded instantaneous concentrations of sampled gas species were plotted in time dependent graphs for accurate variation curves of gases concentrations. The results can be used to isolate the startup stage of the gasification process and to establish the optimal process parameters for increased overall energy efficiency. In conclusion, considering the current setup, operational parameters and process energy efficiency, the optimal temperature for the air gasification of Food Court Waste is 850ºC with an equivalent ratio of 0.40.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to point out some important elements that can be useful to minimize the impacts and the results can possibly inform business and policy makers about how to minimize the impacts associated to the municipal solid waste (MSW) collection. Design/methodology/approach – The present work faces with the problem of transport, placing attention to the relationship of emissions from scenarios that has been selected between real systems of management. Findings – The choices related to the typology of treatment has the same importance to the item concerning the correct localization of the plant for the implications related to the environmental pressure due to the transport of waste. Originality/value – An important aspect that has to be considered in terms of MSW management is the stage of collection. The emissions generated from these systems can arrive to values that are of the same order of magnitude of emissions from combustion of waste in waste-to-energy plants according to some scenarios.

The purpose of this work was to study the gas yield variation resulted from the cherry wood gasification with air using a lab-scale rotary kiln gasifier. The feedstock was continuously fed into the preheated reactor at 600°C, in co-current configuration, using atmospheric air as a gasifying agent. The results indicate the importance of oxidation reaction control, through the feeding flow rates of biomass and air and the reactants mixing rate. From the experiment, the hydrogen yields were about 2-4%, while the carbon monoxide varied between 8-21%. Additionally, the paper provides process observations based on the continuous monitoring of gas composition. The specific flow rates of substances and installation operating conditions were linked to process run through syngas composition.

The Russians communist theoreticians have assigned an important role for the cinema - one of the propaganda vectors. Easy to understand, spectacular and glamorous had all the right attributes to convey the message of a new world. In this set up, the role of the female characters, divas had their well-defined place. This paper will present the powerful story of feminine heroism during the war, a heroism inspired by the admiration for a fictitious character. In this endeavor I will travel in time and present the building pillars of the story and its impact with the public at the time.

Climate change is a reality all over the world, and its complexity is increasing. Therefore, sustainability has become a national and international concern, ingrained in many organizational processes. The ability of organizations to respond to sustainability concerns is sometimes hindered by the complexity of integrating sustainability into business models and by the need to rethink their strategic directions. In Romania, sustainable development has become a priority for businesses, but even though companies are showing some concern, there are yet to demonstrate any full commitment (they are mainly concerned with areas such as society and the environment). This paper assesses Romania’s involvement in the adoption of actions directed toward the reduction of pollutants and greenhouse gases, namely actions focused on reducing the main causes of pollution. This analysis compares the situation in Romania with that of the European Union. The main concerns can be categorized according to four sectors, which produce the highest quantity of carbon dioxide emissions in the world: the energy sector, the transport sector, the waste sector and the industry sector. The last section of this paper deals with the carbon footprint of Romania and its implications.

The content of five classes of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the atmospheric depositions and sediments of an area interested by a steelmaking plant, a state highway and urban settlements were investigated. Samples were collected through a wet and dry sampler onto the roof of a primary school or core drilled from the sediments of a nearby pond and analyzed for PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PAHs, PBDEs and PCNs in order to assess the role of different sources on direct emissions in atmosphere and transfer to other environmental compartments. The method was tested with reference materials, laboratory and field blanks. The results show higher fluxes of POPs in winter depositions, with PAH levels up to 6500 ng m −2 d −1 . Patterns and diagnostic ratios suggest that the main sources are fuel and wood combustion. PCDD/Fs are present at background level, with maximum total fluxes of 17 pg m −2 d −1 in depositions and concentrations of 7 pg g −1 in sediments. All concentrations peak at mid-level in the sediment core and then decrease towards surface, as an effect of regulatory limitations and update to modern industrial technologies.

