Stefano Antognoni, Marco Ragazzi, Gabriela Ionescu, Giorgia Passamani, Simone Zanoni, Elena C. Rada and Vincenzo Torretta
In the EU, over the past three decades, poultry production has been growing around the 5 percent per year. This increase determined a higher volume of livestock and poultry…
Abstract
Purpose
In the EU, over the past three decades, poultry production has been growing around the 5 percent per year. This increase determined a higher volume of livestock and poultry farming waste, which represents a potential renewable fuel suitable for waste to energy conversion. One way is through biological process such as the dry anaerobic digestion (AD). Tests normally applied for the measurement of the anaerobic biogas potential (ABP) are reliable, but not feasible as a routine analysis. This kind of test is expensive and time consuming (21-100 days). The purpose of this paper is to propose a rapid method for assessing the potential of biogas in anaerobic poultry manure, with the goal of helping the choices of operators of AD.
Design/methodology/approach
The Dynamic Respiration Index was calculated as “key parameter” in order to estimate the ABP, which provides important information about the biogas generation for the poultry manure. Furthermore, two dynamic respirometric approaches were considered developed in two Italian universities. The main difference between them is the control of temperature.
Findings
Calculate ABP through IRD is a useful method to determine the value of the potential production of biogas of different biomasses in a short time and assess which one is more productive.
Originality/value
The methodology presented in this study is fast (one-five days) and alternative method to determinate the ABP, above all for the operators of AD plant.
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Elena C. Rada, Marco Ragazzi, Marco Tubino, Andrea Gambaro, Clara Turetta, Elena Argiriadis, Marco Vecchiato, Barbara Rossi and Maurizio Tava
– The purpose of this paper is to define suitable tracers that are particularly significant in assessing the impact on the surrounding environment caused by a steel making plant.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define suitable tracers that are particularly significant in assessing the impact on the surrounding environment caused by a steel making plant.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors focussed on the detection and quantification of inorganic pollutants such as heavy metals in the soil and in the air in the surrounding area of the steel making plant. The presented data, concerning a plant in the North part of Italy, come from an approach that took into account the advantages of different devices and sampling criteria: apart from conventional devices, two kinds of deposimeters have been used (for characterizing either total or wet/dry depositions). Their locations have been chosen taking into account the distance from the plant.
Findings
The paper demonstrates that the presence of diffused emissions plays an important (negative) role still today; thus a modern plant should reduce this kind of emission in order to be accepted from the population living in the surroundings. In the analyzed case study, the benefits of adopting the best available technologies can be seen from the temporal variability of the incidence of the plant.
Originality/value
The value of the paper is in the support that it can give to decision makers that must manage a steel making plant in an area.
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Elena C. Rada, Marco Lodi, Federico Teoldi, Marco Ragazzi and Barbara Rossi
– The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the qualitative and quantitative knowledge on ultrafine particles in air near a steel making plant located in an Italian site.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the qualitative and quantitative knowledge on ultrafine particles in air near a steel making plant located in an Italian site.
Design/methodology/approach
A combination of experimental methodologies was used for the online and offline monitoring and chemical characterization of particulate matter (PM) in the air near the plant. Two unfiltered twin-sampling systems were adopted, working when the plant was on/off. All condensed air samples were submitted to Ion Chromatography analysis. The same samples were submitted to acid digestion before Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis. Continuous daily PM10 samples were collected to characterize ambient air. PM10 samples were also analysed to estimate metals content. The PM size distribution was achieved by continuous online monitoring. The adopted ultrafine particulate monitor classifies particles in the range 20-200 nm. The overall size distribution was inferred from an Optical Particulate Counter able to classify particles in the range 0.3-10 µm.
Findings
The obtained results show that no causal relationship can be found between the measurements of anions and metal in the air near the plant under investigation and the presence of the steel making plant. The trend in emissions of micro-particles was found quite characteristic of similar semi-urban areas.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that a steel making plant adopting best available techniques could have a local impact compatible with the surrounding environment.
