Method for environmental impact assessment of human-induced small-medium activities: the case study of wood biomass supply chain

. Climate change evolution, joined by other environmental issues, will lead in the coming years to a rapid introduction of new actions and technologies. They will have to resolve, in the different economic sectors, one or more aspects of the current unsustainability. The relevant risk is that, in urgent conditions where the unreleased practices will be proposed, the assessment of their environmental impact will remain limited to their specific field/sector. Therefore, the evaluation would not be extended to any wide-ranging environmental effects. Without an accurate assessment it would be impossible to determine whether the solution was more damaging and burdensome to the environment than the initial problem. Small-medium anthropic activities do not possess, from the economic point of view, the means and the duty to achieve an impact analysis ad hoc. This work aims to describe an analysis methodology developed for the environmental impact assessment of Small-Medium Enterprises. It is both exhaustive and easily applicable to small work activities and processes. This methodology is aimed both at business managers and at local authorities. The identified method of analysis allows an exhaustive evaluation of the whole forest energy chain and the identification of technical choice with less impact on the environment.


Introduction
Ciate chage evuti ied by ther evireta issues wi ead i the cig years t a rapid itrducti f ew actis ad techgies They wi have t resve i the differet ecic sectrs e r re aspects f the curret usustaiabiity The reevat ris is that i urget cditis where the ureeased practices wi be prpsed the assesset f their evireta ipact wi reai iited t their specific fiedsectr Therefre the evauati wud t be exteded t ay wideragig evireta effects Withut a accurate assesset it wud be ipssibe t deterie whether the suti was re daagig ad burdese t the eviret tha the iitia prbe Fr iprtat actis the ethd fr the Evireta Ipact Assesset (EIA) are defied by the aw1 ad stricty ctred This ethd is very uspecific ad targeted t reduce ad prevet evireta ipacts  a arge scae Thus it des t tae it accut specificay the Saediu Eterprises (SEs) 2 Saediu athrpic activities d t pssess fr the ecic pit f view the eas ad the duty t achieve a ipact aaysis ad hc ess fiacia resurces ae difficut the idetificati ad use f the Best Avaiabe Techgies (BAT) ad suitabe wr prcedures t decrease riss fr the ihabitats f the territry ad the eviret 3 Hwever the avaiabiity f a sipified ad guided fraewr wud ae the cpusry assesset techicay ad ecicay feasibe There is therefre the eed t adapt sipify ad stadardise the evireta ipact assesset ethds fr a faster ad easier ipeetati whie siutaeusy awig a cprehesive evauati f the evireta ipacts The bective f this study is t preset a sipified aaysis ethdgy fr a crrect ad rapid aaysis f sa pats r prductive activities ad the idetificati f their ipact  the surrudig territry This ethd was appied t bth existig activities ad pats bth i the desig ad prttype phases It has bee vaidated thrugh the appicati f stadardised ethdgies such as easureets ad appicati f dispersi des fr estiatig the evireta ipacts The case study chse t test the prpsed ethd is the wd biass suppy chai fr the wd t the eergy cversi Give the strg icetivisati i the ast years the use f wd biass as reewabe surce f eergy ad heat is steadiy grwig This is due t the avaiabiity f wd ad the cpetitiveess f wd biass cpared t traditia fue i ters f cst ad perfrace 47 2 Literature der systes usig wd biass prve t be highy cpetitive cpared with fssi fues especiay as regards destic heatig The aut f avaiabe wd biass i Eurpe shud esure bth the deads arisig bth fr wdwrig ad eergy purpses 8 Wd biers are eergig heatig systes which are attractive fr their reducti f C2 eissis 9 but whse use ay wrse ca air quaity cditis cpared t traditia heatig systes Resuts 10 11 shw that the evireta perfraces f wdchip biers at the ca scae are t as gd as thse f atura gas biers Hwever the effect  ca air quaity f der wd biers is sigificaty wer tha thse f traditia stves sice their eissis are sigificaty wer 12 The wd trasprtati phase is sigificat i ters f putat eissis 13 14 Sa pats which have eeds that ca be guarateed by the surrudig territry are becig icreasigy widespread especiay i areas where there are scattered frested areas (ie utaius area) These pats if techgicay advaced have w eissis but sti eed ctr t esure that the ipact  the territry is iia ad iited ad t avid the depeti f frest resurces A eviretay sustaiabe use f this eergy surce aiy depeds  a crrect expitati f the frest resurces ad  the atspheric putats eissis ctr Assuig that the tiber csupti is suitaby reguated by the frest aageet picies 15 the evireta ipact f these systes is ast fuy reated t putat eissis i the atsphere These are due t tw typgies f surces at the ca ad regia scae The frer is due t the reease f cbusti prducts fr the heatig systes ad the atter t the reease f putat fr vehices trasprtig the wd The chice f shrt suppy chai ipicates that the st sigificat eissis derives fr the biass burig prcess Especiay i case f icpete cbusti wd burig causes eissis f particuate atter (P) 16 17 ad vatie rgaic cpuds (VCs) ther cpuds that are very harfu fr the hua heath ad the eviret such as hydrchric acid dixis ad furas ay fr i the evet that the tiber is ctaiated by chrie ad i particuar peratig cditis f the heat geeratr uerus studies shw that the cbusti f biass as a fue is a sigificat surce f P 18 ad gaseus eissis such as VCs 19 pycycic aratic hydrcarbs (PAHs) 20 ad X 21 The ifuece f the fue characteristics  the quatity ad cpsiti f the eissis has bee the subect f severa studies 22 23 Severa studies aayse the actua ifuece f these systes  air quaity 24 25 aiy fcusig  the ccetratis f P due t its wew heath effects 26 The suitabiity f the adpti f these systes has t be carefuy evauated i regis where atspheric P ccetratis are sigificat This is the case f the P Vaey ad f a eighburig apie vaeys The ipact that such eissis ay have  ca air quaity is t easy t assess fr the differet ccurret causes 27 rever a ethd fr the bservati f ca eissis f P ca ifuece ca air ccetrati ad hep the idetificati f better sutis

