Paola Russo

• Professor
• Professor (Full) at Sapienza University of Rome

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are employed in a range of devices due to their high energy and power density. However, the increased power density of LIBs raises concerns regarding their safety when subjected to external abuse. The thermal behavior is influenced by a number of factors, i.e., the state of charge (SoC), the cell chemistry and the abuse...

Among the new energy carriers targeted at mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, the use of hydrogen is likely to experience substantial growth in the future. In this context, the transport of liquid hydrogen by means of road tankers might represent the most cost-effective option for delivery over long distances in the short-term perspective. Liquid...

This research evaluated the storage characteristics of dried pumpkin packed in two different films: polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene (PE) by accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) at three storage temperatures: 30, 40, and 50 °C. Weight loss, pH, water activity, color, and total microbial count of the samples were monitored at fixed times duri...

The thermal runaway (TR) is the main safety concern of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Methods for predicting and preventing TR are critical to achieve greater battery safety. Many researchers have studied the reactions that take place inside the cell and that because of their exothermicity trigger the TR. In this work the coupled electrochemical-the...

The addition of nanoparticles could allow to upgrade the performances of biopolymers, making them fit to replace petroleum-based plastics. In order to maximize the sustainability benefits of bio-nanocomposites, it is fundamental to opportunely tune their bulk properties by acting on their nanostructure. In particular, in nanocomposite blends the fi...

Thermal abuse of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) leads to the emission of gases, solids, fires and/or explosions. Therefore, it is essential to define the temperatures at which key events occur (i.e., CID activation, venting, and thermal runaway (TR)) and to identify the related emissions for identifying the hazards to which people and especially resc...

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used as an efficient and rapid tool in studying the conformational transitions between the folded and unfolded structures of cellulolytic enzymes. The thermal properties of two crude hydrolytic enzyme cocktails containing extracellular cellulases from Trichoderma longibrachiatum DIBAF-10 were analyzed and...

The aim of this study was to explain the mechanical differences between EdgeTaper Platinum (ETP) and ProTaper Gold (PTG) determining the transition temperatures and the composition of the alloy of ETP, since no data are present in literature. A total of 130 instruments were selected: 65 ETP F2 and 65 PTG F2. 20 instruments per type were submitted t...

Introduction Since there are no data regarding an instrument recently introduced on the market (OneRECI), the aim of the study was to assess its mechanical and metallurgical properties comparing them with those of widespread reciprocating instruments such as Reciproc, Reciproc Blue, EdgeOne Fire and WaveOne Gold. Methods A total of 65 NiTi files f...

An in-depth evaluation of the mechanical and metallurgical properties of NiTi instruments is fundamental to assess their performance and to compare recently introduced instrument with widespread ones. According to this, since there are no data on this topic, the aim of the study was to mechanically and metallurgically evaluate an instrument recentl...

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...

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are employed when high energy and power density are required. However, under electrical, mechanical, or thermal abuse conditions a thermal runaway can occur resulting in an uncontrollable increase in pressure and temperature that can lead to fire and/or explosion, and projection of fragments. In this work, the behavior...

A multidisciplinary protocol is proposed to monitor the preservation of fresh pumpkin samples (FP) using three commercial polymeric films: A made of biodegradable cellophane from regenerated cellulose pulp; B from corn starch, cassava and eucalyptus, C made of polylactic acid from corn starch, and a polyethylene film used as reference (REF). Chemic...

Beer antioxidants originate mainly from malts, classified as colored, caramel, and roasted, according to the malting process. This study aimed to characterize, in terms of phenolic antioxidants, three types of Pale Ale craft beers brewed using increasing percentage of dark malt (0, 5, and 15% Caraamber malt, called PA100, PA95, PA85, respectively)...

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of drying temperature and innovative pre-treatments (i.e., microwave and ultrasound) on “Rocha” pear drying behavior and quality characteristics, such as color, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Experiments were carried out with pear slabs subjected to microwaves (2450 MHz, 53...

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques are widely used in food science, mainly because they are non-invasive techniques. MRI, as a non-destructive technique, allows the study of intact samples and without any preparation of the samples before analysis. In food processing, the monitoring of distribution and...

