Ernesto Salzano

Verified

Ernesto verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

Verified

Ernesto verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

• Laurea in Chimica Industriale
• Professor (Full) at University of Bologna

This study presents a detailed analysis of the combustion dynamics of hydrogen and methane air mixtures at temperatures ranging from 298 K up to 423 K and at stoichiometric ratio, integrating experimental data of the pressure‐time histories obtained in a 20-liter closed vessel and detailed kinetic simulations by using three independent mechanisms:...

The increasing demand for clean energy solutions has accelerated research on hydrogen as a sustainable fuel. One of the essential parameters for hydrogen combustion and safety is the burning velocity, which directly affects the flame propagation dynamics. In this study, we propose a deep learning-based AI framework for estimating the burning veloci...

The storage of thermally unstable chemicals poses significant risks, including runaway reactions that can lead to severe accidents. Developing inherently safe and cost-effective design strategies for storage vessels is essential for improving chemical plant safety and reliability. This study presents an advanced methodology based on an expanded Fra...

Handling large quantities of thermally unstable compounds in storage vessels can result in severe accidents due to runaway reactions. Therefore, developing inherently safe design strategies for storage equipment is crucial for enhancing chemical plant reliability and preventing hazardous scenarios. The Frank-Kamenetskii theory (FKT) of self-heating...

The chemical industry often handles, stores, and processes molecules like hydroxylamine (HA) and hydrogen peroxide (HP), which can easily undergo thermal decomposition reactions. Hence, the ideal perspective is to have simple quantitative criteria to use during the equipment design phase, accommodating the possibility of exothermic degradations of...

In an era marked by a growing effort towards environmental sustainability, the development of the hydrogen value chain is crucial for the transformation of the energy landscape. From road transport to aviation and maritime applications, numerous investments and ongoing projects aim at implementing clean hydrogen solutions to reshape entire industri...

In the realm of chemical processing, particularly at the industrial scale, safety is of utmost importance. A predominant factor causing accidents within the chemical industry is runaway phenomena, primarily initiated by uncontrolled exothermic reactions. This review critically examines the often‐overlooked decomposition mechanisms as a significant...

• A sensitivity-based methodology for reverse water gas shift reactors is presented. • Different outcomes for reversible and irreversible reactions are elucidated. • Presentation of a single-point procedure propedeutic for a complete stability diagram.

Light alcohols are under investigation in recent years as alternative fuels and in the framework of hydrogen development for its production from bio-resources (Pio et al., 2021). Furthermore, the use of water-diluted alcohols is ubiquitous for the chemical, food, pharmaceutical, and polymer industry, as a solvent or reactant. Hence, detailed analys...

This study delves into the phenomenon of spontaneous ignition of hydrogen gas released from pressurized vessels, pipelines as well as burners into the air, occurring without any ignition source. This peculiar behaviour, observed recently, has prompted numerous attempts to elucidate the process. Their research demonstrated self-ignition at the oxyge...

This study delves into the phenomenon of spontaneous ignition of hydrogen gas released from pressurized vessels, pipelines as well as burners into the air, occurring without any ignition source. This peculiar behaviour, observed recently, has prompted numerous attempts to elucidate the process. Their research demonstrated self-ignition at the oxyge...

Natechs are technological accidents that are triggered by natural disasters. The increase in the frequency and severity of climatic natural disasters along with the growth of industrialization has accelerated the demand for development of dedicated methodologies for risk assessment and management of Natechs. Due to a lack of accurate and sufficient...

In recent years, the adoption of liquid hydrogen (LH2) in industrial and transport applications is becoming increasingly widespread. The high volumetric energy density of LH2 compared to gaseous or compressed hydrogen allows for efficient storage of the fuel. In particular, LH2 is gaining success in the maritime sector because it allows to reduce c...

The thermal instability of hydroxylamine (HA) poses severe concerns in the process industry, while preventive and mitigative strategies are required to reduce the frequency and magnitude of associated decomposition phenomena. From this perspective, formulating an aqueous solution or using derived salts could be a solution for risk reduction. Nevert...

