Mother Nature supplies human kind with a wide array of edible species, although humans do not take advantage of all of them. Grains make up more than 80% of the world food supply, and unfortunately it has been reported that per capita grain production has been declining for the past 23 years. This suggests that an increasing amount of agricultural resources will be required to satisfy human nutritional needs. The studying of ancient population eating patterns and habits demonstrated that a large number of crops have been abandoned since centuries no matter if they were a simple growing valid source of high nutritional food and high biological compounds. One of these ancient crops is Amaranth. Due to its agronomic and nutritional properties as well as its richness in bioactive compounds, this crop could represent an interesting option in order to increase alternative source of protein with high biological value, good quality starch, gluten-free products and squalene. The objective of this paper is to describe amaranth main botanical, physical and nutritional properties to illustrate amaranth potentialities in the food and no food sector.

Ponendo l’enfasi sul problema dell’approvvigionamento energetico mondiale, sul suo carattere non sostenibile e sulla rilevanza delle fonti rinnovabili di energia per una possibile risoluzione di tale problema, si effettuano alcune considerazioni di natura economica circa le componenti di costo essenziali inerenti sia l’energia generata, sia l’impianto stesso. A completamento dell’indagine, un ulteriore aspetto economico considerato concerne il costo delle esternalità ambientali associato alla produzione di energia elettrica, in modo tale da pervenire ad una stima del costo totale del kWh prodotto: sono, a tal fine, utilizzati come termini di confronto dati derivanti da alcune affermate ricerche in materia

Italian drinking water supply structure includes two main systems: tap water and bottled water. Thanks to the first, drinking water is available almost all around domestic territory while bottled water represents one of the ways to make water available where and/or when there is no tap water. Due to the changing eating habits and lifestyles bottled water has become a large consumption beverage provoking a growth rate of the drinking water industry. The objective of this study is the analysis of the key environmental issues related to the Italian drinking water supply systems and of practical solutions for improving the sustainability of the both systems. The results obtained highlight that bottled water is less environmentally friendly than tap water because it requires much higher material (130–154 kg/m3) and energy (1000–4900 MJ/m3) inputs than tap water (respectively equal to 0.5–1.3 kg/m3 and 2–3 MJ/m3) and generates more waste (130–155 kg/m3 of bottled water versus 0.3–0.7 kg/m3 of tap one). Among the different possible opportunities, to improve the sustainability of bottled water the authors present different options mainly related to the recycling of post-consumption bottles and the organization of logistics. With regard to tap water the main points of criticism are water losses and energy costs. Quantitative evaluations of the given alternatives make this analysis a concrete example of how it is possible (and necessary) for industrial sectors to implement environmental management to settle company development and environmental sustainability.

Today, as it is commonly recognized, energy patterns lead to an unsustainable future, that concerns not only natural energy resources narrowness and scarcity but is strictly linked to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), mainly CO2 ones. Burning fossil fuels is one of the main causes of energy natural resources depletion and climate changes. After power generation one, transportation is the second sector that considerably generates these phenomena. As per the above, policy makers efforts are more and more focused on how to effectively harmonize growing energy demand and climate change mitigation. In these scenarios, a valuable option is the increase of renewable energy sources utilization. Among these sources a relevant role is held by biofuels intending any fuel derived from biomass, living organisms (algae) or their metabolic byproducts (bovine manure). Biofuels of so called “third generation” seem to be a promising possibility to convert a low-input and high-yield no food feedstock into biofuels, mitigating the transportation sector influence on energy demand and climate changes. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of the third generation biofuels, their impact on existing transportation sustainability and linked emergent markets.

