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Search results for: SOLID WASTE, ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, CARBON CYCLE
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Presence of antibiotics in the aquatic environment in Europe and their analytical monitoring: Recent trends and perspectives
PublicationThe presence of antibiotics and their metabolites in the aquatic environment exerts a negative impact on all organisms. Moreover, the easy migration of these substances to drinking water may also have serious consequences for public health, such as drug resistance. Although antibiotics and their metabolites are detected in surface waters and wastewater, there are still no systemic solutions preventing environmental pollution with...
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Partial inhibition of borohydride hydrolysis using porous activated carbon as an effective method to improve the electrocatalytic activity of the DBFC anode
PublicationCarbon materials are commonly used catalyst supports in various types of fuel cells. Due to the possibility of designing their properties, they seem to be attractive and functional additives. In Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells (DBFCs), the electrooxidation reaction of borohydride competes with the undesirable hydrolysis reaction, therefore our work aimed to modify anodes based on a multi-component hydrogen storage alloy with a small...
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Analytics of airport runoff water samples
PublicationThe everyday activities at airports, such as aircraft and ground vehicle washing, cleaning, de/anti-icing operations, fuelling, and fuel combustion, removing weeds are the main sources of airport industrial wastes. Runoff waters from airport areas constitute a serious environmental problem as they contribute to air, water, and soil pollution. The paper supplies general information on the technologies for treating airport runoff...
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Research on the phenomena of warming up and free cooling down the car engine
PublicationThe average cold start temperature in Europe is 9 degrees C. However, not the average is the most important for the composition of exhaust gases and associated air pollution. The most onerous for the environment are the winter starts when automotive emissions of harmful gases add up in cities with those of home heating systems. The paper presents preliminary studies of warming up and cooling down processes in various environmental conditions....
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An Impact Analysis of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) on Bats. A Case Study of the Historic Monument and Natura 2000 Wisłoujście Fortress in Gdansk, Poland
PublicationThe artificial light at night (ALAN) present in many cities and towns has a negative impact on numerous organisms that live alongside humans, including bats. Therefore, we investigated if the artificial illumination of the historic Wisłoujście Fortress in Gdańsk, Poland (part of the Natura 2000 network), during nighttime events, which included an outdoor electronic dance music (EDM) festival, might be responsible for increased...
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Silicon oxycarbide ceramics as anodes for lithium ion batteries: influence of carbon content on lithium storage capacity
PublicationWe report here on the synthesis and characterization of silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) in view of its application as a potential anode material for Li-ion batteries. SiOC ceramics are obtained by pyrolysis of various polysiloxanes synthesized by sol–gel methods. The polysiloxanes contain different organic groups attached to silicon, which influence the chemical composition and the microstructure of the final ceramic product. The structure...
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A review on gasification and pyrolysis of waste plastics
PublicationGasification and pyrolysis are thermal processes for converting carbonaceous substances into tar, ash, coke, char, and gas. Pyrolysis produces products such as char, tar, and gas, while gasification transforms carbon-containing products (e.g., the products from pyrolysis) into a primarily gaseous product. The composition of the products and their relative quantities are highly dependent on the configuration of the overall process...
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Catalytic activity of Ni-MgAl2O4 modified with transition metal (Ti, Mo, W) carbides as potential catalysts for resource recovery via dry reforming of waste plastics
PublicationThe growing amounts of plastic waste and CO2 emissions are two environmental threats that require urgent attention. Pyrolysis combined with dry reforming (PCDR) is a technology that allows both CO2 utilization and resource recovery from waste plastic. New catalysts for PCDR are crucial for developing efficient and stable processes that can be widely implemented in the industry. In this study, Ni/MgAl2O4 catalysts modified using different...
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Tackling microplastics pollution in global environment through integration of applied technology, policy instruments, and legislation
PublicationMicroplastic pollution is a serious environmental problem that affects both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Small particles with size of less than 5 mm, known as microplastics (MPs), persist in the environment and pose serious threats to various species from micro-organisms to humans. However, terrestrial environment has received less attention than the aquatic environment, despite being a major source of MPs that eventually...
