SUSTAINABLE USE OF PLANT RESOURCES AND BIOMASSES
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Pre-requisites are not required. Basic knowledge of Plant Biology, Plant Biotechnology, Botany, and Plant Ecology is recommended
The student will have to show:
- to have thoroughly understood the topics covered (basic notional knowledge)
- to be able to identify correlations between the different topics covered, the basic knowledge learned, and their potential applications
- to have the ability to critically analyze the applicative problem considered.
The learning assessment method consists of an oral interview of about 30 minutes to be held at the end of the course. The verification consists of about six questions, two per topic, one of which concerns basic notions and one concerning application problems or experimental examples taken from the scientific literature.
The ‘Sustainable use of plant resources and biomasses’ course represents necessary curricular completion for the student who wants to understand how a plant-based approach can ensure that economic and social development takes place within a context respectful of the most important biological and ecological principles.
In particular, the course is based on theoretical lessons concerning the use of plants for (i) the restoration of severely polluted (phytoremediation) and degraded (bioengineering) ecosystems, and (ii) the production of biofuels. Practical activities will be carried out to acquire the ability to measure morpho-chemical plant biomass characteristics.
This course, therefore, aims to offer both the biological, molecular, and ecological mechanisms that allow plant organisms to be applied for the purposes described above, and an overview of the various types of application, production techniques, and specifications of some primary and secondary products.
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- Design and illustrate recovery and restoration processes of degraded environments using plant organisms;
- Know and discuss the processes for the production of fuels from plant material as well as secondary derivative products;
- Discuss in an integrated way some fundamental elements of plant biology, environmental problems, and traditional techniques, and understand the biological-molecular-ecological basis relating to the two previous points;
- Critically understand a scientific text that deals with anatomical, and physiological properties of plant species to be used for biotechnological applications.
The lectures will deal with the following topics (4.5 CFU, 36h):
Phytoremediation (2.5 CFU)
- History
- Plants and heavy metals
- Rhizosphere
- Techniques for land reclamation (physical, chemical, thermal, and
biological)
- Different types of phytoremediation
- Bioremediation of heavy metal ions using algae
- Plants in naturalistic engineering
- What biochar is and its use as an amendment of polluted technosol
Constructed wetlands (CW) for water phyto-purification (0.5 CFU)
- Background
- Different types
- Functioning
- Applicative examples
Plant biomasses (1.5 CFU)
- Environmental frame (fossil fuels and background)
- Biological principles
- Molecular mechanisms of biomass increase in plants
- Traditional methods
- Forest biomass and agricultural waste
- Thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis, liquefaction, gasification)
- Algae biofuels (types of cultivation, extraction)
- Biochar for enhancing a carbon-negative agriculture
The course consists of 36 hours of lectures supported by the projection of slides in PPT and PDF format. Also, the course includes 18 hours of practical activities devoted to the analysis of chemical and structural characteristics of plant biomass.
RECEPTION HOURS
Preferably by appointment (by e-mail request) or at the end of each lesson. The teacher is available for in-depth meetings or clarifications on the topics, preferably for groups of students, in person, or via Microsoft Teams.