The imperative to adopt environmentally sustainable energy sources has propelled the exploration of zero-carbon alternatives, such as hydrogen and ammonia for energy supply. Integrating these species with methane is recognized as a viable short-term solution. However, a complete understanding of their chemical behaviour in a wide range of condition...

The roadmap of the European Green Deal foresees a wide spreading of hydrogen technologies in the following decade, setting a goal of 10 million tons of domestic, renewable hydrogen production by 2030 (European Commission, 2019). However, the unique thermodynamic characteristics of hydrogen and its possible future implementation in densely populated...

The interest towards hydrogen skyrocketed in the last years. Thanks to its potential as an energy carrier, hydrogen will be soon handled in public and densely populated areas. Therefore, accurate models are necessary to predict the consequences of unwanted scenarios. These new models should be employed in the consequence analysis, a phase of risk a...

The need for sustainable energy sources has recently promoted the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a low-carbon fuel. Although economic evaluations indicate the transportation of LNG as a convenient solution for long distances between markets and reservoirs, several concerns are still present regarding its safe use and transportation. The prel...

The need for sustainable energy sources, as well as the current energetic crisis involving the majority of markets, has promoted the use of cryogenic liquefaction for the transportation and storage of natural gas (i.e., LNG). To guarantee the development of a robust and safe infrastructure, a complete understanding of the main phenomena occurring a...

Liquid hydrogen (LH2) may be employed to transport large quantities of pure hydrogen or be stored onboard of ships, airplanes and trains fuelled by hydrogen, thanks to its high density compared to gaseous compressed hydrogen. LH2 is a cryogenic fluid with an extremely low boiling point (-253°C at atmospheric pressure) that must be stored in double-...

Biomass pyrolysis process from a drop tube reactor was modelled in a plug flow reactor using Aspen Plus process simulation software. A kinetic mechanism for pyrolysis was developed considering the recent improvements and updated kinetic schemes to account for different content of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. In this regard, oak, beechwood,...

Investigations into the combustion characteristics and flame structure of hydrogen/carbon dioxide/air flames have been carried out experimentally and numerically. The aim was to determine the variations of the combustion properties and flame shape for different carbon dioxide dilutions in the H2-air mixtures. For this purpose, premixed flames at va...

Despite the beneficial impact of biofuels on most regulated pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions, their combustion results in the generation of undesired pollutants, such as acetaldehyde and acetic acid. To better understand the chemistry of these species, detailed chemical kinetic models deriving from two alternative strategies for mechanism ge...

In the last decades, the concern about losses of containment of storage materials caused by extreme natural events has largely increased. Furthermore, the release of hazardous materials could lead to fires, explosions, or the emission of toxic clouds into the atmosphere with dramatic consequences for people and the environment. The present chapter...

The generation of renewable energy through carbon-neutral fuels has been initiated by several international institutions. Hydrogen, ammonia and bio-methane are considered the available and most potential solutions for this transfer. However, the technologies for its reliable storage and optimized combustion are still under development or in the pro...

The generation of renewable energy through carbon-neutral fuels has been initiated by several international institutions. Hydrogen, ammonia and bio-methane are considered the available and most potential solutions for this transfer. However, the technologies for its reliable storage and optimized combustion are still under development or in the pro...

Light alkenes are common combustion intermediates for a variety of fuels. Therefore, understanding their oxidation and pyrolysis chemistry is key to building detailed mechanisms for heavier fuels. This work was focused on the development and evaluation of a detailed kinetic mechanism suitable for the combustion of light alkenes up to C4 without the...

Hydrogen can play a central role in the energy transition thanks to its unique properties. However, its low density is one of the main drawbacks. The liquefaction process can drastically increase its density up to virtually 71 kg m-3 at atmospheric pressure and-253°C (NIST, 2019). The safety knowledge gap on physical explosions is still broad in th...

The adoption of hydrogen has been largely indicated as a feasible solution to support society in achieving its ambitious targets for a low-carbon future. The increased knowledge in liquefaction techniques has encouraged the study of technological solutions based on liquid hydrogen (LH2). Moreover, handling and distribution under cryogenic condition...

The production of carbon-neutral fuels through clean energy has been defined as a target by the European Union and by several international institutions. If the concepts are available, hydrogen, in particular, is considered to be one of the most target-oriented, ecologically and economically realizable approaches. In terms of safety, long-time stor...

