Filters
total: 870
filtered: 844
Search results for: power plant
-
The properties, functions and use of selenium compounds in living organisms
PublicationSelenium occurs in the environment in inorganic and organic compounds. For many years it was regarded as a toxic element, causing numerous illnesses and diseases. But research in the last 50 years has revealed a "bright side" to this element, especially as a component of selenoproteins, selenium makes a significant contribution to the health of humans and animals. The selenium content in an organism depends on its concentration...
-
IMPACT OF DIRECT CURRENT ON NITRIFYING BIOMASS
PublicationEffects of short term exposure of nitrifying biomass to direct current were studied. DC was applied to mixed liquor from municipal BNR plant using graphite electrodes in no substrate limiting conditions. Both, ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) populations were affected by the current, however in opposite ways. The AOB population activity was inhibited by applied voltage. Activity decrease was...
-
Integrated safety and security analysis of hazardous plants and systems of critical infrastructure
PublicationThis article addresses an integrated safety and security analysis approach of hazardous industrial plants and systems of critical infrastructure. Nowadays due to new hazards that emerge there are opinions among experts that these issues require an integrated approach in life cycle, from the design concept, through the design and operation of the plant, to its decommissioning. It is proposed to start from an interesting methodology...
-
Zieleń miejska Gdyni okresu międzywojennego oraz problematyka jej zachowania = Urban greenery of Gdynia of interwar period and the issues of its retaining
PublicationURBAN GREENERY OF GDYNIA OF INTERWAR PERIOD AND THE ISSUES OF ITS RETAINING The subject of this article is the urban greenery arrangement in interwar Gdynia and the issues of its retaining after the II World War. The article will concern retaining the authenticity and integrity of the historic urban greenery of Gdynia, both greenery layouts and the plant material creating it. The author of the article will present in what...
-
Determination of phenylbutazone, sulfamethazine, carbendazim and linuron using a novel pine bark biosorbent for solid-phase extraction (SPE) with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
PublicationThe paper presents a novel pine bark based biosorbent for solid-phase extraction (SPE). The morphology and composition of the pine bark were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The biosorbent was used for the preparation of wastewater for the determination of phenylbutazone, sulfamethazine, carbendazim, and linuron by high performance liquid chromatography with...
-
Lightweight glass and metal roof structures in the 19th century. Architecture and construction.
PublicationThe 19th century brought new construction possibilities. The usage of metal elements in mesh structures, filled in with glass, resulted in creating entirely new types of objects. They have distinguished themselves in architecture and technical solutions. The envelope structures giving spatial interiors were arising very quickly. They have been enabling large light penetration, triggering them extremely bright. Thus these building...
-
Strategies for Achieving Energy Neutrality in Biological Nutrient Removal Systems – a Case Study of the Slupsk WWTP (northern Poland)
PublicationThe paper presents a model-based evaluation of technological upgrades on the energy and cost balance in a large biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the city of Slupsk (northern Poland). The proposed upgrades include chemically enhanced primary sludge removal and reduction of the nitrogen load in the deammonification process employed for reject water treatment. Simulations enabled to estimate the increased...
-
Glucosinolates from lepidium peruvianum as potential antiamnestic drugs
PublicationLepidium peruvianum (maca) (Brassicaceae) is a naturally occurring plant mainly in the high Andes of Peru. In recent years, it has been intensively researched in terms of its influence on various diseases and towards health improvement. Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable disease that most often affects adults over the age of 60. As since 2003 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not approve any new drug for Alzheimer’s...
-
Proportional-Derivative and Model-Based Controllers for Control of a Variable Mass Manipulator
PublicationIn the paper, numerical analysis of dynamics of a variable mass manipulator is presented. A revolute joints composed manipulator is considered. Payload of the gripper is considered as the only element characterized by unknown value of its mass (variable between subsequent operations). As in other cases of the revolute joints composed manipulators, its behaviour dependents significantly on the pose of the manipulator. When the manipulator...
-
Problems in designing and operating the functional safety solutions of higher integriity levels
PublicationThe aim of this article is to identify and discuss some problems that have been encountered in designing and operating the functional safety solutions of higher safety integrity levels (SIL 3 and SIL 4) in the light of analyses outlined in a new version of the international standard IEC 61508:2010. Examples of such solutions are the electric / electronic / programmable electronic systems (E/E/PESs) and the safety instrumented systems...
