Geothermal power plants with improved environmental performance: assessment of the potential for an Italian site

Geothermal energy is a clean resource, which could significantly contribute to the reduction of greenhouse and other gas emissions by replacing fossil fuels for power generation. In many geothermal sites, the resource contains substantial Non-Condensable Gases (NCGs: CO2 and contaminants), whose emissions can be limited to developing power plant schemes suitable for complete resource reinjection. Organic Rankine or other closed-loop cycles are definitely favored in this light. This work investigates a solution for complete NCG reinjection in the liquid-dominated reservoir conditions typical of the Monte Amiata area (Italy), referring to the specific site of Torre Alfina (IT) which presents a specific attractiveness because of its high pressurization. The solution considered avoids flashing the resource and thus presents an appealing environmental performance. The power plant models include energy and exergy balances, as well as exergo-environmental analysis. The overall environmental performance is evaluated by a simplified (preliminary) Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Different solutions are compared, considering the possibility of sub- or super-critical power cycles.

The Italian Site for KM3NeT ARCA

The Italian site for KM3NeT, located in the Ionian Sea about 100 km offshore Capo Passero, South East of Sicily, is dedicated to host (at least) two building blocks of the ARCA (Astronomy Research with Cosmics in the Abysses), comprising 230 Detection Units aiming at measurement of high-energy neutrino fluxes and discovery of their sources. The existing infrastructure is under upgrade within the framework of the IDMAR project jointly funded by Regione Siciliana and INFN. IDMAR at Capo Passero will be run in connection with the other abyssal infrastructure built by INFN 25 km offshore the town of Catania at 2100 m depth, hosting the Western Ionian Sea node of EMSO-ERIC.

An intriguing middle-sized horse from Coste San Giacomo (Anagni Basin, central Italy)

Various species and ecomorphotypes of the genus Equus are recorded in several southern European Early Pleistocene local faunal assemblages (LFAs), though their taxonomy, phylogenetic relationships, and chronological distribution are still a matter of debate. This article aims to increase knowledge on the European pre-Olduvai stenonoid horses by describing and discussing the equid sample from the middle Villafranchian (Gelasian) Italian site of Coste San Giacomo (CSG; Anagni). Although horse remains from CSG are scanty, the morphological traits, dimensions, and proportions of teeth and some limb bones suggest some affinities with middle-sized European stenonoid horses, in particular with Equus senezensis, as supported by statistical analysis. This opens a new window on the possible phylogenetic relationships of the middle-sized, slender middle Villafranchian horses, although some questions about their actual taxonomic rank cannot be firmly answered based on available data. The complex relationship among environment, structure of the accompanying mammalian fauna, and the presence in the Early Pleistocene LFAs of only one equid, large or middle-sized, or even of more horse species with different size is briefly discussed.