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Recycling of waste tires in the light of binding law in Poland
PublicationA risings of large quantities of used rubber products, especially used tires has been increasing every year in Poland, in 2006 it was 160 thousand. The waste management and recycling of used tires become a major environmental problem. Well known methods of utilization of used tires are presented in this article. The main problem is ignorance of the law by tyre manufactures and users. In Poland first act on waste introduces ban...
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Modelling Coarse Particulate Matter PM10 Concentration in the Tricity Area Using GIS
PublicationEnvironmental pollution is an issue of global concern, with Particulate Matter (PM) poisoning being a prime cause of lung cancer. This has led the European Commission to establish strict daily and annual PM concentration limits. The monitoring of air quality in major cities is the responsibility of European Member States. The Tricity, a 414.81 km 2 area in northern Poland, is monitored by a network of only 9 stations operated by...
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Relevance of the EU Structural Funds’ Allocation to the Needs of Combating Air Pollution in Poland. Analysis of the Operational Programmes of Regions Threatened With Critical Air Pollution from Distributed Energy Sources
PublicationRecent years, the European Environmental Agency, has been reporting air quality parameters in Poland, as the poorest among all the EU countries. Despite of adoption of the EU legislation on energy efficiency and energy performance of buildings, existing legal solutions occur insufficient in reducing air pollution in Polish regions. Lack of an effective schemes supporting complex thermal renovation of buildings, exchange of inefficient...
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Mechanics of Micro- and Nano-Size Materials and Structures
PublicationNanotechnology knowledge is always looking to expand its boundaries to achieve the mostsignificant benefit to human life and meet the growing needs of today. In this case, we can refer tomicro- and nanosensors in micro/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS). These electricaldevices can detect minimal physical stimuli up to one nanometer in size. Today, micro/nano-sensordevices are widely used in the...
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Analytical applications and physicochemical properties of ionic liquid-based hybrid materials: A review
PublicationIonic liquids with their unique properties found so far numerous analytical applications. Among them ionic liquids immobilized on the surface or within the pores of a solid support were successfully utilized in extraction techniques dedicated to preconcentration of the analytes from food, environmental and biological samples. In this review we focus on comprehensive summarizing of available literature data on the examples of ionic...
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Comprehensive Enhancement of Prepolymer-Based Flexible Polyurethane Foams’ Performance by Introduction of Cost-Effective Waste-Based Ground Tire Rubber Particles
PublicationMaterial innovations in polyurethane (PU) foams should ideally combine performance enhancement, environmental impact limitation, and cost reduction. These goals can be achieved by applying recycled or waste-based materials without broader industrial applications, implicating their low price. Herein, from 5 to 20 parts by weight of ground tire rubber (GTR) particles originated from the recycling of postconsumer car tires were incorporated...
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Adsorptive Removal of Aqueous Phase Crystal Violet Dye by Low-Cost Activated Carbon Obtained from Date Palm (L.) Dead Leaflets
PublicationUp to now, water pollution is still one of the important issues and challenges worldwide, due to its environmental, economic and human life impacts. It is also remains a challenge to environment scientists and technologists. Nowadays, the textile dyeing industry is considered one of the largest water consuming industries and produces large volumes of colored wastewater in its dyeing and finishing process. In this study, date palm...
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Green products from herbal medicine wastes by subcritical water treatment
PublicationHerbal medicine wastes (HMWs) are byproducts of medicine factories, which are mainly landfilled for their environmental problems. Only bearing in mind the contamination and concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental emissions, the worth of herbal medicine wastes management and conversion to green products can be understood. In this work, subcritical water treatment was carried out batch-wise in a stainless tube...
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Investigation of catalytic layers on anode for solid oxide fuel cells operating with synthetic biogas
PublicationIn this paper solid oxide fuel cells operating with dry synthetic biogas have been examined. In order to increase their stability the layers of CuO-CeO2, Cu1.3Mn1.7O4 and Y0.08Sr0.92Ti0.8Fe0.2O3 -δ have been deposited on the Ni-YSZ anode site. These layers should catalyze the internal biogas reforming and prevent the carbon deposition on the anode site. It has been found that CuO-CeO2 and Cu1.3Mn1.7O4 catalysts led to an increase...