-
Bioaugmentation of a sequencing batch reactor with Archaea for the treatment of reject water
PublicationIn this study, the bioaugmentation of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for the treatment of reject water from wastewater treatment plant was evaluated. For the bioaugmentation step a product containing an enrichment of microorganisms from the Archaea domain was used to enhance the performance of the reactor for treating reject water. The experiment was carried out in two parallel lab-scale sequencing batch reactors. The first one...
-
Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Model of Dissolved Oxygen Concentration Dynamics in a Bioreactor at WWTP
PublicationThe importance of dissolved oxygen concentration controlinaerationtanksofabioreactoratflow-throughwastewater treatment plant (WWTP) can easily be justified by technological requirements as well as simple economics. Firstly, appropriate levels of dissolved oxygen concentration are essential for the vitality of microorganisms that comprise the bioreactor. Secondly, the costs of dissolved oxygen concentration control related to the...
-
Natural Products Counteracting Cardiotoxicity during Cancer Chemotherapy: The Special Case of Doxorubicin, a Comprehensive Review
PublicationCardiotoxicity is a frequent undesirable phenomenon observed during oncological treatment that limits the therapeutic dose of antitumor drugs and thus may decrease the effec-‐‑ tiveness of cancer eradication. Almost all antitumor drugs exhibit toxic properties towards cardiac muscle. One of the underlying causes of cardiotoxicity is stimulation of oxidative...
-
Synthesis of a state feedback controller for an averaging tank with variable filling
PublicationIn paper, a nonlinear averaging tank with variable filling is considered. The main purpose of this research work was the modelling and control system synthesis of an averaging tank. The control objectives included ensuring stability and zero steady-state error of the system and achieving settling time as short as possible, while maintaining a minimal overshoot. In order to achieve the intended purpose, firstly a mathematical model...
-
Assessment of wastewater quality indicators for wastewater treatment influent using an advanced logistic regression model
PublicationInfluent quality indicators play a significant role in wastewater treatment plant performance due to their correlation with reactor operations and effluent quality. However, selecting a specific/best parameter indicator for predicting influent wastewater quality is one of the challenges in wastewa- ter treatment. This study, therefore, focused on determining suitable variables as influent quality indicators. For this purpose, a...
-
Selection of material for X-ray tomography analysis and DEM simulations: comparison between granular materials of biological and non-biological origins
PublicationPhysical properties and X-ray tomography images of five different granular materials: glass bead, glass grit, short grain white rice, sorghum and clay granules (Seramis) are investigated to select the most promising materials for numerical simulations and time-lapse X-ray tomography imaging. The examined materials represent granular materials of non-biological origin (glass bead, glass grit and Seramis) and granular plant materials...
-
On degradation of glass/polyester laminate immersed in water
PublicationMechanical behaviour was compared for glass/ polyester laminates manufactured in the boatbuilding plant using three methods: hand lay-up, vacuum bagging, infusion. Specimens were tested in dry condition and following accelerated water immersion test (70°C- corresponding to the exposure of 30 years at 19°C). In three point bending test 40-50% reduction in laminate strength was observed due to water immersion. The highest degradation...
-
Removal of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds in Sequencing Batch Reactor
PublicationIn recent years, considerable attention was paid to the presence of organic micro-pollutants such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in the aquatic environment due to their negative impact on public health and aquatic ecosystems. Numerous papers have pointed out API presence as common constituents of effluents from Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). This is the result of various efficiencies of API removal by conventional...
-
The biological role of prolyl oligopeptidase and the procognitive potential of its peptidic inhibitors from food proteins
PublicationProlyl oligopeptidase (POP) is a conserved serine protease belonging to proline-specific peptidases. It has both enzymatic and non-enzymatic activity and is involved in numerous biological processes in the human body, playing a role in e.g., cellular growth and differentiation, inflammation, as well as the development of some neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. This article describes the physiological and pathological...
-
Is sequential batch reactor an efficient technology to protect recipient against non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and paracetamol in treated wastewater?
PublicationThe tested facility was a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Swarzewo, where the wastewater treatment takes place in aeration chambers with activated sludge using sequential batch reactors (SBRs). The concentration of the following pharmaceuticals: ibuprofen, paracetamol, flurbiprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, and its metabolites 5OH-diclofenac and 4OH-diclofenac was tested in influents and effluents. Simultaneously, the conventional...
-
Modeling hydrolysis of slowly biodegradable organic compounds in biological nutrient removal activated sludge systems
PublicationHydrolysis is an important process in biological wastewater treatment and has been known as the rate limiting step in organic carbon removal from municipal or industrial wastewater. The biodegradation of XS is initiated by hydrolysis which is an integral part of activated sludge models, such as the Activated Sludge Model no. 2d (ASM2d). The aim of this study was to evaluate different concepts of modeling the hydrolysis process...