ENVIRONMENTALLY INNOVATION IN THE FUEL SECTOR: THE ROLE OF BIOFUEL FROM ALGAE

The drinking waters industry is recording a growth rate three times superior compared with other beverage compartments, becoming a dominant market and moving conspicuous business. The growing interest towards this sector is the result of changing in eating habits and lifestyles that encourage the consumption of health and well being products. As a consequence, spring waters have become large consumption beverage, because of consumers consider them healthier than tap water, and they have caused the enlargement of packaging waste. The analysis of environmental issues of life cycle of a product, from cradle to grave illustrates the massive negative effects of this sector on the environment and social organization. The objective of this note, which is the first part of a wider research still in progress, is to analyze the most important considerations that have promoted the huge increase of consumption of bottled drinkable water reducing tap water utilization. Subsequently, applying the international methodology Material Flow Analysis (MFA), the authors investigate the sustainability of bottled and tap water sector from cradle to the consumption phase. The preliminary results allow proposing different industrial strategies, in particular as regard waste management.

Last years have been characterized by a growing interest toward natural origin products such as plant pigments and dyes or animal ones. The reasons of this interest are different, for example, the environmental pollution linked to synthetic dyes use, their toxicity occurring in health risks for workers and consumers and the increasing preference toward natural extract in commodities consumption. Recent restrictions (e.g. Directive EEC 61/2002) imposed by the legislation concerning the use of some synthetic dyes, in food and textile fields, make research and studies engaged in the valorization of organic dyes. The aim of this paper is to review only the plant species useful in natural dye production in alternatives to synthetic ones and to evaluate the market potentialities of this sector. Furthermore, a briefly description of extraction and applications methods are highlighted.

Negli ultimi anni si è diffuso un ravvivato interesse verso i prodotti di origine naturale, come i coloranti e i pigmenti di origine vegetale e quelli di origine animale. Ciò è avvenuto per diverse ragioni, come l'inquinamento ambientale derivante dall'utilizzo dei coloranti sintetici, la loro provata tossicità manifestatasi in notevoli rischi per la salute di lavoratori e consumatori e la crescente preferenza verso merci per la cui fabbricazione sono utilizzati estratti naturali. Anche le restrizioni imposte dalla legislazione nell'uso di alcuni coloranti sintetici, sia nel campo alimentare che tessile, hanno contribuito a sollecitare studi e ricerche nel settore dei coloranti derivanti da colture vegetali (ad esempio la Direttiva CEE 61/2002). L'obiettivo di questa nota è quello di passare in rassegna solo le specie vegetali da usare per la produzione di coloranti naturali, alternativi a quelli sintetici, e di valutare le potenzialità di mercato di questo settore. Inoltre vengono illustrati brevemente i metodi di estrazione e le applicazioni, con i loro vantaggi e svantaggi.

L’attuale modello energetico, caratterizzato da una forte dipendenza dalle fonti fossili e dall’esaurimento delle stesse, evidenzia la necessità di incrementare lo sviluppo delle fonti energetiche rinnovabili. Benché non completamente sostitutive di quelle tradizionali, queste, e i biocombustibili in particolare, possono contribuire a soddisfare la crescente domanda di energia limitando le emissioni di gas climalteranti. In questo scenario, il libro si propone di delineare il ruolo che il settore dei biocombustibili può svolgere e le nuove potenzialità che esso offre, attraverso l’analisi delle diverse metodologie di produzione, delle principali barriere tecnologiche ed economiche e degli impatti socio-ambientali conseguenti alla loro produzione. Al fine di testare le potenzialità del territorio pugliese e anche in virtù del sostegno finanziario assicurato dalla Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Puglia, l’attività di ricerca si è concentrata sullo studio di fattibilità d’impianti di produzione di biocarburanti con tecniche di II generazione. Il richiamo ai criteri di sostenibilità economico-ambientale e alla legislazione che disciplina il settore termina tale analisi