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Perspektywy wykorzystania olfaktometrii i elektronicznego nosa w badaniach stanu środowiska
PublicationIn environmental state investigations the two approaches are dominate: field olfactometry and instrumental methods. In contradiction to classical chromatographic methods, both field olfactometry and electronic nose (e-nose) in based on the analysis of the aroma as a whole, without separating gaseous mixture (air) to individual aromatic compounds. With respect to simplicity of use and relatively short time of analysis, both systems...
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State of the art in the field of emission reduction of sulphur dioxide produced during coal combustion
PublicationThe need for clean coal technologies to reduce the adverse environmental impact of coal combustion products has been grounded. The article deals with information concerning present and future technologies, directed towards the struggle against air pollution by SO2, produced during coal combustion. Their classification and critical rating from economical and technological points of views (including those developed by authors) have...
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Application of ionic liquids in microextraction techniques: Current trends and future perspectives
PublicationIonic liquids (ILs) with their unique properties found so far numerous analytical applications. Among them ILs both in their liquid form and immobilized on the surface or within the pores of a solid support were successfully utilized in microextraction techniques. The scope of this review will cover a comprehensive summarizing of available literature data on selected properties of ILs playing a key role in analytical purposes,...
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Ground tire rubber functionalization as a promising approach for the production of sustainable adsorbents of environmental pollutants
PublicationWaste tires management and further utilization are currently one of the biggest concerns regarding the environment and human health protection. At present, shredding, grinding, or pulverization of waste tires are the most popular options for industrial recycling. Although many solutions for ground tire rubber (GTR) applications were checked and verified so far, their further implementation at an industrial scale is still very limited....
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Assessing groundwater vulnerability to pollution in the Puck region (denudation moraine upland) using vertical seepage method
PublicationDegradation of groundwater quality can cause a serious water supply and environmental problems. The identify of potential groundwater pollution can be determined by assessment of groundwater vulnerability method. The assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution was based on estimation of migration time of potential conservative contamination through the vadose zone. Area of investigation is a type of denudation moraine...
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Compact High Efficiency and Zero-Emission Gas-Fired Power Plant with Oxy-Combustion and Carbon Capture
PublicationReduction of greenhouse gases emissions is a key challenge for the power generation industry, requiring the implementation of new designs and methods of electricity generation. This article presents a design solution for a novel thermodynamic cycle with two new devices—namely, a wet combustion chamber and a spray-ejector condenser. In the proposed cycle, high temperature occurs in the combustion chamber because of fuel combustion...
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Multifunctional catalyst-assisted sustainable reformation of lignocellulosic biomass into environmentally friendly biofuel and value-added chemicals
PublicationRapid urbanization is increasing the world's energy demand, making it necessary to develop alternative energy sources. These growing energy needs can be met by the efficient energy conversion of biomass, which can be done by various means. The use of effective catalysts to transform different types of biomasses will be a paradigm change on the road to the worldwide goal of economic sustainability and environmental protection. The...
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Landscape as a Potential Key Concept in Urban Environmental Planning: The Case of Poland
PublicationRapid urban development increases the consumption of materials, energy, and water, resulting in an overproduction of waste and emissions. These cause many environmental threats, such as ozone layer depletion and rain acidification, leading to climate change. Therefore, the question arises on how to improve the effectiveness of tools that strengthen environmental protection. This discursive article presents an approach stressing...
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Removal of VOCs from air and assessment of dominant species in a peat-perlite biotrickling filter
PublicationAir pollution has become a major concern because it is inevitably connected with the rapid development of both industrial and residential areas. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from various anthropogenic sources e.g. transportation, factories or landfills as well as recycling factories. It is problematic not only because of the direct impact on humans and environment but also from economy viewpoint as it increases...
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The Application of Fibres from Recycled Postconsumer Tyres for Concrete Reinforcement
PublicationPoland as a Member State is obliged to implement the EU specific environmental legislation focused on the reduction, transport and treatment of waste. The Landfill Directive prohibited the landfilling of whole tyres and their by-products. Although the EU Directive of Waste limits the use of tyres as secondary fuel, Poland is still the EU leader in burning tyres in cement kilns. Post-consumer tyres are utilised in a number of...
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Applications of permeability, oedometer and direct shear tests to the sand mixed with waste tire crumb
PublicationThe amount of the used waste rubbers in the world has been increasing every year, and their utilization, become a major environmental problem worldwide. The present experimental work has been performed to investigate the influence of rubber inclusion on the behavior of a sand. Geotechnical properties of the sand, and sand with tire crumb at various ratios mixtures (0%, 2.5%, 7.5%, and 15%) were investigated through a series of...