In a previous paper the effect of chemical pre-treatment on quality attributes of ‘Annurca’ apple slabs dried at different temperatures was investigated. Herein, we evaluated the effect of the same pre-treatment on the quality attributes of the same dried ‘Annurca’ apple samples rehydrated at two temperatures. Specifically, slabs were initially pre...

Failure of a pipeline carrying gaseous hydrogen can have several effects, some of which can pose a significant threat of harm to people and damage to buildings in its immediate proximity. This paper presents a probabilistic risk assessment procedure for the estimation of damage to people and buildings endangered by high-pressure hydrogen pipeline e...

The paper investigated the effect of a physical surface abrasion of goji berries on drying kinetics and the evolution of phenolic compounds at 323, 333 and 343 K. A diffusion model was developed to describe the drying process. The effective diffusion coefficient estimated by the model ranged from 7.5*10‐9 to 4.2*10‐8 m2/s for cylinder and 2.0*10‐9...

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...

Many analytical methods for polyphenols determination in food and beverages can be found in literature, but most of them need time-consuming sample pre-treatment. Conversely, methods are missing for a rapid screening of not pre-treated samples, with useful application in agri-food industry, from process control to fraud. Selected Ion Recording mass...

Li-ion batteries had a great development in recent years, and their use has grown massively because of their higher energy and power density with respect to traditional ones. However, their high energy density implies great danger in the event of malfunctions or failures, due to the emission of toxic and highly flammable substances. In the worst ca...

The heat capacity of di-, tri- and tetramethylammonium lead iodide perovskites of general formula (CH3)xNH4–xPbI3 (where 2≤x≤4) has been determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in the temperature range 289–473 K using the step-scan mode. Standard molar values C⁰p(298 K) of di-, tri- and tetramethylammonium lead iodide perovskites were...

Drying characteristics of persimmon, cv. “Rojo Brillante”, slabs were experimentally determined in a hot air convective drier at drying temperatures of 45, 50, 55, 60, and 65 °C at a fixed air velocity of 2.3 m/s. It was observed that the drying temperature affected the drying time, shrinkage, and colour. Four empirical mathematical models namely,...

Questo documento è il frutto delle attività svolte dal GDL e costituisce uno studio di base sulle problematiche di sicurezza dello stoccaggio dei sistemi di accumulo realizzati con tecnologie al litio, laddove con il termine “stoccaggio” si è deciso di individuare: le attività connesse alla logistica (stoccaggio passivo) nelle quali lo stato di car...

Questo documento è il frutto delle attività svolte dal GDL e costituisce uno studio di base sulle problematiche di sicurezza dello stoccaggio dei sistemi di accumulo realizzati con tecnologie al litio, laddove con il termine “stoccaggio” si è deciso di individuare: le attività connesse alla logistica (stoccaggio passivo) nelle quali lo stato di car...

This study investigated the effect of different degrees of dealcoholization on volatile compounds, phenols and sensory characteristics of red wine (cv. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo). The wine with an initial alcohol content of 13.2% v/v was partially dealcoholized by membrane process with a decrease of alcohol degree as follows: − 4.9; − 6.3; − 7.8, − 9...

Fire prevention in museums is a much more complex matter because thesafeguarding of human life must be integrated both with the protection of the cultural heritage of buildings and the unrepeatability of the works of art exhibited. While most fires cannot be prevented, implementing complementary safety measures can help both to mitigate the negativ...

The reduction of alcohol content in wines has two main objectives, the former is decreasing the wines’ strength and the latter is producing new low alcohol beverages. To accomplish the latter, in this study, we focused on the dealcoholization of a white wine (cv Falanghina, 12.5 vol%) obtained from an ancient Italian grape variety that has recently...

The main features of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are high energy and power density, which make this storage technology suitable for portable electronics, power tools, and hybrid/full electric vehicles. Moreover, during conditions that lead to failure, Li-ion battery cells could undergo into a process called thermal runaway, which has resulted in...

‘Annurca’ apple, a southern Italian cultivar, is known for its reddening, taste and flavour among the other types of apples, and also for health promoting effects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a novel pre-treatment, by dipping in a solution containing trehalose, sodium chloride, sucrose, and of drying process conditions (tempe...

Pipelines are the most efficient method of transporting large quantities of hydrogen, and the low volumetric energy density of gaseous hydrogen requires that the gas must be compressed to extremely high pressure to be used as a transport fuel. The failure of high pressure hydrogen gas pipelines and subsequent explosion may induce heavy damage to bu...