Method
The ethdgy was deveped with the purpse f use bth by frestry aagers ad ca authrities The frestry aagers eed a ethdgy t deterie the best desig chices taig it accut the distictive features f each case ifuecig the idetificati f the best chices ca authrities istead have t verify that ipeetig ca wd biass suppy chai des t ipact the eviret bth i reati t the depeti f frest resurces ad t the eissis resutig fr the biass cbusti The ethd csists f a sipified ad adapted variat f the DPSIR (Drivers Pressures State Ipact ad Respse) ethd aready described i ther pubicatis 28 29 DPSIR is a fraewr fr describig the iteractis betwee sciety ad the eviret deveped by the Eurpea Evireta Agecy (EEA) 30 The ai variatis t the stadard ethd have bee ade t aw a quic appicati ad easy idetificati f the ai ipacts eve by pepe withut a specific whw The utiate users f the ethd are ca authrities ad pat aagers Thrugh a divisi it eeetary phases it is pssibe t idetify the driver (ie the surces f ipacts) T faciitate the idetificati f every pssibe surce f ipact the drivers are cassified it equipet aterias wr eviret ad wr rgaisati This cassificati ad the divisi it eeetary phases aw us whe the pressures  the eviret are idetified t arrive at a uitary deteriati f the sae greaty faciitatig the quatificati Fr se factrs it is easier t arrive at a quatificati (ie eergy ad raw aterias used waste prduced etc) whie thers (ie ise gas r dust eissis etc) eed t csut the techica idicatis f aufacturers ad desigers If this assesset is ade at the desig stage y a quaitative estiate ca be ade ad differet scearis have t be csidered The uitary deteriati f the pressures greaty faciitates their deteriati but aes it re difficut t deterie the ipacts  the surrudig eviret Differet pressures cud ipact the sae evireta cpet ad therefre there is the eed t uderstad the iterreatiship betwee the differet pressures T assess the ipacts a wedge f the state f the territry is ecessary Differet idicatrs t describe it are idetified T quatify the is iprtat t aayse a the existig evireta data 31 y a idepth wedge f the actua state f the territry aws us t deterie the subsequet ipacts Ipacts are idetified by deteriig the chage i each idetified evireta idicatr deteried by each pressure First ipacts are quaitativey idetified by assigig a red yew ad gree ratig assesset t the idetified ipacts This first aaysis ay be sufficiet if the ga is t priritise iprveet itervetis ad idetify critica issues This assesset is fte sufficiet fr ca authrities ad pat aagers If there are sigificat criticaities a re deteriistic estiate is ecessary with the ivveet f experts but it is t the priary bective f the prpsed ethd beig destied fr a quic use Durig the devepet ad appicati phase f the ethd bth easureets ad deig were used bth fr a quatitative evauati ad fr a vaidati f the ethd t deterie its accuracy

Results
The ethd has bee appied bth t stadard activities ad the prttype pat 32 The ters stadard eas activities which are wew ad spread ag the cpaies wrig i the frest eergy fied The ethdgy was appied i particuar t the frest yards t the fue wd teria ad t the heat geeratrs The ethdgy was dified i rder t adapt it t differet characteristics ad wr eviret The btaied resuts awed t deterie what peratia steps are the st critica with regard t the ipact  the eviret The techica itervetis ad peratia prcedures t put i pace t reduce these issues were as deteried The ai f the ethd appicati t a prttype pat is t bserve i particuar its ifuece i the desig phase ad hw it has t e dified i rder t ptiise this phase The ai is t ipeet the aaysed syste befre the cstructi phase as uch as pssibe rever the appicati f the ethd ca be see as a startig pit i the hypthesis f eed f EC abeig i case f aretig f the prttype pat The chse prect csisted i the cstructi f a itegrated syste fr dryig tiber pas ad eergy recvery f wd byprducts The prttype was cated i a apie vaey cated i the rthwest f Itay The ethdgy was appied bth i the phase f pat desig ad pat ipeetati I this way dificatis cud be appied i a the desig ad cstructi phases The st sigificat ipacts are the aterati f the air quaity ad the dificatis i the ise eve ad csequet ayace fr the pepe ivig earby (Tabe 1) I rder t deterie if the ethd cud satisfy a the bectives set at the begiig f the aaysis it has t be appied t assess the cuuative ipacts caused by the whe frest eergy chai Tabe 2 shws the ai ipacts fr each phase f the suppy chai ad a assesset f the ipacts thrugh red yew ad gree rati assesset The tabe aws us t bserve hw a rea assesset f the cuuative ipacts is difficut thrugh the y appicati f the ethd y a quaitative deteriati f the ipacts is pssibe A quaitative assesset hwever is t sufficiet i the case f the ipeetati f differet pats i the sae territry Therefre the ethd is dified itegratig it with further aaysis Hwever the ethd aws us t deterie that the st sigificat ipacts are the use f wd resurces ad the air quaity aterati These aspects are very sigificat i the case f the spread f wd biass heatig systes There wud be ideed the eed t deterie the ifuece that a sigificat uber f these systes cud have  a area

