ALBERT

Description: Petrological and geochemical data of the Upper Cretaceous volcanic rocks from Western Sicily are here reported with the aim to provide new information about the African paleomargin magmatic activity before the onset of the Alpine Orogeny. The studied alkaline basalts and basanites/nephelinites crop out as pillow breccias interbedded within the carbonate platform sequence of the Capo San Vito Peninsula. Abundances and ratios of incompatible elements resemble OIB-type volcanics from intraplate environment. They were generated from a low partial melting degree of a mantle source located in the transition zone between garnet- and spinel-lherzolite fields. Comparison with literature data of the coeval Hyblean volcanics show similar geochemical features of a plausible common source for the anorogenic magmas involved in their genesis. The Cretaceous magmatism of the S. Vito Lo Capo Peninsula is the result of magmatic intrusions in response to the extensional tectonic regime of the African plate northern edge.

Description: Published

Description: 19-35

Description: 2TR. Ricostruzione e modellazione della struttura crostale

Description: JCR Journal

Description: To provide a contribution to the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection, here we present the results of a study focused on the potentially toxic elements (PTE) content in agricultural soils’ representative for the Mediterranean region. To reach this aim, samples of 22 Italian (NE Peloritani Mountains, Sicily) and 18 Turkish (Amik Plain, Hatay) soils were collected and analyzed to evaluate their PTE content. The Italian and Turkish sites have been selected because they represent very important cultivation zones. In Amik Plain (Turkey), the dominant crops consist of cotton, wheat, corn and olives, whereas in NE Peloritani Mountains, Sicily (Italy), an appreciate citrus variety, known as the “Interdonato lemon”, guaranteed by Protected Geographical Indication label, is produced. The collected results include: (1) the assessment of PTE levels in soils; (2) the identifcation of the PTE sources; (3) the relationships between PTE contents and soil properties (pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, CaCO3, and clay). Several multivariate statistical methods such as correlation matrix, cluster analysis and main component analysis were applied to individuate the anthropogenic vs natural origin of the PTE sources. The detected PTE levels are in decreasing order Mn〉Zn〉V〉Cr〉Cu〉Ni〉As〉Pb〉Co〉Sb〉Se〉Cd for the Italian soils, and Mn〉 Ni〉V〉Zn〉Cr〉Cu〉Pb〉Co〉As〉Se〉Sb〉Cd for the Turkish soils. The overall obtained results allowed to defne: (a) a main lithogenic source for PTE detected in the Italian soils, except for Zn which origin is also associated to anthropogenic input; (b) a lithogenic origin for all of the PTE detected for the Turkish soils, with an associate anthropogenic contribution for Cr, Ni, V, Cu and V. The results obtained in this work enhance the knowledge in the individuation of PTE pollution sources in agricultural soils of the European Mediterranean region.

Description: Published

Description: 499

Description: 6A. Geochimica per l'ambiente e geologia medica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Technological advances have impacted almost every facet of modern culture and even in the educational methodologies. As new technologies become available, they are often embraced in educational innovation in an attempt to enhance traditional instruction. To this purpose, the “flipped classroom” is a learning model in which content attainment is shifted forward to outside of class, then followed by teacher-facilitated concept application activities in class. The constructivist approach, realized through an active-learning style of teaching, is more important respect to the order with which the teacher participated in the learning process. In this respect, the goal is to provide an alternative teaching approach on environmental issue. In particular, thanks to active learning (flipped classroom) it is possible to know and to appreciate a new eco-friendly material named to “Geopolymers”. One of the most important environmental advantage that can be attributed to this material is represented by the lower energy requirements for its production. Thus, this material could represent a potential tool able to mitigate the environmental pollution. In this regard, the geopolymers could provide a possible solution to wastes reuse as a resource to scale down the demand for extraction of new resources. This paper looks at some positive aspects of technology and waste treatment, and deals with the production of innovative building materials obtained by waste recycling known as geopolymers. Specifically, it is important to highlight the possibility of using wastes characterized by high silica and aluminum amounts as raw materials, particularly suitable to produce geopolymers by chemical activation with alkali. This is a useful method to improve hazardous-waste management and to reduce health and environmental issues due to the strong capability of make inert hazardous waste. This solution confirms the importance of re-manufacturing, reusing and recycling and, moreover, making a waste a new raw material and helps to move toward a more circular economy where wastes become negligible and further natural resources are used in an efficient and sustainable way. The proposed topic is addressed to students and aims to arouse their interest in the fields of the environmental protection and waste management, but overall it gives the perspective of natural resource preservation, and a most efficient way of their use without depleting the planet’s resources.