Poplar is a deciduous tree from the Salicaceae family. Due to its high growth rate, poplar is considered an energetic crop. In this paper, the gasification of poplar was studied at laboratory scale. The process temperature and the equivalence ratio (ER) were varied to observe the influence of process parameters, and the transitory regime of poplar air gasification during start-up. The variation of gas components concentration during the process run was measured and analyzed. The gasification experiments were conducted using electrically heated batch tubular reactor with a cross current flow of air, at atmospheric pressure. The process temperature was varied between 650°C and 850°C, while the ER was varied between 0.25 and 0.35.

The paper presents the technical and economic analysis of a hybrid system based on renewable sources for a Campus for students cluster building in Romania, Bucharest. The renewable system consists in micro-wind turbine, solar modules and biomass power plant with battery storage. The cluster of buildings will allow rebalancing the demand between buildings, achieving in this way peak shaving of power demand, and maximizing the benefits from renewable energy sources at their maximum production. The modeling, simulation and techno-economic analysis are developed in Homer software considering the location and weather conditions. The aim of the analysis is to determine for the specific case study the optimal independent system configuration to achieve low energy bills integrating renewable sources to produce energy that covers the load demand in the context of European Commission requirements for building energy efficiency improvement. The economic coefficients analyzed that determine a hierarchy of the possible technical cases are the net present cost and cost of electricity.

Under partial shading conditions caused by the unevenly radiation and other ambient environmental conditions the operation of solar cells is influenced. Depending on the degree of shading, the phenomenon causes the decrease of solar cells output power. In the present paper two bypass diode configurations are compared, PV module with a bypass diode across each cell and with a bypass diode across each group cell, which are the most studied in the scientific literature. A PV module with analyzed bypass configurations was implemented in PSpice. This paper analyses the effects of bypass diode configurations on photovoltaic systems operation under various shaded degrees. The simulation results reveal that both solutions can limit the effects of this shading phenomenon and thus enhance the operational performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Further, the analysis of simulation results for I-V and P-V characteristic curves highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each type of bypass diode configuration, and also their use in practice.

Selective waste collection in Italy has undergone significant changes over the last decade, highlighting very different approaches from one region to another. Research results presented in this paper are underlying differences between geographical regions and use them as a model of good practices to improve the less optimized systems. In the last decade, the Trento City Council has established a goal – the optimization of selective municipal solid waste collection – that led to a very low amount of recyclable materials in the residual fraction. More than that, for the first time sanitary textiles have been considered as a separable fraction at the source; for a long time this type of waste was considered negligible. These actions were transformed in a recycling program coordinated together with local recycling companies. This paper deals with factors associated with waste recycling, like specific criteria (waste containers selections for door-to-door collection, public awareness and tariff) and solutions (door-to-door bins, warnings, criteria for historic centers). The tourist characteristics of Trento makes it an interesting model for similar towns that are facing with the problem of optimization criteria. This opportunity is discussed referring to a Romanian case.

In 2015 the European Commission issued a package of documents on Circular Economy concerning an integrated revision of legislative proposals on waste management. The aim was to stimulate a European transition towards a circular economy concept, which is expected to foster competitiveness, sustainable economic growth and new jobs generation. Three indicators are proposed in this paper to contribute to the assessment of the energy recovery management performance from MSW in a scenario of circular economy: a) referring to MSW directly used (RMSW) or indirectly used (SRF) as input of thermochemical plants, an indicator can be the percentage of waste having LHV > 13MJ/kg; b) referring to the MSW directly or indirectly used as input of thermochemical plants, the percentage of waste having ash recovered; c) referring to food waste, percentage of this stream sent to anaerobic digestion. The above indicators, proposed and discussed in this paper, have to be integrated with other ones in order to complete the quantification of the role of MSW management in term of energy recovery under a circular economy strategy. It is not the aim of the present paper to give a comprehensive solution to this complex issue.

