Mushroom cultivation needs a selected organic substrate obtained during a composting process which is, in some aspects, quite different from the classical one. The aim is to analyse chemical and physical aspects of a composting process for mushroom cultivation in order to point out the peculiar characteristics, which enable a much faster preparation of the substrate. Raw materials were straw, chicken manure, gypsum and ammonium sulphate. In a very short time (11-13 days) the process led to a well-stabilised biomass, as it was shown by humification indexes, C/N ratio trend, organic carbon oxidation and ammonia nitrogen concentration decrease. In comparison to the classical composting procedure, a lower level of ammonia nitrogen and an organic nitrogen enrichment were present in the compost for mushroom cultivation. In addition, the high level of the substrate moisture, more than 75%, well above the limit normally recommended, has probably favoured the microbial growth rendering the process more efficient and faster.

A co-generative plant situated in Northern Italy (CPN) was used to test an approach for evaluating the environmental pros and contras of using wood chips of different origin as biofuel. The EROI (Energy Return On Energy Investment) of the plant was also assessed. Used woodchips were of the two main categories and were obtained from i) natural ligneous trees from energy crops and ii) uncontaminated ligneous biomasses from agriculture and forestry wastes. Woodchips were characterized by determining the relevant physical and chemical properties for the plant functioning. Biofuels used in CPN have different physical properties and this may be the reason explaining a lower performance of some features (LHV and bulk density) of the wood chips from energy crops compared to agriculture and forestry recovery materials. Although recovered material contained higher Cl, S and heavy metal levels than wood chips from energy crops, but LHV (Low Heating Value) and lower price of recovery materials suggested that this one could be a good alternative source of energy especially in developing countries. This observation demands frequent integrity checks of the pollutants in order to guarantee a low level of environmental risks. This results obtained enable a comparison between the different kinds of materials used and an energy analysis to assess sustainability in the studied territory.