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Elena Pessot, Andrea Zangiacomi and Marco Sacco
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are increasingly recognized among technologies potentially driving the digital innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are increasingly recognized among technologies potentially driving the digital innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Nevertheless, the implications of AR/VR adoption in innovation processes have yet to receive much attention to date, with the need to explore the issues facilitating a systematic implementation in the SME context. This study aims to investigate the possible innovation paths of SMEs as a result of AR/VR adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors performed a multiple case study research involving six Italian SMEs in manufacturing and service sectors that are investing in AR and/or VR solutions and are digitally innovating thanks to these technologies.
Findings
AR/VR solutions lead to different types of innovation in SMEs, i.e. for innovating product or service offerings, business processes or even the business model, when AR/VR extends to the company business logic. SMEs demonstrate being able to leverage internal sources with the essential commitment of top management and low resistance of employees in all kinds of AR/VR-enabled innovations. Conversely, they involve different external innovation sources according to the type of innovation pursued. Organizational issues emerged as more relevant than technological issues.
Practical implications
Results contribute to the literature on digital transformation of SMEs and provide managerial guidance on innovation sources and organizational issues to be considered to effectively deploy AR/VR solutions into specific innovation paths.
Originality/value
This study explores the impact of emergent technologies in the innovation process along with multiple perspectives, degree of complexity, and strategic importance in the SME context.
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Arnold Japutra, Murilo Vidal-Branco, Elena Higueras-Castillo and Sebastian Molinillo
The aim of this study is to analyze the drivers of health consciousness related to millennials’ organic food consumption and the impact of health consciousness on millennials’…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to analyze the drivers of health consciousness related to millennials’ organic food consumption and the impact of health consciousness on millennials’ willingness to pay premium through a cross-cultural study.
Design/methodology/approach
A comparative analysis was conducted in two countries (Brazil vs Spain). Based on the stimuli-organism-response framework, the authors present a conceptual model to investigate the relationship between cognitive and affective stimuli (i.e. natural content, value for money, sensorial appeal, price fairness, trend, emotional appeal and food safety concern) and customers’ health consciousness with the mediating effect of food safety concern and their impact on the customers’ response (i.e. willingness to pay premium). A survey and a structural equation approach are applied.
Findings
The results show that cognitive and affective stimuli and food safety concern improve millennials’ health consciousness and, consequently, their willingness to pay a premium price for organic food. The results present a high validity correlation of constructs with significant differences between the two countries.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in the comparison of drivers of health consciousness and their impact on organic food consumption among millennials from two countries (developed vs developing). This work contributes to the study of organic food consumption with an analysis of the impact of seven drivers on health consciousness and its relationship with willingness to pay premium in a cross-comparison of Brazilian and Spanish millennials.
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Bartosz Sawik, Javier Faulin and Elena Pérez-Bernabeu
The purpose of this chapter is to solve multi-objective formulation for traveling salesman and transportation problems. Computations are based on real data for the road freight…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to solve multi-objective formulation for traveling salesman and transportation problems. Computations are based on real data for the road freight transportation of a Spanish company. The company was selected because of its importance in Spanish economy and market. This company is important in the whole country; however, it has its higher importance in the northern part of Spain. The requirements for these models are the minimization of total distance and the CO2 emissions. To achieve this, it is required to know and carry out the minimization of the total distance traveled by the trucks during the deliveries. The deliveries are going to be executed between the different locations, nodes, in the region, and Elorrio, where the depot is situated. The data have been used to decide the best route in order to obtain a minimization of cost for the company. As it was mentioned earlier, the problems are focused on the reduction of the amount of CO2 emissions and minimization of total distance; by studying different parameters, the best solutions of route transportation have been obtained. The software used to solve these models is CPLEX solver with AMPL programming language.
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Bartosz Sawik, Javier Faulin and Elena Pérez-Bernabeu
The purpose of this chapter is to optimize multi-criteria formulation for green vehicle routing problems by mixed integer programming. This research is about the road freight…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to optimize multi-criteria formulation for green vehicle routing problems by mixed integer programming. This research is about the road freight transportation of a Spanish company of groceries. This company has more power in the north of Spain and hence it was founded there. The data used for the computational experiments are focused in the northern region of Spain. The data have been used to decide the best route in order to obtain a minimization of costs for the company. The problem focused on the distance traveled and the altitude difference; by studying these parameters, the best solution of route transportation has been made. The software used to solve this model is CPLEX solver with AMPL programming language. This has been helpful to obtain the results for the research and some conclusions have been obtained from them.