The course is designed to provide the student with the analysis tools to understand the complex interactions between systems such as industrial production and natural cycles. This analysis is aimed at assessing the interactions between the anthropic actions and the environment to identify the necessary actions for the technological changes. The concept of sustainability will be analyzed considering its three aspects: social, economic and environmental, providing the cognitive elements for understanding the strong interactions between them. Some methodological suggestions will be provided for the use of renewable matter in place of that not renewable. The definition and the improvement of the different strategies to move towards sustainability either in the case of non-renewable resources or in the case of renewable ones. Attention will be devoted to the transition of the current "transportation" system of energy supply to one that focuses on the supply of energy "services" in terms of: "proximity" of sources, "adequacy" of the energy carrier and "vitality" of energy technologies. To evaluate and choose new technological trends, emphasis will be given to the application of the principle of energy sustainability through the definition of sustainability indices different from the usual ones of thermodynamic origin.

The aim of the course is to prepare students to understand the many aspects linked to sustainability and to use the knowledge provided, to analyze and define the characteristics of new technologies to produce goods and services oriented towards sustainability. At the end of the course the student will be asked to have acquired the basic knowledge to face problems related to: - interactions between natural cycles and anthropic activity - assessment of the energy sustainability of new technologies - knowledge of the synchronisms existing between natural cycles and anthropic cycles - knowledge of the principles of the systemic approach for process sustainability analysis (LCA) - new economic approach to take account of "natural" support (natural capitalism)

Basic knowledge of physical and chemical principles

Introduction to environmental cycles: environmental space, the steady-state principle, renewable and non-renewable resources. Natural capitalism: resource productivity, biomimic, service economy and flows, investment in natural capital, ecological services. Impact of human activities: Ehrlich & Holder approach. How the biosphere works: a thermodynamic perspective. Sustainability and integrated development: a critical analysis. The approach to the trilemma: the vision of integrated development, a systemic approach. The economic dimension. The political dimension. The social dimension. The environment in a sustainable world. The steady-state economy. Education for sustainability and design: engineering education, values of sustainability, individual behavior. Renewable-based technologies: renewable potential for the chemical and energy industries. Process sustainability index. Towards the science of sustainability: chaos and complexity, linearity and non-linearity, uncertainty in knowledge, risk analysis. Industrial metabolism: the analogy between biology and industry. Material flow and waste emission. Implications for industrial metabolism: past, present and future. Application of the principle of conservation of matter. The evolution of industrial processes. An environmental point of view in the regularity of technological development. The materialization: the role of consumption of goods, eco-efficiency and eco-service, services, products and waste. The process of de-carbonation of energy sources. Energy efficiency: energy in production (direct), energy required (indirect) and energy in manufactured goods (incorporated). The use of global service efficiency vs. process efficiency as an alternative design tool. Energy: energy and the production of well-being: a historical perspective. Sources, production, transport and energy services. Energy services: energy sustainability analysis: ESI (Energy Sustainability Index), EROI (Energy Return On Investment) and EPT (Energy Payback Time) as a tool for technological choice. The scientific basis for understanding the relationship between energy and the economy. Introduction to economic ecology and bioeconomy: natural "funds" and "actions"; producer responsibility: economy of services and not of goods. The cycles and the budget: quantitative measure of an ecological cycle, the scale of the times. Strategic planning for the environment. Introduction to Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).

The course includes lectures and exercises in the classroom.

"Energy for a Sustainable World", Nicola Armaroli and Vincenzo Balzani, WILEY-VCH, 2011 "BioH2 & BioCH4 Through Anaerobic Digestion", Bernardo Ruggeri, Tonia Tommasi, Sara Sanfilippo, Springer, 2015 "Efficiency and Sustainability in the Energy and Chemical Industries ", Jakob de Swaan Arons, Hedzer van der Kooi, Krishnan Sankaranarayanan, CRC, 2004 "Designing for the Environment ", B. Ruggeri and A. Robasto, Ranieri Editore, 2002 "Industrial Ecology" T.E.Gradel and B.R.Allenby, Prentice Hall, 1995 "Energy and the wealth of Nations", C.A.S.Hall and Kent A.Klitgaard. Springer, 2012 "Life Cycle Assessment of Renewable Energy Sources" A.Singh, D.Pant and S.I.Olsen Editors, 2013 “Ecological Economics, Principles and Applications, II Edition” Herman E. Daly and Joshua Farley, Island Press, 2011 Will also be provided: both material used in the classroom and in-depth study on specific topics covered in class.

Modalità di esame: Elaborato scritto individuale;

Exam: Individual essay;

... The final exam aims to verify the acquisition of the knowledge and the objective skills of teaching (ref. in Expected learning outcomes) through a written test. The student will be placed, in writing, on sheets provided by the teacher, 30 + 1 multiple choice questions, related to all the topics of the lessons. During the written test it will not be possible to consult texts, lecture notes and formulas. Furthermore, multimedia devices with access to the web (for example, smartphones, smartwatches and tablets) are not allowed in the classroom. The evaluation of the elaborate is expressed in thirtieths and is made considering only the correct answers, without penalty, every correct answer is worth 1/30, the “lode” involves 30 + 1 correct answers. The time available to the student for the written exam is 1 hour. The exam is passed if the written test obtains a minimum grade of 18/30. The outcome of the test will be communicated to students through a notice on the teaching portal, on average within two/three days of the written test. It is possible to consult the exam following a request (by email) to the teacher. It is not possible to refuse the mark.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.