In 2018, the project aimed at supplementing that which had already been produced in the 2015-2018 three-year period by working on the following areas and specific goals:

Waste-to-energy

• Standardisation:annual scientific contribution to the work of national (CTI) and international (CEN, ISO) committees in technical standardisation pertaining to energy recovery from waste and solid waste fuels (SRF)
• International activities: annual scientific contribution to studies and dissemination activities promoted by IEA Task 36Bioenergyon technological andgovernance aspects (support todecision makers) pertaining to the energy use of waste
• Characterisation of urban waste production and national MBT and W-t-Eplant design: update of DB RSE Bioenergia database.

Bio-hydrogen from agro-industrial residues

• Life Cycle Assement of Microbial Production of Bio-H₂from rice husk residue: integration of the energy-environmental assessment of the production process (dark fermentation) produced in the previous year taking into account the products avoided (savings in the use of artificial fertilizer from the use of digestate output from the production process)
• Lyfe Cycle Costing of Microbial Production of Bio-H₂from rice husk residue: assessment of the economic competitiveness of the production process (dark fermentation) investigated in previous years, compared to the main production technologies currently available on the market or under experimentation.

Biogas and biomethane

• Bio-methanation: state of the art and feasibility study on biological methanation of biogas as a technology for upgradingbiogas to biomethane that is alternative to existing chemical-physical technologies as well as a Power-to-Gas
• Participation of biogas plants in the Balancing Market: analysis of the contribution that flexible plant operation (nominal capacity of 1 MW) can bring to the balancing of the electricity grid in terms of the available power margin; estimation of the financial profit a plant operator may potentially obtain by offering this service.
• Standardisation: scientific contribution to the annual activities of national (CIG) and international (CEN) committees active in the technical standardisation of biomethane and its feed-in

Combustion of agricultural residual biomass

• Technology for direct combustion of corn stover bales: implementation and functionality testing of the biomass input pre-treatment system as an integral part of the pilot plant implemented in the previous year

Pollutant emissions from biomass plants

• Pollutant emission abatement technology: functional testing of the innovative combined flue gas treatment device (particulate and NOx) at a wood biomass-fired thermal power plant
• Standardisation:scientific contribution to the annual activities of national (UNI) and international (CEN, ISO) committees operating in the field of technical standardisation of measurement methods of emissions and air quality.