Technological solutions for resources recovery from end-of-life products and materials in the Mediterranean landscape

A great amount of waste is still disposed of without any recovery, representing a loss of valuable materials. Technical obstacles are often the bottleneck that hinders the circularity of these resources. This loss results not only in an economic damage, but also in a socio-political weakness, because it could increase the dependence on primary raw materials provided by other Countries. Thus, it appears essential to implement new solutions, that are proposed by different research institutions and companies, and to share good practices among the Countries, particularly in the Mediterranean area, to drive the industrial growth in a more sustainable way.

In this seminar, new technologies that could increase the circularity of resources and the environmental benefits will be explored, in different economic sectors.

Session Chairs

Fabrizio Passarini, Ecomondo STC and University of Bologna
Silvia Fiore, Turin Polytechnic University
Paola Muraro, ATIA – ISWA

Program

9.30 Introduction by the Chairs

Invited lectures

9.45-10.00 Invited speech
David Greenfield, CIWM - Chartered Institution of Waste Management

10.00-10.15 From industrial organic residues to sustainable food plastics; the ViSS Horizon EU project
Marianna Faraldi, Tecnoalimenti S.C.p.A.

10.15-10.30 Microwave-Assisted Depolymerization in Textile
Fabio Silvestri, GR3N)

Speeches selected from the Call for Papers

Topic: AI and ICT in waste treatment

10.30-10.42 AI-Powered Platform for Optimizing Used Battery Supply Chains: Transforming Fragmented Waste Streams into Circular Economy Resources
Pogan Cristian, Pogan Otilia, CircularBucks, AI CORE srl

10.42-10.54 Automation, Digitalisation, and Human-Centric Recycling: The Borsoi Model for Padded and Upholstered Textile Waste Regeneration
Enrico Cozzoni, Borsoi S.r.l.

10.54-11.06 AI-Based Visual Sorting of Construction and Demolition Waste – Improving Precision, Efficiency and Circularity in Real-World Conditions
Georg Weingrill, Binder+Co AG

11.06-11.18 GREEN3D – Advancing Circularity in the Mediterranean through Onsite 3D Printing with Recycled Materials
Rocco Lagioia, Marc Michel - TheGreenTech

Topic: Recovery of Critical and Strategic Raw Materials

11.18-11.30 Sustainable recovery of gold and copper from WEEE via a novel hydrometallurgical process
Francesco Di Natale, Roberto Andreozzi, Raffaele Marotta, Amedeo Lancia, Tullio Monetta, Roberto Chirone, Giuseppina Luciani, Alessandro Erto, Giuseppe Vitiello, Brigida Silvestri, Aniello Costantini, Marica Muscetta, Giuseppe Russo, Rossella Grappa, Virginia Venezia, Annalisa Acquesta, Pawan S. Dhapola, Antonio Di Colandrea, Luigi Piero Di Bonito, Arianna Parisi - Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale, Università di Napoli Federico II

11.30-11.42 Innovative Pathways for Phosphorus Recovery from Urban Wastewater: GRUPPO CAP’s Integrated Circular Approach
Desdemona Oliva, Tomaso Amati - Gruppo CAP

11.42-11.54 Beyond Waste: Technological Innovation in the Recovery of Strategic Metals for a Sustainable Industry
Riccardo Momoli, Circular Materials srl

11.54-12.06 BRAVE: Biotechnologies for the recovery of critical Raw materials from Vehicles
Amato Alessia, Becci Alessandro, D'Arcangelo Matteo, Beolchini Francesca - Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche

12.06-12.18 Recycling of electric motors for the recovery and valorization of NdFeB magnet content
Leonardo Sparascio, Gianluca Torta, Daniele Cespi, Luca Ciacci, Ivano Vassura, Fabrizio Passarini - Department of Industrial Chemistry "Toso Montanari", Interdepartmental Centre of Industrial Research “Renewable Resources, Environment, Sea and Energy”, Università of Bologna