The production of clean energy via carbon-neutral fuels has been included in a road map within several international institutions. Among the available alternatives, hydrogen has been largely considered as one of the most promising solutions. However, technologies for its safe storage and optimized combustion are still under development or on a prot...

The current trends in environmental impact reduction have promoted natural gas and hydrogen either as short-or long-term solutions. In both cases, liquid transportation in cryogenic form is associated with new concerns in terms of safety aspects. So far, infrastructures based on utilizing the liquefied natural gas (LNG) in port areas have been deve...

Dealing with pressurized releases of CO2 from Carbon Capture and Storage systems is of topical interest for the safety assessment of such infrastructures. Evidence shows that a sublimating bank of CO2 can be formed following a loss of containment, which acts as a delayed source of heavy CO2 gas. This source of hazard requires estimation in terms of...

The continuous increase in consciousness on properties and models characterizing cryogenic fuels has opened a new era for the supply of alternative sources of energy, especially in the naval sector. However, practical insights providing comprehensive indications for the development of safe and optimized procedures are still missing or lacking. In t...

Compressed hydrogen gas is considered the most convenient and robust technological solution for long-term storage. However, several safety concerns are still under investigation. This work presents an experimental and numerical characterization of the jet flame produced after the accidental release from a high-pressure tank containing pure hydrogen...

The challenges of ensuring green shipping and green ports force ports to adequately and safely implement engineered systems for the distribution and supply of LNG in port areas that meet the requirements of Seveso Directive. As the process of LNG bunkering is only seemingly similar to classical oil bunkering or liquid cargo, the handling of the tec...

This work was focused on the characterization of flash fire scenarios resulting from the accidental release of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by keeping into account vapour stratification and temperature gradient, which deeply modify the combustion phenomena for the standard homogeneous cloud. An open-source computational fluid dynamic (CFD) tool was...

The need for sustainable energy has incentivized the use of alternative fuels such as light alcohols. In this work, reduced chemistry mechanisms for the prediction of fires (pool fire, tank fire, and flash fire) for two primary alcohols—methanol and ethanol—were developed, aiming to integrate the detailed kinetic model into the computational fluid...

The presented state of the art can be intended as an overview of the current understandings and the remaining challenges on the phenomenological aspects involving systems operating at ultra-low temperature, which typically characterize the cryogenic fuels, i.e., liquefied natural gas and liquefied hydrogen. To this aim, thermodynamic, kinetic, and...

Geo-resources are widely exploited in our society, with huge benefits for both economy and communities. Nevertheless, with benefits come risks and impacts. Understanding how such risks and impacts are intrinsically borne in a given project is of critical importance for both industry and society. In particular, it is crucial to distinguish between t...

The need for lowering the environmental impacts has incentivized the investigation of biomass and biofuels as possible alternative sources for energy supply. Among the others, oxygenated bio-derived molecules such as alcohols, esters, acids, aldehydes, and furans are attractive substances as chemical feedstock and for sustainable energy production....

This paper summarises the main achievements of the project “Sustainability Performance of LNG-based maritime mobility”- (SUPER-LNG), financed by the Adriatic Ionian Interreg framework. Within this project, guidelines for safety reporting, risk assessment, and emergency planning of small scale LNG facilities and bunkering operations at ports have be...

The minimum ignition temperature of dust suspension (MIT) and the hot surface ignition temperature of the dust layer (LIT) are essential safety parameters for the process industry. However, the knowledge of the ignition behavior when solid mixtures of flammable fuels and phosphorous-free inhibitors are considered is still scarce and further experim...

"Science for disaster risk management 2020: acting today, protecting tomorrow", is the European Commission’s flagship report, the second of its series, produced by the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre within the JRC. The report represents a collaborative effort of more than 300 experts on disaster risk, coming from different sectors and d...

The presence of sulfur-based substances in the biogas (sour) produced from the digestion plant imposes several treatments to match the market and regulation requirements. Besides, it lays the production plants open to safety and environmental risks related to the accidental release of toxic species. This work is devoted to the investigation of the...