The influence of an alternative chemical pretreatment on dehydration and rehydration of an Italian ecotype pumpkin was investigated. The pretreatment consisted of soaking the slices in a diluted solution of trehalose, sucrose and NaCl. Hot air-drying was performed in a convective dryer at temperatures of 55, 60, 65 and 70°C. Samples treated prior t...

The paper shows the findings of fire simulation for various types of vehicles located in different longitudinal positions within a road tunnel. This is an issue that researchers have little investigated over time and so very few studies are available in the literature. The corresponding environmental conditions (expressed in terms of temperature, r...

The production of low alcohol beer (LAB) with a full and well-balanced flavour is still now a complex challenge because of the different flavour profile they have compared to regular beers. In this study, a brown ale beer was used to obtain a low alcohol beer by osmotic distillation in a small pilot plant. Beer-diluted carbonated solutions were use...

The production of low alcohol beer (LAB) with a full and well-balanced flavour is still now a complex challenge because of the different flavour profile they have compared to regular beers. In this study, a brown ale beer was used to obtain a low alcohol beer by osmotic distillation in a small pilot plant. Beer-diluted carbonated solutions were use...

Norme tecniche applicabili ai sistemi di accumulo stazionario realizzati con celle litio-ione e sodio: analisi critica e valutazione della rispondenza alle necessità di indagine ai fini della sicurezza.

A preliminary characterization of two new soft-seeded pomegranate varieties (MR-100® and KINGDOM®) based on their main physico-chemical and nutritional parameters was reported. The two varieties showed significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in polyphenols, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity. Kingdom pomegranate had higher polyphenols (2524.73 mg GAE...

Smoldering combustion in power/dust deposits constitutes a significant problem in some process industries. Numerous bulk materials produce heat due to different biological and oxidation processes. Spontaneous heating occurs if the rate of heat generation by an exothermic process is fast relative to the rate of heat loss to the surroundings. Such ph...

In the preceding work Brasiello et al. (2013) developed a mathematical model for eggplant's dehydration taking into account the shrinkage effects. Although the model provided good results in predicting the total water weight loss of slices, at that time, no information was given about the capability of predicting water content profiles inside the m...

A simple and reliable approach for sizing the hazard area potentially affected by a jet fire as consequence of the failure of high-pressure pipeline is proposed. A release rate model, taking pipeline operation properties and source release properties into account, is coupled with SLAB dispersion model and point source radiation model to calculate t...

We show how to distribute firebreaks in heterogeneous forest landscapes in the presence of strong wind using complex network centrality measures. The proposed framework is essentially a two-tire one: at the inner part a state-of- the-art Cellular Automata model is used to compute the weights of the underlying lattice network while at the outer part...

A combined pretreatment of trehalose (0.5 %) and NaCl (0.5 %) solution was applied prior to drying eggplant to reduce shrinkage, browning and loss of polyphenols. Drying behaviour of eggplant slabs was experimentally examined in a convective dryer at temperatures of 50, 60 and 70 °C and at 2.3 m/s air velocity. Then the effects of pretreatment and...

Nel caso d'innesco di un incendio covante all'interno di un silo, i fenomeni di combustione senza fiamma fanno in modo che, al rischio di esplosione da polveri combustibili, si aggiunga un pericolo di esplosione legato allo sviluppo di gas di combustione, tra i quali il monossido di carbonio, per sua natura infiammabile. Pertanto, la possibilità di...

In questa nota si presentano i primi risultati di un progetto di ricerca di un gruppo interdisciplinare dell'Università degli Studi di Salerno e di Roma "La Sapienza", che ha analizzato il processo di evacuazione in caso di incendio da palazzo Fruscione, un edificio di rilevante interesse storicoculturale ubicato nel centro storico della città di S...

The failure of natural-gas pipelines often induces heavy damage to buildings. Proper safety distances should thus be defined as land use policy to ensure that an acceptable risk level is not exceeded. In this paper, such an issue is addressed for existing reinforced concrete framed buildings. A probabilistic risk analysis procedure is proposed to e...