Topic: Monitoring and removal of pollutants

12.18-12.30 Drones and methane sensors: a new frontier for circularity of resources in landfills
Giuseppe Tassielli1, Riccardo Beltramo2, Stefano Duglio2, Miriam Spalatro1, Lucianna Cananà3 - 1Department of Physics, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari; 2Department of Management "Valter Cantino", University of Turin, Turin; 3Ionian Department of Law, Economics and Environment, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Taranto

12.30-12.42 Optimization of electrostatic separation of plastics from beached waste
Brixhilda Lleshi, Stefania Facchini, Milvia Elena di Clemente, Francesco Todaro, Michele Notarnicola - Politecnico di Bari

12.42-12.54 REVOCS, an efficient technology for VOCs removal
Federico Capra, Marco Ferrari – Gruppo AB

Lunch Break

Topic: Polymers and biopolymers

14.00-14.12 The new EU regime for recycled plastic food contact material - Changing the game?
Ken Huestebeck - Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS) association

14.12-14.24 Sustainable valorization of waste residues into new materials for different sector applications
Maurizio Avella 1, Antonio De Falco 2 - 1 Agribiom srl, 2 Atiaiswa

14.24-14.36 Pyrolysis of Lead Acid Battery (LAB) plastic waste: a route to hydrogen and halogen stabilization
Maddalena Laghezza 1, Franco Berruti 1, Silvia Fiore 2, Virgilio Pagliarani 3, Martino Albini 3, Claudio Sandrone 4 – 1 Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; 2 Department of Environment, Land, and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Politecnico di Torino; 3 Rovereta Srl, Rimini; 4 BAW Remediation Technologies Srl, Manta (Cuneo)

14.36-14.48 Biopolymers recovered from wastewater treatment sludge: a valuable resource for circular bioeconomy and green chemistry 
Benedetta Pagliaccia*, Mirko Severi**, Claudio Lubello*, Tommaso Lotti* - *Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Firenze (FI); **Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino (FI)

Topic: Textile and fiber valorization

14.48-15.00 Optimization and experimental validation of hybrid non-woven insulations from textile waste: Reduction of thermal conductivity and U-value by combining mechanical needling and thermal bonding
Mohamed EL Wazna 1, Noureddine Abouricha 2, Ayoub Gounni 3 – 1 Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies, Morocco; 2 LABSIPE, National School of Applied Sciences, Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida, Morocco; 3 Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, Hassan II University, Casablanca, Morocco

15.00-15.12 From fiber to fiber: Predicting future waste fiberboard volumes across Europe, and emerging solutions for wood fibers reutilization
Stergios Adamopoulos 1, Mark Irle 2; Francesco Balducci 3, Omar Degoli 4, Alessandra Cecchini 5. – 1 Wood Science at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2 École Supérieure du Bois (ESB), 3 University of Camerino, 4 FederlegnoArredo, 5 Manifaktura

Topic: Biowaste treatment

15.12-15.24 Sustainable valorization of agro-industrial wastes into natural plant vaccines and biopesticides
Vincenzo Lionetti, Department of Biology and Biotecnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza, University of Rome

15.24-15.36 Closing the loop in agro-waste management: myco-valorization of digestate and grape pomace
Veronica Zuffi1, Federico Puliga1, Dario Mercatante1, Alessandra Zambonelli1, Maria Teresa Rodriguez-Estrada1, Santiago Sanchez Cortes2, Ornella Francioso1 - 1Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 40-50, 40127 Bologna, Italy; 2 Instituto de Estructura de la Materia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IEM-CSIC), Serrano, 121, E-28006 Madrid, Spain.

15.36-15.48 From Residue to Value: Chestnut Shells as Functional Biofillers in Compostable Composites
1 Zamboni E., 2 Ribeiro N., 2 Moreira C., 2 Escórcio R., 1 Vannini M., 1 Sisti L., 2 Silva Pereira C., 1 Celli A. - 1 Università di Bologna, DICAM, via Umberto Terracini, 28, 40131, Bologna, Italy; 2 Universidade NOVA de Lisoba, ITQB, Av. Da República, 2780-257 Oeiras, Portugal

15.48-16.00 Hazelnut waste valorization for the production of biostimulants
Giorgia Pellegrino(1-2), Paola Zitella(1), Elisa Aimo Boot(1) - (1) Environment Park, via Livorno 60, 10144, Torino, Italy; (2) Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy

Topic: Other recovery processes

16.00-16.12 FOZ: A Mobile Technology for Steelmaking Residue Recovery and Energy Efficiency in Melting Processes
Tommaso Carpaneto, Francesco Carpaneto – Foz srl

16.12-16.24 Mild alkali activation: a strategy for valorization of WEEE glass and design of sustainable building materials
Emanuele De Rienzo (1), Francesco Carollo (2), Antonio D’Angelo (3), Luisa Barbieri (1), Enrico Bernardo (2), Michelina Catauro (3), Cristina Leonelli (1), Isabella Lancellotti (1) - (1): Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari” (DIEF), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UniMoRe), Modena; (2): Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova (UniPd), Padova; (3): Department of Engineering, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” (UniCaLV), Aversa

16.24-16.36 The role of Waste-to-Energy in EU policies and the Mediterranean landscape
Paola Macculi - ESWET (The European Suppliers of Waste-to-Energy Technology)

16.36-16.48 The last mile: how to sustainably and circularly manage non-recyclable waste from industrial processes
Antonella Luciano 1, Dalila Bonanno 2, Francesco Palmeri 3, Giuseppe Benina 3, Giuseppe Mancini 2 – 1 ENEA, 2 University of Catania, 3 Siram, Cisma Ambiente

16.48-17.00 BTEX adsorption using activated hydrochar produced by hydrothermal carbonization of municipal solid waste
C. Caretti1, I. Ducci1, M. Puccini2, F. Barontini2, S. Dugheri3, R. Gori1 - 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Florence; 2 Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa; 3 Experimental and Clinical Medicine Department, University of Florence, Florence

17.00-17.30 Discussion and closure by the Chairs

Poster Session

WT-P1 - Estimation of the floating population in coastal areas through the analysis of the production of organic (OFMSW) and residual (MSW) municipal waste fractions: the case of Calabria
Ernesto Infusino *, Vincenzo De Matteis**, Francesco Petrone**, Roberta Infusino* - * Università degli Studi della Calabria - Dipartimento Ingegneria dell’Ambiente, ** Autorità Rifiuti e Risorse Idriche della Calabria

WT-P2 - REWIND - Efficient Decommissioning, Repurposing and Recycling to increase the Circularity of end-of-life Wind Energy Systems
Michele Vavallo, Ciaotech - PNO, AIMPLAS, ALKE, BCIRCULAR, CompositePatch, DITF, HSPF, IPC, Miljøskærm, R-Nano, NTUA, Suez, Tekniker, TPI COMPOSITES, AEMAC

WT-P3 - Smart Nanomaterials for Clean Water: The Role of Calcium Ferrites in Multifunctional Wastewater Treatment
Maurizio Vespignani, Mauro Mazzocchi, Magda Blosi, Ilaria Zanoni, Simona Ortelli, Chiara Artusi, Sara Amadori, Anna Luisa Costa - ISSMC-CNR of Faenza, Italy; Matheus Henrique Pimentel Araújo, Juliana Cristina Tristão - Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil; Milad Takhsha Ghahfarokhi - IMEM-CNR of Parma, Italy.

WT-P4 - K-Drip irrigation
Iliana Georgieva, Green industry innovations and technology transfer

WT-P5 - Treatment and recovery of Adsorbent Hygiene Products (AHPS) waste: the new Gesenu plant in Ponte Rio for the circular economy
Pera Massimo - Gesenu S.p.A.

WT-P6 - GreenLife4Seas project: a new LIFE for sediments and shells recovery and reuse
S. Doni1, E. Peruzzi1,2, C. Macci1,2, I. Rosellini1, M. Di Leo3, C. Vitone4, M. Mali4, R. Petti4, G. Masciandaro1,2 - 1CNR-IRET, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy, 2National Biodiversity Future Center, 90133 Palermo, Italy, 3CNR-IRSA, Via Roma 3, 74123 Taranto, Italy, 4Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.