The understanding of dust explosion is still incomplete because of the lack of reliable data and accurate models accounting for all the physic-chemical aspects. Besides, most of the experimental data available in the current literature has been accumulated on the 20-l spherical bomb tests, which gives coarse results for the pressure history that ca...

Hydroxylamine may decompose explosively if processed and stored in certain conditions, posing critical safety issues that need to be carefully addressed. A key aspect is related to the characterization of chemical aspects involved in the explosive decomposition of hydroxylamine (HA), requiring accurate and detailed kinetic mechanisms. This work was...

Ethanol is increasingly growing as feedstock for syngas production. In this work, a detailed kinetic mechanism for the oxidative steam reforming (OSR) of ethanol over a Pt-Ni/CeO2-SiO2 catalyst has been compared against experimental data and apparent kinetics. The rate of production and sensitivity analyses were performed to identify reaction paths...

The growing energy demand and more stringent environmental regulations have raised concerns about the production and use of alternative fuels. Due to the potential application of the resulting gaseous streams in turbines as an energy source, slow pyrolysis of biomass including municipal waste have been extensively studied under various situations a...

The environmental concerns on the use of fossil fuels have incentivized the utilization of cleaner solutions for energy supply. Natural gas in the form of a liquid (LNG) is considered a promising and highly attractive alternative due to the high density and relatively low cost of transportation. In the case of accidental release on water, elevated...

Industrial facilities where relevant quantities of hazardous chemicals are stored or processed may be direct or indirect targets of malicious acts of interference, including cyber or physical attacks. In the case of direct attacks, one or more process units may be damaged within the installation, often with the clear willingness of triggering domin...

In the framework of security vulnerability assessment of industrial plants, stand-off distances indicate the threshold distance from the physical domain of the installation for the occurrence of domino effects triggered by shock waves, projectiles, heat radiation or explosive fragments produced by explosives, firearms or large-scale fire initiated...

Accidental explosions may propagate their effects in the far-field due to the propagation of the generated pressure wave in the unconfined space, which in turn can damage any industrial equipment containing a significant amount of hazardous material (i.e., domino effects). Due to the complex nature and the intrinsic large uncertainties characterizi...

Hydrogen is one of the best candidates in replacing traditional hydrocarbon fuels to decrease environmental pollution and global warming. Its consumption is expected to grow in the forthcoming years. Hence its liquefaction becomes necessary to store and transport large amounts of this fuel. However, a liquid hydrogen (LH2) boiling liquid expanding...

The simultaneous rise in hydrogen economy and cryogenic liquefaction techniques for long-distance storage and transportation has incentivized the development of technological solutions based on the liquefied hydrogen. However, detailed models accounting for the peculiar phenomena of this cryogenic system in the case of accidental release, namely cr...

The knowledge of the combustion chemistry of oxygenated fuels is essential for the development of detailed kinetic mechanisms suitable for the combustion processes involving biofuels. Moreover, epoxidized olefins, are increasingly used as chemical intermediates or as bulk chemicals. Nevertheless, a dearth of data for their reactivity in the oxidati...

Hydrogen is becoming an attractive alternative for energy storage and transportation, because of the elevated energy content per unit of mass and possibility to have zero carbon-emission vehicles. For these reasons, hydrogen's share in global market is expected to grow substantially in the coming years. Today, hydrogen-fueled buses and cars are alr...

Hydrogen is largely considered as an attractive additive fuel for hydrocarbons and alcohol-fueled engines. Nevertheless, a complete understanding of the interactions between blended fuel mechanisms under oxidative conditions at low initial temperature is still lacking. This study is devoted to the numerical investigation of the laminar burning velo...

The utilization of low-quality gaseous fuel from biomass gasification and the abundance of oxygen-rich streams obtained as a by-product of nitrogen-air separation by membrane technology has incentivized the development of sustainable oxygen-enriched combustion technologies in the last decades. However, a dearth of experimental and numerical analysi...

The metal-based catalytic oxidation of alkenes to the corresponding epoxides is playing a significant role in the modern chemical industry. Nevertheless, these key processes are still lacking proper understanding with respect to the gas-phase runaway behaviour (thermal explosion) and to the hot spot formation on the catalytic surface, under the typ...