Using different gasification agents: air and steam, two types of gasification process were performed into a batch reactor at temperature of 750°C and 850°C and atmospheric pressure. The only difference between of the two compared experimental configurations was represented by the gasification agent used in the process. The amount of oxygen introduced into the reactor for air gasification at an ER of 0.3 was computed. Therefore, in the steam gasification process, the same amount of oxygen was introduced, so establishing an unordinary steam to biomass ratio. In this way, the two processes, air vs. steam gasification, were compared, the rest of the process parameters being kept constant. This paper approaches the transitory regimes (initiation stage) of gasification process in order to observe the influence of process temperature and gasification agent on the process run. According to the experimental results, better gas quality is obtained if steam is used as a gasifying agent, yet the conversion and energy efficiencies decreases. By optimizing time residence in steam gasification, process efficiencies may be increased.

The results presented in the following paper are making the aim of a broadly research concentrated to investigate the temperature effects on agricultural waste pyrolysis performed in a batch reactor. Briefly, the motivation along with experimental features and main results generated from the rape straw low temperature pyrolysis (300°C-500°C) have been offered in the first part submitted at the MSE 2019 conference, with the title: Bio-gaseous fuels from agricultural waste pyrolysis (Part I). The current section (second part of the study) presents the results obtained in case of the rape straw high temperature pyrolysis (600°C-800°C). Overall, as expected, the augmentation of the operating temperature, inhibits the bio-oil and biochar formation, enhancing the pyrolysis gas production. The distribution of gaseous components varies depending on temperature and residence time. The transition stages and the formation of the main pyrolysis gaseous species are also presented and discussed. The most dominant chemical element from the pyrolysis gas is N2, due to its constant presence as non-oxidant agent in the process. Considering the same premise, the rape straw pyrolysis gaseous species distribution in the temperature range of 600°C-800°C varies between: 47%-58% CO2, 18%-28% CO, 14%-35% H2, while the pyrolysis gas density 1.1-1.4 kg/m3 and higher heating value 23-52 MJ/kg.

The present research proposes two scenarios for the biomass conversion into valuable products within the integrated management of bio-resources. The scenarios have been developed considering: the biomass availability, material and by-products characteristics and the comprehensive combination of the primary technologies used for the conversion of the biomass mixtures into energy. In scenario 1 the biomass waste valorisation is made via integrated pyrolysis and combustion treatment, while in scenario 2 the biomass conversion in done considering the integration of the pyrolysis, gasification and combustion treatments into the conversion chain. The results revealed that all analysed scenarios purposed are self-independent from the energetic point of view.

The study, presented in two parts, puts in discussion the experimental results of low and high temperature pyrolysis on agricultural residues using a tubular batch reactor. During the experiment, nitrogen was used both as reaction environment and gas products carrier. The work focusses mainly on the pyrolysis gas analytical composition resulted from the process. The first part of the research is dedicated to the effect of process low temperature on rape straw pyrolysis. The experiments were conducted at 300°C, 400°C and 500°C to observe the solid – gas transformation at relative low temperatures. The main results revealed that, by balancing the amount of the nitrogen, the rape straw pyrolysis gas distribution varies by average between: 72%-77% CO2, 22%-24% CO, 1%-4% H2. The density of the gas in the devolatilization stage varies by average between 1.6-1.7 kg/m3, while its higher heating value ranges from 4 MJ/Nm3 - 8 MJ/Nm3.

In this paper an Integrated Municipal Solid Waste scenario model (IMSW-SM) with a potential practical application in the waste management sector is analyzed. The model takes into account quantification and characterization of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) streams from different sources, selective collection (SC), advanced mechanical sorting, material recovery and advanced thermal treatment. The paper provides a unique chain of advanced waste pretreatment stages of fully commingled waste streams, leading to an original set of suggestions and future contributions to a sustainable IMSWS, taking into account real data and EU principles. The selection of the input data was made on MSW management real case studies from two European regions. Four scenarios were developed varying mainly SC strategies and thermal treatment options. The results offer useful directions for decision makers in order to calibrate modern strategies in different realities.