WT-P7 - Computationally efficient particle detection algorithm for continuous operation of opto-magnetically sorting instrument
Alim Yolalmaz, Honglu Su, Rajeev Bheemireddy, Yongli Wu, Francesco Di Maio - Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

WT-P8 - Recovery and valorisation of platinum from spent catalytic converters for sustainable hydrogen production via Aqueous Phase Reforming of raw glycerol
Francesco Di Natale, Giuseppina Luciani, Roberto Andreozzi, Tullio Monetta, Alessandro Erto, Marica Muscetta, Rossella Grappa, Virginia Venezia, Annalisa Acquesta, Antonio Di Colandrea, Luigi Piero Di Bonito, Arianna Parisi - Università di Napoli Federico II – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale, Napoli; Giovanna Ruoppolo, Roberto Chirone, Alessandra Di Nardo, Gianluca Landi - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie per L'Energia e La Mobilità Sostenibili, Napoli.

WT-P9 - A novel technology of miner waste valorisation
Madani Zakaria, Taraa Chaimae - Coopérative of renewable Energy

WT-P10 - Turning waste into wealth: exciting first steps in vermicomposting haloponic sludge for sustainable biofertilizer production
Cristina Macci1, Giulia Carpi2, Marco Calcaprina2, Marco Mascherpa1, Davide Manzi1, Francesca Vannucchi1 - 1Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Pisa, Italy; 2Centro Lombricoltura, Toscano, San Giuliano Terme, Pisa, Italy

WT-P11 - Your Lowest-Value Waste Stream Could Be Your Biggest Circular Opportunity
Valentijn de Neve - BlueAlp

WT-P12 - Feasibility of Pilot Scale Thermoelectric Generator for Waste Heat Recovery in Industrial Enamel Ovens
Dilara Duman, De Angeli Prodotti s.r.l.

WT-P13 - Eco-Sustainable Photoluminescent Epoxy Composites Incorporating Etna Volcanic Ash as a Natural Waste for Decorative Building Applications
Luigi Madeo1; Anastasia Macario1  and  Pierantonio De Luca2 - 1Dipartimento di Ingegneria per l'Ambiente, Università della Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy; 2Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Energetica e Gestionale, Università della Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy

WT-P14 - Multiscale Computational Approach for Designing Sustainable Chitin-based Packaging Materials
Giulia Biffi, Siemens, Den Haag, Netherlands.

WT-P15 - Time-gated recycling of plastic with silicon quantum dots
Angelica Germinario - Sinbiosys SRL - University of Bologna

WT-P16 - The Recycling Trading Market: Proposal for a Digital Platform to Match Supply and Demand
Luca Provenzani, Almaviva S.p.A.

WT-P17 - Plasbreaker: a novel pyrolysis technology for mixed plastic waste recycling
Stefano Redaelli (a), Edoardo Vitto (b), Davide Alberti (b), Maria Correale (b), Flavio Manenti (a) - (a) Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy; (b) a2a S. p. A., Milan, Italy

WT-P18 - Bio-based chemical additives for sustainable high-RAP content asphalt concrete mixtures Joseph Nicolas La Macchia, Loretta Venturini, Carlo Carpani, Orazio Baglieri1 - 1Department of Environmental, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino; 2Scientific Department, Iterchimica S.p.A.

WT-P19 - DISCOVERING ECOFOODCYCLE - Reducing Food Waste and its Environmental Footprint through Sustainable Food Systems
Maddalena Sartori, Chiara Onofri, Michele Milan - EcamRicert srl

WT-P20 - BioBIVE. BIOdegradable delivery systems for plant pathogens control of horticultural crops through BIo-actiVE
Carlos Barreiro Méndez - Research Institutes and Services Area, Universidad de León, Spain

WT-P21 - A High-Efficiency, High-Throughput System for Recycling Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment via Magnetic Density Separation
Max van Beek, Hongli Su, Francesco Di Maio - TU Delft, The Netherlands

WT-P22 - Geopolymer-Based Inertization of Ceramic Exhausted Lime: A Sustainable Solution for Hazardous Industrial Waste
Antonio Stroscio, Francesco Genua, Isabella Lancellotti - Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari” – University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