-
A comprehensive approach to SBR modelling for monitoring and control system design
PublicationThe aim of this research is to provide a comprehensive description of the Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) modelling for monitoring, control, and plant operational optimisation validation. The paper provides a detailed modelling of the SBR, its components and constituent processes. For this purpose, the mass balance principle and continuity equations were provided with a reactive term implemented using Activated Sludge Model (ASM)....
-
Golden artefacts, resin figurines, body adhesives and tomb sediments from the pre-Columbian burial site El Caño (Gran Coclé, Panamá): tracing organic contents using molecular archaeometry
PublicationThis research aimed to determine the origin of organic residues from funerary contexts in the El Ca~no settlement (Gran Cocl�e area, Panam�a, Central America) by means of multiple molecular probing techniques (GC-MS of organic solvent extracts and pyrolysis-GC-MS, THM-GC-MS and FTIR of solid samples). The samples include particles of precious resin figurines, fillings of golden objects, tomb sediments, plant exudates from extant...
-
Thermoplastic polyurethanes derived from petrochemical or renewable resources: A comprehensive review
PublicationThermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) materials are obtained by the reaction of polyol (ether-, ester-, and carbonate-based diols with average molecular weight in the range from 1,000 to 3,000 g/mol) with aliphatic or aromatic diisocyanates. Synthesized materials consist of the hard and soft segments which are separated in different level. All mechanical and thermal properties of TPUs depend on the chemical structure of used monomers,...
-
Evidence of mutations conferring resistance to clarithromycin in wastewater and activated sludge
PublicationThe occurrence of clarithromycin in wastewater samples and of the activated sludge bacteria possibly resistant to this pharmaceutical was the object of the study. Samples of wastewater or activated sludge were taken from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in summer and winter and characterised regarding their clarithromycin concentrations and the presence of nucleic acid fragments (Cla-sequences) known to be responsible for...
-
Merging extremum seeking and self-optimizing narrowband interference canceller - overdetermined case
PublicationActive cancellation systems rely on destructive interference to achieve rejection of unwanted disturbances entering the system of interest. Typical practical applications of this method employ a simple single input, single output arrangement. However, when a spatial wavefield (e.g. acoustic noise or vibration) needs to be controlled, multichannel active cancellation systems arise naturally. Among these, the so-called overdetermined...
-
The application of Monod equation to denitrification kinetics description in the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR)
PublicationIn this paper, the kinetic constants Vmax and KCOD occurring in the Monod equation, which describe the denitrification process in the moving bed, are determined. For this purpose, a laboratory moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was used. The filling of the reactor consisted of EvU Perl carriers. The experiment was carried out with an excess of nitrate, and denitrification rate was dependent on the concentration of external organic...
-
Electrochemical detection of 4,4',5,5'-tetranitro-1H,1'H-2,2'-biimidazole on boron-doped diamond/graphene nanowall electrodes
PublicationWe present a promising approach to the electroanalytical detection of a specific nitroaromatic explosive in landfill leachates (LLs) that originated from a municipal solid waste plant. The paper is focused but not limited to the sensing of 4,4',5,5'-tetranitro-1H,1'H-2,2'-biimidazole (TNBI) using differential pulse voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry. Highly electroactive nanocarbon was applied to determine low concentrations of...
-
Elementary analysis and energetic potential of the sludge from the Gdynia Dębogórze and Lębork wastewater treatment plants
PublicationThe paper aims to show the results of the elementary analysis of the sewage sludges from wastewater treatment plants in Gdynia Dębogórze and Lębork as well as measurements of the heat of combustion and the calculated calorific values according to regulation PN-93/Z-15008, taking into account water content and the composition of sewage sludge at different utilisation stages. The results presented in this paper are based on the analysis...
-
Fecal indicators resistance to antimicrobial agents present in municipal wastewater
PublicationIn this study removal rate of six antimicrobial compounds (belonging to folate pathway inhibitors and macrolides class) was analyzed in processes of local wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) together with susceptibility patterns of erythromycin (E) resistant Enterococcus spp. and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (SXT) resistant Escherichia coli. According to the obtained data, six of tested antimicrobial agents, namely erythromycin,...