The practice of dealcoholization is used nowadays to reduce the alcohol content in beverages, and osmotic distillation seems to be a convenient membrane process due to its mild operating conditions. The focus is on the quality of final beverage which may lack in taste, flavor, and body. The aim of this work was to evaluate the quality attributes of...

We discuss a new systematic methodology to mitigate wildland fire hazard by appropriately distributing fuel breaks in space. In particular, motivated by the concept of information flow in complex networks we create a hierarchical allocation of the landscape patches that facilitate the fire propagation based on the Bonacich centrality. Reducing the...

Based on complex network theory, we propose a computational methodology that addresses the spatial distribution of fuel breaks for the inhibition of the spread and size of wildland fires on heterogeneous landscapes. This is a two-tire approach where the dynamics of fire spread are modeled as a random Markov field process on a directed network whose...

A three-dimensional CFD model was developed to simulate the turbulent flow field induced by dust feeding and the associated dust dispersion within the 20-L explosion vessel equipped with the perforated annular nozzle. The model was validated against experimental data for pressure and root mean square velocity.Simulation results have shown that the...

Several accidents have shown that framed building structures may suffer significant loss of columns if they are relatively close to natural-gas pipelines. As column loss may trigger a progressive collapse of the structure, this kind of risk should be assessed and mitigated. In this paper, a quantitative risk assessment procedure is presented for th...

Drying is an important process for the conservation and subsequent marketing of fruits due to their high water activity which makes them highly perishable. Dried products have to meet high quality standards, and one of the most important aspects in fruit drying is the need to obtain products with uniform organoleptic properties. Therefore, the know...

Goji (Lycium barbarum L.) is a Solanaceous deciduous shrub that grows in China, Tibet and other parts of Asia. Nowadays, goji berries are known as being very rich in nutrients with high antioxidant capacity, fact for which they were included in the novel category of “superfruits”. Goji berries contain high amounts of antioxidants, carotenoids, vita...

The effect of the standard dust dispersers, rebound nozzle and annular nozzle, in the 20. L explosion vessel on the particle integrity has been quantified. Dispersion tests were run and measurements of the particle size before and after dispersion and of the elastic recovery of the materials were performed. The effect of the dispersion pressure was...

The drying of grapes is a more complex process compared to the dehydration of other agricultural materials due to the necessity of a pretreatment operation prior to drying. Grape drying to produce raisins is a very slow process, due to the peculiar structure of grape peel, that is covered by a waxy layer. Its removal has been so far carried out by...

We propose a computational methodology based on complex network theory for distributing fuel breaks to reduce the spread rate and size of wildland fires. The development of fire spread is modeled via a lattice network on the basis of a cellular automata model. We illustrate the proposed approach through a simplistic example which considers a square...

tAlcohol-free beer is a secondary product of brewing industry, nevertheless, its productionis motivated by the global trend for healthier lifestyle and the awareness about the ben-efits of moderate beer drinking. A modified osmotic distillation was investigated in orderto minimize the loss of volatile compounds, to reduce the water consumption and,...

In the work presented in this paper, the explosion and flammability behavior of combustible dust mixtures was studied. Lycopodium, Nicotinic acid and Ascorbic acid were used as sample dusts. In the case of mixtures of two dusts, the minimum explosive concentration is reproduced well by a Le Chatelier's rule-like formula, whereas the minimum ignitio...

A CFD model was developed with the aim at simulating the turbulent flow field and associated dust dispersion in an agitated spherical explosion vessel. Simulations were performed in the presence of two counter-rotating fans and also after having switched-off the fans.Numerical results have shown that the dust mainly accumulates at the center of the...

A range of energy crops can be grown on marginal land (i.e. land that is not suitable for food crop production or contaminated site) to provide feedstocks for bioenergy, non-food products and biofuels. The food versus fuel debate had a significant negative impact in Europe on first generation biofuels production from food crops (i.e. wheat, rapesee...

A computational approach for identifying efficient fuel breaks partitions for the containment of fire incidents in forests is proposed. The approach is based on the complex networks statistics, namely the centrality measures and cellular automata modeling. The efficiency of various centrality statistics, such as betweenness, closeness, Bonacich and...

The non-alcoholic beverage industry is influenced by the trend of the consumers towards healthier diets and added convenience and greater health benefits in their beverage choices. With the world's changing approach to alcohol, operators need to find new beverages respect to the alcoholic ones. An alternative consists in the development of beverage...