Lithium is the lightest of the alkali metals, and a high reactivity and specific heat capacity characterizes it. Lithium is not found in nature as a pure element, and it is included as a component in some minerals, such as igneous rocks (lepidolite, petalite, spodumene, and ambligonite), or in the natural springs and salt lakes. Lithium and its compounds possess particular features, which make them adapted to many commercial and industrial applications, such as ceramics, glass, aluminium, lubrication industries, and pharmaceuticals industries. Thanks to the particular properties, in the near future, lithium is expected to play an increasingly role in the energy sector and high technology flanking the rare minerals earths for strategic importance in the post-oil era. New energy policies adopted by European Union level and internationally will boost the status of lithium and its applications. The industrial sectors more interested into the technical innovation of this metal are the following: rechargeable batteries in the transport sector, as well as tablets and smartphones and the storage, and distribution of electrical energy. The first one should mainly develop the intensive production of the electric car with the aim of reducing significantly the CO2 emissions generated by the transport sector toward the zero emissions standard. The second one should be associated with power plants producing renewable energy from intermittent nature (e.g. solar or wind energy) and to be used in local distribution networks (smart grids) of electricity. The aim of this paper is twofold: a) to review the factors affecting the demand for lithium and its supply analysing the industrial application and the production chain; b) to examine lithium sources and its future perspectives.

The increasing recourse of biomass energy exploitation to obtain biofuels is a crucial option to answering to the growing transport energy demand much more sustainable. Up today, the production of biofuels and particularly of biodiesel is a realty with more than 13 million tons (Mt) and palm and rape oils are respectively the principal raw materials. In this scenario, Jatropha curcas a non-edible but a multipurpose plant could play an interesting role due its proper peculiarities. Not by chance, this cultivar receives a growing attention by researchers because from its management it is possible to obtain a wide range of energy and no-energy commodities. Furthermore, its exploitation could be a new concrete opportunity for rural areas development. The objective of this paper is to investigate Jatropha curcas potentialities to produce biodiesel and other different goods and raw materials for chemical, medical, pharmaceutical, and other industrial applications.

In un sistema economico sempre più rivolto a modelli di sviluppo sostenibile l’uso dei sistemi di gestione ambientale diventano quasi strategici per il raggiungimento di una corretta gestione delle risorse naturali. Migliorare l’efficienza energetica e/o ridurre la produzione di rifiuti di un processo produttivo, di un settore industriale ma anche di un sistema economico porta al raggiungimento di vantaggi sia economici che ambientali. Per misurare questi vantaggi, è necessario disporre di strumenti analitici in grado di calcolare sia le interazioni esistenti tra sistema naturale e antropico in termini quantitativi durante le fasi di produzione e consumo ma anche di stimare i costi monetari associabili alle conseguenti performance ambientali. In quest’ultima direzione si muove la norma ISO 14051:2011 proponendo la Material Flow Cost Accounting. Quest’ultima, quantifica i flussi di materia e vi associa i relativi costi allo scopo di evidenziare i benefici economici corrispondenti al miglioramento delle performance ambientali apportabili. Appare evidente che l’efficacia di questo strumento sia fondamentalmente basata sulla possibilità di disporre di analisi quantitative (Material Flow Accounting ad esempio) quanto più precise possibili. Maggiore sarà il grado di dettaglio della prima tanto maggiore sarà l’utilità della seconda. Obiettivo di questo lavoro è stato quello di valutare e dimostrare attraverso la metodologia dell’MFCA il fondamentale ruolo della contabilità materiale anche per la valutazione dei benefici economici derivanti dal miglioramento della eco efficienza aziendale. A questo riguardo, è stato proposto un caso studio che ha consentito di verificare la stretta relazione tra la possibilità di misurare (in peso) la pressione ambientale esercitata dalla attività industriale della produzione del saccarosio e la valutazione dei costi (monetari) associati.

The economic system, always more oriented towards sustainable development models, should provide a new way of managing production processes optimizing the utilization of resources and minimizing the amount of waste produced. In this context, waste valorization becomes a crucial option to improve the economic and the environmental performances of a company and/or of an industrial sector. The dairy waste represents an interesting example of this type of approach considering that in Italy, the dairy industry plays a key role in the agrifood sector in terms of production, employees and turnover. The possibility to transform this waste into resources is related to their composition, they are rich in high value-added substances such as proteins, protein derivatives, potentially prebiotic sugars, minerals and vitamins. The aim of this study is to evaluate the different possibilities of the utilization of dairy industry waste in order to produce new raw materials which are useful in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.