-
Modeling the Effects of Slowly Biodegradable Substrate at Large WWTP in Northern Poland
PublicationThe essential study was divided into two parts: experimental investigation and mathematical modeling using special platform to computer simulations. In the first part of research an innovative measurement procedure for an indirect determination of the effect of biodegradable particulate and colloidal Xs substrate was developed and implemented. The results of laboratory tests were used futher to verify the mechanism of the hydrolysis...
-
Chemometric Evaluation of WWTPs’ Wastewaters and Receiving Surface Waters in Bulgaria
PublicationWastewater treatment plant (WWTP) installations are designed and operated to reduce the quantity of pollutants emitted to surface waters receiving treated wastewaters. In this work, we used classical instrumental studies (to determine chemicals and parameters under obligations put with Directive 91/271/EEC), ecotoxicological tools (Sinapis alba root growth inhibition (SA-RG) and Heterocypris incongruens mortality (MORT) and growth...
-
A new approach to designing control of dissolved oxygen and aeration system in sequencing batch reactor by applied backstepping control algorithm
PublicationThe Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a very complex system, due to its nonlinearity, time-variance, and multiple time scales in its dynamics among others. The most important control parameter in a WWTP is the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration. The tracking problem of the DO concentration is one of the most fundamental issues in biological wastewater treatment. Proper DO concentration control is necessary to achieve adequate...
-
Influence of alkaline and oxidative pre-treatment of waste corn cobs on biohydrogen generation efficiency via dark fermentation
PublicationStages of waste corn cobs processing leading to the production of biohydrogen via dark fermentation are presented and discussed in this paper. Firstly, the effects of pretreatment conditions i.e. alkaline, alkaline-oxidizing and Fenton oxidizing pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass on the removal of lignin were examined. The solid residue obtained in the first stage was subjected to saccharification by means of enzymatic hydrolysis....
-
Adaptive stochastic and hybrid nonlinear optimization algorithms for improving the effectiveness of the biological processes at WWTP
PublicationWastewater treatment plays an important factor in the modern world. Insufficient treatment may result in environmental pollution which can further lead to disasters and diseases. However, processes that take place inside wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are highly complex in nature, therefore it is difficult to design an efficient, optimal control system. The problem regarding biochemical reactions inside Sequential Batch Reactor...
-
Methane emissions from mangrove soils in hydrologically disturbed and reference mangrove tidal creeks in southwest Florida
PublicationStudies have suggested that some mangrove soils might contribute to wetland methane (CH4) production and emissions, especially when the mangroves are disturbed. CH4 emissions were measured seasonally from nine locations on two mangrove creeks on Naples Bay in southwest Florida, USA. One of the tidal creeks has been impacted in the past few decades with alteration of upstream watersheds and freshwater inflows; the other creek was...
-
Improving Thermal Insulation Properties for Prefabricated Wall Components Made of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete with Open Structure
PublicationPorous concrete is commonly used in civil engineering due to its good thermal insulation properties in comparison with normal concrete and high compression strength in comparison with other building materials. An extremely porous concrete, called ‘lightweight aggregate concrete with open structure’ (LAC), is used in some German plants to produce prefabricated wall components. They are used mainly in hall buildings, e.g. supermarkets....
-
Development and validation of an LC–MS/MS method for the determination of biogenic amines in wines and beers
PublicationBiogenic amines are group of organic, basic, nitrogenous compounds that naturally occur in plant, microorganism, and animal organisms. Biogenic amines are mainly produced through decarboxylation of amino acids. They are formed during manufacturing of some kind of food and beverages such as cheese, wine, or beer. Histamine, cadaverine, agmatine, tyramine, putrescine, and b-phenylethylamine are the most common biogenic amines found...
-
The Caucasian flora: a still-to-be-discovered rich source of antioxidants
PublicationCellular redox homeostasis is a state of balance between the formation of Usually Reactive Oxygen and / or Nitrogen Species (ROS/RNS), endogenous antioxidant defence systems, and exogenous dietary antioxidants. The disturbance of redox homeostasis, by the overproduction of endogenous ROS/RNS, may increase the risk of development of so-called civilisation diseases. The solution seems to be either the increased production of endogenous...
-
The metagenomic approach to characterization of the microbial community shift during the long-term cultivation of anammox-enriched granular sludge
PublicationA metagenomic approach was used to investigate how the microbial community composition changes when an anammox-based granular sludge reactor is seeded with nitritation-anammox biomass from a wastewater treatment plant. In the seed sample, the abundance of Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis was similar to Candidatus Jettenia caeni (12.63 vs. 11.68%). This biomass was typical in terms of microbial nitrogen conversion; both ammonia...
