Que faire? A Bioeconomy and Solar Energy Institute at Italy's Research Council in the Context of the Global Transition to the Solar Economy

Father Verspieren and Mali Aqua Viva: Lessons Learned from Fighting Drought and Poverty with Photovoltaic Solar Energy in Africa

Almost fifty years after the first installations, I identify the main lessons learned from fighting drought and poverty in Africa with direct solar-powered pumps, thanks to Father Bernard Verspieren and Mali Aqua Viva. Six main findings and three main recommendations emerge from the present analysis. They are of direct relevance to all the countries in Africa whose population has gone from 438 million in 1977 to 1308 million in 2019, with about 600 million still having no access to electricity. In place of “awareness campaigns” and extraordinary courses held by international organizations, I recommend the establishment of national solar energy institutes whose task will include the education of solar energy professionals and giving practice-oriented workshops on solar-powered drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting throughout each of Africa’s countries. This education will critically include the economic and social aspects of distributed “generation” of energy and water from sunlight and rainfall.

Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics: A Critical Perspective on the Dawn of their Global Adoption

The global adoption of biodegradable and compostable plastics obtained from biomass-derived monomers, we argue in this account, is now close to the inflection point. The first industrially significant impact will affect the packaging segment of the global chemical industry. In this process, China and India will play a pivotal role. Selected guidelines aiming to foster development of bioplastics industry in both developed and developing nations are provided.

Solar Energy and New Energy Technologies for Mediterranean Countries

The replacement of fossil fuels to produce electricity and heat to propel vehicles with solar energy, along with other new energy technologies, will bring significant economic, environmental, and social benefits to all Mediterranean countries. The transition to new energy, however, calls for a proactive and creative role of policy makers.

Omega-3 Extraction from Anchovy Fillet Leftovers with Limonene: Chemical, Economic, and Technical Aspects

We investigate selected chemical, technical, and economic aspects of the production of fish oil rich in polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids from anchovy filleting leftovers using d-limonene as the extraction solvent at ambient temperature and pressure. Entirely derived from the orange peel prior to orange squeezing for juice production, the bio-based solvent is easily recovered, affording a circular economy process with significant potential for practical applications.

Meet the Board of ChemistryOpen: Mario Pagliaro

Mario Pagliaro is a chemistry and energy scholar at Italy's Research Council based in Palermo (Italy). The research of his group focuses on the broad areas of nanochemistry, solar energy, and bioeconomy, which has been developed in co-operation with leading researchers in Italy and abroad. He was appointed Fellow by the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2014, and has been President of Palermo's public energy utility. In 2008, he co-founded Sicily's Solar Pole, working towards the Institute of Solar Energy and Bioeconomy at Italy's CNR. He currently serves as an active Editorial Advisory Board member for ChemistryOpen.