Air quality alteration
Alteration of the environmental acoustic quality

Timber drying
Soil use Alteration of the landscape

Energy production
Use of wood resources

Soil use Air quality alteration
Alteration of the landscape

Use of resources for energy distribution
Hydrosphere Biosphere Anthroposphere Lithosphere Atmosphere

Discussion
The vaidati f the evireta ipact assesset ethd was ade by carryig ut the easureets fr the st sigificat haard factrs I this particuar case they were P eissis ad ise Give the psiti f the pat withut residetia areas earby ise was csidered egigibe easureets t quatify P eissis were therefre carried ut i the pat chiey ad exteray ear the surce The carried ut itrig was aied at the characterisati f the prttype pat bect f study as a eissive surce reative t particuate atter The fur eissis tests at the chiey shwed resuts withi the iit vaues set by the techica stadards 33 I rder t assess airbre putats eissis the prttype pat has bee csidered as a eissive surce reative t particuate atter with P10 as idicatr The Eurpea P10 iit vaues fr ife evirets 34 are csidered y idicative sice they represet ccetrati iits at the receptr f daage The stadard ethdgy 35 was appied fr easurig the ccetrati f particuate atter cse t the eissive surces (ear fied) T assess hw a surce f eissis cud ifuece a territry gter sapig itrig ear the receptrs pit shud be desiged i rder t bserve the dificati i air quaity The ai f the carried ut easureets is t assess the pressures  the territry derivig by the surces The itrig resuts shw a vera eissive fraewr cpatibe with the territry With the excepti f few vaues csiderig as the presece f utiers ad the dirty rad ear the easurig pit the P10 itrig capaig has t evideced a cear ipact fr the prttype pat at the testig cati The resuts were cpatibe with the quaitative assesset de thrugh the appicati f the ethd Ideed the eissis derivig fr this id f syste are t sigificat i a case by case assesset but the utces cfir the eed t assess the cuuative ipacts i the hypthesis f differet pats i the sae territry The best way t assess the is the deig f the grud ccetrati thugh dispersi de This issue has bee csidered i ther pubicatis 10 11 The resuts have shw a perceivabe reducti f P ccetrati if the der appicati f a wd heatig syste was cuped with ather reewabe surce (ie phtvtaic syste) ad iprved buidig eergy perfrace

Conclusions
The eed t dea quicy ad puctuay with the evireta usustaiabiity f the varius ecic sectrs has ed t the eed t quicy assess whether the prpsed sutis are actuay iprveets t y i ters f ca ipact but as  a arger scae The ai f the research was t idetify a ethdgy fr expeditius aaysis The ethd f aaysis was directed t tw differet etities-the peratrs f the frest wd eergy sectr ad the ca authrities Therefre it had t esure a expeditius ad cprehesive study f the aspects csidered ad at the sae tie the sustaiabiity f this suti with a view f the territria spreadig The ai issue et durig the devepet f the ethdgy was its eed t be suitabe t fte very differet wrpaces ad techgica ateratives Fr this reas ce the ethdgy was drafted it was appied t case studies begig t differet ets f the suppy chai t vaidate it by taig it accut the highest uber f pssibe typica characteristics The ethd has therefre bee ipeeted accrdig t the btaied resuts ad the difficuties experieced The appied ad vaidated ethdgy fit adequatey t the differet specificities f the idetified case study ad ade it pssibe t idetify the criticaities case by case The vaidati f the ethd thrugh the appicati f stadardised ethdgies shws hw the deveped ethdgy ca be csistet with the ais f the research ad suitabe accrdig t the csidered pits f view Whie i the appicati t a sige case the ethdgy resuted as cpatibe with the ais f the research the eed t ipeet dedicated ts t assess the cuuative ipacts f differet pats as a de fr the dispersis f putats has eerged fr the vaidati Therefre i the case f the adpti f this desig hypthesis by the ca authrities the ethdgy shud icude the itegrati cstituted by dedicated easureets evauati f resurces avaiabiity ad evetuay putat dispersi des