-
Ranking of Generation Source Locations by a Hybrid Multi-Criteria Method
PublicationThe paper presents a ranking of the locations of eight renewable energy sources (RES) made using a hybrid multi-criteria analysis method. The method is a combination of the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) method and numerical taxonomy. The considered generating sources, i.e. solar plants, biogas plants, and wind farms are sources that will significantly contribute to implementing the provisions of the energy and climate package...
-
Phytoremediation of heavy metals by white cabbage
PublicationPhytoremediation is regarded as the cheapest and environmentally most friendly technology for cleaning up soil. The most widespread and most profitable technique is phytoextraction, used mainly for removing heavy metals and radioactive elements from thesoil. Over 400 plant species have been identified as natural metal hyperaccumulators representing about 0.2 % of all angiosperms. Unfortunately, most of these plants are characterised...
-
Presence and distribution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in multiphase activated sludge system
PublicationIn total 237 isolates of coliforms (113 strains) and enterococci (124 stains) from influent, mixed liquor in bioreactor and effluent of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), were isolated on selective media and examined for antibiotic resistance. From 50 to 80% of the coliform strains isolated from the raw and treated sewage were resistant against ceftazidime CAZ, cefuroxim CXM, cefalotin KF and against amoxicillin AML, and only below...
-
The influence of selenium addition during germination of Brassica seeds on health-promoting potential of sprouts
PublicationThe correlation among selenium uptake, the content of bioactive compounds in sprouts, and biological activities triggered in cultured human cells by sprout extracts was investigated. Seeds of Brassica crops and rye were treated with SeO2 water solution. The selenium levels in sprouts increased from 1.0-4.1 to 53.3-382 μg/g dw with no influence on plant physiology according to the indices used. Neither the composition of glucosinolates...
-
The use of Kamienna głowa cabbage species for phytoextraction of zinc and cadmium from the soil
PublicationAlthough traditional technologies for cleaning contaminated soils have proven to be efficient, they are usually expensive, labor intensive, and in the case of soil, they produce severe disturbance. Most recently, the use of plants in metal extraction (phytoremediation) has appeared as a promising alternative in the removal of heavy metal excess from soil. Phytoremediation uses of plant for pollutant stabilization, extraction, degradation,...
-
Self-optimizing narrowband interference canceller - can reference signal help?
PublicationSONIC (Self-Optimizing Narrowband Interference Canceller) is an acronym of the recently proposed active noise control algorithm with interesting adaptivity and robustness properties. SONIC is a purely feedback controller, capable of rejecting nonstationary sinusoidal disturbances (with time-varying amplitudes and/or frequencies) in the presence of plant (secondary path) uncertainties. We show that even though SONIC can work reliably...
-
The role of SSVF and SSHF beds in concentrated wastewater treatment, design recommendation
PublicationThe return flows of reject water from sewage sludge dewatering alter the activated sludge process ina conventional WWTP and increase TN concentration in the final effluent from WWTP. The objectiveof the investigation carried out was to consider the application of multistage treatment wetland(MTW) for the treatment of reject water from sewage sludge dewatering in a centrifuge (RWC). Thispaper aims to present the design and performance...
-
The influence of sterilization with EnbioJet Microwave Flow Pasteurizer on composition and bioactivity of aronia and blue-berried honeysuckle juices
PublicationIn this study, fruit juices that are rich sources of anthocyanins, obtained from aronia (Am. chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa) and blueberry honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L. var. edulis) were used to examine the preservation of plant phytochemicals and bioactivity upon sterilization -either thermal, or with an EnbioJet microwave flow pasteurizer. The chemical properties verified included determinations of anthocyanins and other...
-
Silver nanoparticles induce premutagenic DNA oxidation that can be prevented by phytochemicals from Gentiana asclepiadea
PublicationAmong nanomaterials, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have the broadest and most commercial applications due to their antibacterial properties, highlighting the need for exploring their potential toxicity and underlying mechanisms of action. Our main aim was to investigate whether AgNPs exert toxicity by inducing oxidative damage to DNA in human kidney HEK 293 cells. In addition, we tested whether this damage could be counteracted...
-
Cannabinoids: Challenges, opportunities and current techniques towards its extraction and purification for edibles
PublicationDue to the multiple health benefits associated with the consumption of cannabinoids, there is a current trend on continuing to explore their biological properties. Cannabidiol (CBD) is likely to be the most investigated endocannabinoid from the cannabis plant. Unfortunately, the purification of CBD from its natural source and psychotropic analogue (tetrahydrocannabinol, THC) is timely challenging for the research community based...