Description: Published

Description: A35

Description: 7SR AMBIENTE – Servizi e ricerca per la società

Description: JCR Journal

Description: This paper aims to define the stability over the time of chemical elemental patterns in some citrus varieties of PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and not PGI Interdonato and Lunario cultivars coming from Italy and Turkey and to set up a range of markers useful to trace their geographical origin. During the 2015–2017 growing seasons, all fruits were collected and subjected to Inductively Coupled Mass spectrom etry (ICP-MS) analysis, in order to determine the multielemental chemical profiles. The chemical variabil ity was calculated for each element by Multi-way analysis of variance. The results highlighted how the measured Cr, Ni, Al, K, Fe and Zn levels mainly depend on the soil composition and the fingerprint allow to trace the geographical origins. Moreover, the stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) has allowed to correctly classify the 100% of lemon pulps provenances, based on Ni, Al, K, Ca and Na con tents. Finally, our study demonstrates the role played by harvest years, variety and soils composition whose interaction contributed to define the chemical fingerprints.

Description: Published

Description: 2628-2639

Description: 6A. Geochimica per l'ambiente e geologia medica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: New investigations carried out on lead stannate (Pb2SnO4) and lead antimonate (Pb2Sb2O7) in yellow mosaic glassy tesserae from archaeological sites of Sicily (Taormina; Lipari, Tusa and Piazza Armerina), dated early than the 4th century AD, allow to confirm the presence of lead stannate in ancient glass dated before the 4th century. The two compounds have been used either as glass opacifiers and colorants. The different refractive index between fine crystals of these compounds and the amorphous glassy matrix, in which they are immerged, prevent the complete light transmittance, giving the typical opaque appearance to the glass. While lead antimonate was used to produce opaque yellow glass from the beginning of glass production up to the Roman period, it was replaced by lead stannate from about the 4th century AD up to the end of the Roman period. Although until today only Lahil et al. (2011) reported the presence of lead stannate in the glass tesserae dated before the 4th century AD, our new results confirm its presence in the investigated yellow tesserae from several mosaics of Sicily dated early than the 4th century AD

Description: Published

Description: 31-44

Description: 7SR AMBIENTE – Servizi e ricerca per la società

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Geopolymers are synthetic materials, which attract increasing interest because they represent a supplementary cementitious material as an alternative to Portland cement. Geopolymers are considered as environmentally friendly materials, due to the low processing temperature and the absence of CO2 gas emissions. These ecological features, linked to their technical properties, such as high strength, high acid resistance, and/or high-temperature resistance, make them very innovative technological materials. In addition, geopolymers show good performance if realized by the utilization of secondary raw materials (industrial wastes like fly ash or slag), thus improving strong interest in such technology from countries with growing industrialization. Here, in order to reduce global impacts and to stimulate the Sicilian green economy, we provide the evaluation of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) through the employ of local raw materials to produce geopolymers in Sicily. To reach this aim, geopolymers have been produced in collaboration with a Sicilian cement industry, through the use of local raw materials (furnace blast slag from Sicilian steelworks and Calabrian kaolinite) and the construction of a pilot plant. The obtained results show, for different scenarios, a considerable reduction of both CO2 emissions and energy consumption, but also a general improvement of the environmental indicators.

Description: Published

Description: 012006

Description: 6A. Geochimica per l'ambiente e geologia medica

Description: N/A or not JCR