With the terms “complex hybrid mixtures“, we mean mixtures made of two or more combustible dusts mixed with flammable gas or vapors in air (or another comburent).In this work, the flammability and explosion behavior of selected complex hybrid mixtures was studied. In particular, we investigated mixtures of nicotinic acid, lycopodium and methane. We...

in questo articolo si presentano i risultati di un progetto di ricerca di un gruppo interdisciplinare dell’Università degli Studi di Salerno e di Roma “La Sapienza” che, in continuità con studi precedenti, ha analizzato l’evoluzione degli incendi generati in gallerie stradali bidirezionali e la loro influenza sui processi di esodo attraverso simula...

Different osmotic agents (OA), such as potassium acetate (CH3COOK), potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), have been examined as alternatives to the traditionally used calcium chloride (CaCl2) for osmotic distillation concentrating of clarified and pre-concentrated sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) juice. Comparison of the process...

The paper investigated the effect of hot-air drying (50, 60 °C) on the physical properties of cylindrical eggplant samples. Drying kinetics, water profiles along longitudinal and transversal sample sections through nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and volumetric shrinkage were determined. During the drying process at 50 °C, the volume of re...

Two varieties of grapes, white grape and red grape grown in the Campania region of Italy were selected for the study of drying characteristics, moisture diffusion, quality changes (colour) and shrinkage behaviour. Comparisons were made with treated and untreated grapes under constant drying condition of 50o C in a conventional drying system. This t...

Measurements of flammability and explosion parameters for dust/air mixtures require uniform dispersion of the dust cloud inside the test vessel. In a previous work, we showed that, in the standard 20 L sphere, the dust injection system does not allow generation of a uniform cloud, but rather high gradients of dust concentration are established. In...

Powder products are frequently meet as dust mixtures in industrial processes. However the effect of mixing combustible dusts on the flammability and explosion behaviour of their mixture is still unclear. This work dealing with the explosibility and flammability of dust mixtures made of Nicotinic acid and Lycopodium. Explosion tests on the 20-L expl...

A number of high-profile incidents involving transmission pipelines in urban and environmentally sensitive areas have recently focused public attention on pipeline safety. The consequences of incidents that involve large diameter, high-pressure transmission pipelines can pose a significant threat of damage to people and properties in the vicinity o...

In this work, we propose a risk-assessment approach based on Cellular Automata (CA) simulations which incorporate both theoretical/ first principles and (semi)empirical fire behavioural models. The proposed approach can deal with spatial heterogeneity in both the fuel and landscape characteristics, can be coupled with Geographical Information Syste...

The effect of size on the severity of explosions involving flocculent materials has been simulated by means of a model previously developed for spherical particles and here extended to the cylindrical geometry of flock. The model consists of the identification of the regime (internal and external heating, pyrolysis/devolatilization reaction, and vo...

Osmotic distillation technique was used for the total dealcoholization of a red wine (Aglianico grape variety) up to 0.19vol.%. The dealcoholization process was performed in subsequent cycles which gave rise wine samples at different alcoholic degrees. The effect of processing on the main chemical and physical properties of Aglianico wine was evalu...

A CFD model was developed with the aim at simulating the turbulent flow field induced by dust feeding and dispersion within the 20 L bomb, and the associated effects on the distribution of dust concentration. The model was validated con-sidering a set of data (pressure time histories and root mean square velocity) available in the literature. The t...

Multiple explosions occurred when five workers were acting on a footbridge structure at the top of crude olive pomace oil tanks. Welding on the tank roofs was performed without previously cleaning the tanks stopping their operation. First, one of the several ∼ 650-m3 reservoirs exploded, provoking a pool fire that spread throughout the tank farm. R...

On the 29th of June, 2009 the derailment of a rail-tanker containing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the Viareggio station produced a large cloud of flammable vapours, which ignited in a flash-fire, causing 31 fatalities and extensive property damage. The literature models applicable to the simulation of flash fires differ for the hypothesis made...

Prevention and mitigation measures for dust explosion are based on the knowledge of the thermokinetic parameters which characterise flammability such as Minimum Explosible Concentration, MEC, and explosion behaviour such as maximum explosion pressure, PMAX, and deflagration index, KSt. Measurements of these parameters are performed in spherical ves...