Today energy systems not only put pressure on natural energy resources which are nearly running down but also they involve an increase in the greenhouse gas emissions. After the development of the 1st and 2nd generation technologies for biofuels production, the attention is now shifting to the 3rd generation ones, which use microalgae as feedstocks (since their main features are the high oil content, the high oil and biodiesel yield, the low land area needed). These technologies have been developed only in pilot plants (ponds or photobioreactors), with high capital expenditures. In the medium-long term with the joint production of several profitable co-products (pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, animal feed supplements, bioplatsics, etc.) and the link with other processes (such as the waste gas recovery and the wastewater treatment), it is expected that, the production of biodiesel from microalgae, as well as sustainable, it may become an economically viable option

Monitoring the transition of modern societies towards a path of sustainable development requires comprehensive and consistent information on the interactions between economic activities and the biosphere. It is crucial to recognize them because, despite the general impression, the economy is very dependent upon the natural environment both as a source of natural resources and as a sink for waste and pollution. Since the 1960s many research studies and approaches have been carried out highlighting this information in biophysical terms. The aim of this study is to describe the recent innovations in environmental quality management systems and new tools concerning analysis in physical terms.

Il presente lavoro si è proposto di selezionare le specie vegetali tintorie e da fibra più promettenti ai fini di una loro proficua coltivazione nella Regione Puglia. Le colture che sono state individuate sono: Reseda luteola L. e Rubia tinctorum L. per quanto concerne le specie vegetali tintorie, e l'Urtica dioica L. per quelle da fibra. L'analisi è stata estesa a colture non tradizionali, quali amaranto e agave.

Sucralose is a non-nutritive artificial sweetener which is synthesized by chlorination of sucrose at three hydroxyl groups. It is used in a large range of food and beverage and tastes like sugar; in particular it is 600 times sweeter than sucrose. Sucralose represents an alternative for people affected by diabetes and/or obesity. An increasing number of low-calorie foods and drinks are being sweetened with sucralose and consumers in many countries are experiencing and appreciated its taste. Sucralose retains its sweetness under cooking and baking conditions and it has enabled a far wider distribution of sucralose based products. This non-nutritive sweetener is well-known as SPLENDA® which is the most widely brand. The sucralose has been considered by leading medical, scientific and regulatory authorities having a high safety profile and then it was approved. The aim of this note is to analyze sucralose attitudes, its potentialities compared with other high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) and its current and future market.

Il sucralosio, un derivato clorurato del saccarosio, è un dolcificante artificiale intensivo non calorico circa 600 volte più dolce dello zucchero. Approvato per la prima volta in Canada nel 1991, negli Stati Uniti d’America (USA) nel 1999 e nel 2005 in Europa, è oggi utilizzato in circa 80 paesi in una vasta gamma di bevande e alimenti, come dolcificante da tavola nonché in altri prodotti no-food (farmaci, cosmetici, prodotti per l’igiene personale). Essendo acalorico rappresenta una scelta alternativa per le persone affette da diabete e/o obesità inoltre, essendo anche acariogeno è molto utilizzato nei prodotti di confetteria (caramelle gomme da masticare, ecc.). Una delle caratteristiche più apprezzate del sucralosio è la sua ben nota resistenza alle alte temperature e ciò lo rende adatto alla preparazione di prodotti da forno (biscotti, torte, ecc. ) e a base di latte (dessert e bibite a lunga scadenza). Sul mercato è presente con il nome commerciale SPLENDA ®, il marchio più diffuso anche se attualmente se ne sono affermate altri quali Sukrana, SucraPlus, Candys, Cukren e Nevella. Obiettivo della presente nota è l’analisi delle caratteristiche del sucralosio, le sue potenzialità rispetto ad altri dolcificanti intensivi (HIS) ed il suo mercato attuale e futuro.