WT-P23 - SCALECAP: Scaling Up the Production of Graphene-Metal Oxide Nanocomposites for Sustainable Supercapacitors
Pantaleone Bruni i, Vanessa Da Fermo i, Stefania Ferrari i, Andrea Di Filippo iii, Letizia Finamore ii, Alessandro Pietrodarchi ii, Sara Scutti ii, Mariacarla Di Muzio ii, Francesca Salerno ii, Francesca Susi ii, Massimo Ranieri ii - i Università degli Studi "G. d’Annunzio" Chieti-Pescara; ii ECO.LAN S.p.A., Lanciano (CH), Italy; iii HYGRANER S.R.L., Italy

WT-P24 - Valorisation of selected Poultry Manure through a sustainable aerobic fermentation: the AFRODITE® process and its effect on soil and plant nutrition
Elia Pagliarini1, Francesca Gaggìa1, Clizia Franceschi2, Michele Rossin2, Diana Di Gioia1 - 1Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 2FOMET S.p.A, Verona, Italy

WT-P25 - Life Cycle Assessment of Humic-like Substances and Green Analytical Materials for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment
Dimitrios Ziotas (1), Fabrizio Passarini (1), Daniele Cespi (1), Luca Ciacci (1), Antonio Arques (2), Gaia Mattarello (2), Vasilis Sakkas (3), Augosto Misolas (3) - (1) University of Bologna, Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari”, Bologna, Italy; (2) Grupo de Procesos de Oxidación Avanzada, Departamento de Ingeniería Textil y Papelera, Universitat Politècnica de València, Campus de Alcoy, Alcoy, Spain; (3) University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

WT-P26 - Enzymatic hydrolysis of bioplastics as a scalable solution for circular management of bioplastic-rich organic waste streams
Marthinus W. Myburgh (a,b,c), Dominique F. Rocher (a,b,c), Leonardo Faggian (a,) Daniele Vezzini (a,b), Hannah L. Foster (b), Alessandro Calzavara (d), Lara Facchini (d,) Alessandra Lorenzetti (d), Marinda Viljoen-Bloom (b,c), and Lorenzo Favaro (a,b,c) - a Waste to Bioproducts-Lab, Department of Agronomy Food Natural resources Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), Padova University, Legnaro, Padova, Italy; b Department of Microbiology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; c Urobo Biotech, Stellenbosch, South Africa; d Department of Industrial Engineering, Padova University, Padova, Italy

WT-P27 - From Invasive Threat to Green Opportunity: Harnessing Callinectes sapidus for Sustainable Chitosan-Based Bioplastics
Farida Becir - Department of biology, Faculty of sciences of nature and life, Chedli Bendjedid El-Tarf University

WT-P28 - Advancing Blue Biorefinery Development in the Adriatic Sea (BIOBASED Project)
Matteo Francavilla, Deborah Racca, Domenico Soldo, Paolo Marasco, Mauro Marone, Gianfranco Pazienza - STAR*Facility Centre, Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, Foggia (Italy)

WT-P29 - Decommissioning circolare su impianti industriali upstream
A. Forti , N. Farigu, D. Mazzone - PROGER S.P.A.

WT-P30 - Material flow analysis for sustainable strategies applied to the permanent magnet manufacturing: the European project PASSENGER
Amato Alessia1, Becci Alessandro1, Innocenzi Valentina2, Villen-Guzman Maria3, Cerrillo-Gonzales Maria del Mar3, Vegliò Francesco2, Beolchini Francesca1 - 1 Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy; 2 Department of Industrial Engineering, Information and Economy University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy; 3 Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Malaga, Spain

WT-P31 - Closing the Loop: Advanced Granulation Systems for a New Era of Post-Consumer Plastics Recycling
Giorgio Santella - C.M.G. Granulators

WT-P32 - Fishing for litter: a circular approach
Punzo Elisa, Maria Chiara Catta - Punzo Elisa e Maria Chiara Catta - CNR-IRBIM; NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo

WT-P33 - Project to produce protein from black soldier fly larvae and recycle organic waste
Benaissa Djaber - Tethmin start-up project