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is becoming a viable, “green” alternative to marine fuel oil for ship propulsion. The present study investigates the expected impact on sustainability of innovative ship fuel systems based on the use of LNG. For the sake of comparison, conventional technologies for ship fuel systems, based on marine fuel oil, were consid...

Recent natural disasters that seriously affected critical infrastructure (CI) with significant socio-economic losses and impact revealed the need for the development of reliable methodologies for vulnerability and risk assessment. In this paper, a risk-based multi-level stress test method that has been recently proposed, aimed at enhancing procedur...

Get a free of charge copy of this publication until February 7th, 2020 on the following link https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319919341047?dgcid=coauthor

The direct epoxidation of light olefins is a key process of the chemical industry. However, several concerns regarding industrial and safety aspects, such as the occurrence of runaway reactions and the relevance of side reactions reducing process selectivity, are still under investigation. To this aim, a reactor operation diagram was obtained under...

The direct epoxidation of light olefins is a key process of the chemical industry. However, several concerns regarding industrial and safety aspects, such as the occurrence of runaway reactions and the relevance of side reactions reducing process selectivity, are still under investigation. To this aim, a reactor operation diagram was obtained unde...

The knowledge of alkane/alkene chemical interactions in gaseous mixtures are fundamental for several industrial applications as they represent the main compounds of the pyrolysis gas produced in stream cracking process, or in the oxidative coupling of methane, or even as component of biogas. However, reliable and comprehensive empirical correlation...

In the recent years the growing interest for cleaner and low carbon content energy sources has addressed the development of several industrial and civil applications based on methane, hydrogen, and their mixtures. The use of these gases rises, however, several technological issues for the storage and the transportation systems. Among others, cryoge...

Environmental regulations have strongly incentivized the development of alternative technologies and renewable sources for the energy supply, including bio-syngas and low-temperature combustion. However, accurate estimation methods for low-temperature chemistry of these mixtures are still missing. Hence, experimental data with the limited impact of...

The use of methane is commonly adopted as thermal diluent and chemical inhibitor in the partial oxidation of alkenes, in order to avoid the occurrence of unwanted reactions and full oxidation. Moreover, methane-alkene mixtures are commonly present in several industrial applications such as petrochemical processes. In this work, experimental data fo...

The prediction of flame extinction, soot formation and heat transfer for kerosene (pool) fires is a key aspect for the characterisation of aviation fuels. In particular, one of the main numerical challenges is the description of complex interactions of chemical and physical phenomena. This work is devoted to the individuation of an optimised surrog...

Natural hazards like earthquakes, flooding and tsunami can severely impact process industry facilities. Their effect go beyond the usual examined failure causes and quite always determine domino effects in a context of Natech (Natural-Technological) events. Among these, seismic events are characterized by a large destructive potential that negativ...

Industrial infrastructures may be subjected to severe damage by strong winds, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. For instance, the two hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, in the Gulf of Mexico (United States) resulted in multiple damages to approximately 611 industrial equipment such as offshore platforms, oil pipelines, and storage tanks. This ty...

There is an increasing industrial interest towards long-chain hydrocarbons, also due to the fact that they can be obtained from renewable organic materials. These substances are flammable and, under certain conditions, can explode. Nevertheless, very few experimental data are available on their thermal and kinetic characteristics and, more specific...

A case study of multiple massive detonations that occurred in a chemical warehouse is presented. The explosions occurred after a fire had spread for about 20 min in the warehouse. Two firefighters among all those have already arrived suffered minor bursts. The detonations destroyed the warehouse and caused severe damages to neighboring buildings th...

Share Link https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1ZCsC3O6UQSxFA Anyone clicking on this link before July 31, 2019 will be taken directly to the final version of the article on ScienceDirect

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been largely indicated as a promising alternative solution for the transportation and storage of natural gas. In the case of accidental release on the ground, a pool fire scenario may occur. Despite the relevance of this accident, due to its likelihood and potential to trigger domino effects, accurate analyses addres...

The number of biodiesel production plants is rapidly growing around the world, and the related “green” technologies are developing to full industrial scale within a brief time. The exploitation of these relatively new technologies with a low operational experience is however leading to an increase in the number of accidents in this industrial secto...