Today energy systems not only put pressure on natural energy resources which are nearly running down but also they involve an increase in the greenhouse gas emissions. After the development of the 1st and 2nd techniques of biofuels generation and considering the several issues bound up with their production, the attention is now shifting to the 3rd generation technologies, which use microalgae as feedstocks (since their main features are the high oil content, the high oil and biodiesel yield, the low land area needed). These technologies have been developed only in pilot plants (ponds or photobioreactors), with high capital expenditures. In the long term, through the genetic engineering development, the joint production of several profitable co-products (pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, animal feed supplements, bioplatsics, etc.) and the link with other processes (such as the waste gas recovery and the wastewater treatment), it is expected, as well as the environmental sustainability, also the economic feasibility of the biodiesel production by microalgae.

The growing interest in old food crop such as quinoa (Chenopodium quinoaW illd), is based on their nutritional value, high adaptability to different pedoclimatic conditions and remarkable yields. The objective of this paper is to present a review of quinoa seed characteristics and to analyze its potentialities in rural and urban food market.

Purchasing decisions are influenced by several factors. Among the most relevant there are religious belief and identity, two aspects highly considered by Muslims people Even if in the recent past Muslims purchased goods (mainly food) avoiding products not allowed by Islamic principles, today they actively ask for complying ones. Muslims use two opposite terms to describe products and services in or out of their religious code: halal and haram. Halal indicates what is permitted and haram what is forbidden. Muslims firmly request certified products matching halal process standards. It is estimated that the global halal market is growing mainly in the halal food sector, whose up to date value is approximately equal to 16% of the whole global food industry and in the near future, to 20% of total food world trade. A World Halal Secretariat research highlights that the global halal products market is estimated in US$ 2,300 billion (not including finance and insurance sectors) of which food and beverages represent the 67%, pharmaceuticals 22% and cosmetics and personal care amounting to 230 US$ billion. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increase in the Muslim population equal to approximately 1.6 billion representing the 25% of the total. The European Union is an important halal market considering that the 7% (51 millions) of Muslims lives there especially in France, in Germany and the United Kingdom. There are also substantial Muslim communities in Eastern Europe, specifically Albania (70% Muslim). Halal certification is a valuable opportunity for Muslims toward a wider integration and for markets toward new targets. However so far there is not yet a unique standard procedure to guarantee halal products. The objective of this paper is mainly to analyses different worldwide halal certifications and then to evaluate their impact on Italian food market.

Researchers, politicians and decision-makers continue to search for a recipe for sustainable economic growth. International interest is growing in the use of material indicators for evaluating the impact of human activities on natural systems. Water footprinting is becoming a popular way of understanding the total water input used to produce goods and services to help managers and policy makers evaluate the sustainability of a country’s water resources. The goal of this study is to apply the water footprint (WF) indicator to Italy’s olive oil production. Based on the applied methodology, the total WF for annual Italian olive oil production is approximately 3,600–6,700 million m3. These figures are the sum of the internal and external WFs. Knowledge is a valuable contribution to understand future needs and freshwater availability. Furthermore, suggestions on its practical application are proposed.

It is long time since the efforts of researchers, politicians and decision makers are engaged, overall the world, to find the “recipe” to reach a sustainable economic growth. Even if significant steps are made, it is still far the final goal. In this contest, growing is the international interest towards Material Accounting and Material Indicators, useful tools to evaluate human activities impacts on natural system (air, water, ground, fauna, flora and climate). According to the common certainty that water scarcity will be one of the first limits to the future growth, the objective of this paper is to evaluate if a specific material indicator, the “Water footprint” (WF), represents a profitable tool to manage water natural resources. The aim is to underline pros and cons of this tool for private managers and public decision makers. In particular, WF has been applied to a specific product, the Italian extra virgin olive oil, with the aim to evaluate the effects of olive oil production chain on domestic water resource and to highlight suggestions for managers.