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Morphology and properties of recycled polyethylene/ground tyre rubber/thermoplastic poly(ester-urethane) blends
PublicationThe growing amount of plastics waste produced every year resulted in development of mechanical and chemical recycling methods of polymers and their blends or composites. From the environmental point of view, the possibility of plastics waste reusing and recycling is desirable. In this study three polymer blends were obtained with using recycled polyethylene (RPE), ground tyre rubber (GTR) and thermoplastic poly(ester-urethane)...
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Diamondized carbon nanoarchitectures as electrocatalytic material for sulfate-based oxidizing species electrogeneration
PublicationThe introduction of nanotechnology seems to be an imperative factor to intensify the synergic effects of electrocatalytic materials to produce strong oxidant species or to increase the active sites on their surfaces as well as to enhance the conversion yield in a fuel cell, high-added value products, electrolytic treatment for environmental protection or the detection limit in electroanalysis. Recently, a new type of 3D-diamond...
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Molecular transformation of dissolved organic matter in manganese ore-mediated constructed wetlands for fresh leachate treatment
PublicationThe organic matter (OM) and nitrogen in Fresh leachate (FL) from waste compression sites pose environmental and health risks. Even though the constructed wetland (CW) can efficiently remove these pollutants, the molecular-level transformations of dissolved OM (DOM) in FL remain uncertain. This study reports the molecular dynamics of DOM and nitrogen removal during FL treatment in CWs. Two lab-scale vertical-flow CW systems were...
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Polypropylene structure alterations after 5 years of natural degradation in a waste landfill
PublicationUp to 25% of plastic waste in Europe is still disposed of in landfills, despite recycling efforts. The plastic waste in the landfill plot may be exposed both to abiotic and biotic degradation processes, although it is thought that most of the plastic materials tend to be resistant to biodegradation or biodeterioration even after a long time. To verify if polypropylene (PP) can undergo the process of short-term biodegradation and...
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Solventless sample preparation techniques based on solid- and vapour-phase extraction
PublicationThe main objective of this review is to critically evaluate recent developments in solventless sample preparation techniques. The potential of a variety of sample preparation techniques based on solid- and vapour-phase extraction techniques is evaluated. Direct thermal extraction and derivatization processes to facilitate the extraction of analytes in different areas are included. The applicability, disadvantages and advantages...
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Towards better understanding of context-aware knowledge transformation
PublicationConsidering different aspects of knowledge functioning, context is poorly understood in spite of intuitively identifying this concept with environmental recognition. For dynamic knowledge, context especially seems to be an essential factor of change. Investigation on the impact of context on knowledge dynamics or more generally on the relationship between knowledge and its contextual interpretation is important in order to understand...
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Design Analysis of Micro Gas Turbines in Closed Cycles
PublicationThe problems faced by designers of micro-turbines are connected with a very small volume flow rate of working media which leads to small blades’ height and high rotor speed. In the case of gas turbines this limitation can be overcome by the application of a closed cycle with very low pressure at the compressor inlet (lower than atmospheric pressure). In this way we may apply a micro gas turbine unit of accepted efficiency to work...
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Nanosorbents as Materials for Extraction Processes of Environmental Contaminants and Others
PublicationThe aim of this work focuses on the application of nanomaterials (NMs) in different sorp- tive extraction techniques for the analysis of organic contaminants from environmental samples of distinct matrix compositions. Without any doubt, the integration of specific NMs such as carbona- ceous nanomaterials, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), silica na- noparticles, and ion-imprinted NPs with so lid-phase...
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Evaluation of the Commercial Electrochemical Gas Sensors for the Monitoring of CO in Ambient Air
PublicationAir pollution is a growing concern of civilized world, which has a significant impact on human health and the environment. Recent studies highlight that the exposure to polluted air can increase the incidence of diseases and deteriorate the quality of life. Hence, it is necessary to develop tools for real-time air quality monitoring. For air pollution monitoring a wide range of stationary gas and particulate analysers can be used....
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Application potential of dummy molecularly imprinted polymers as solidphase extraction sorbents for determination of low-mass polybrominated diphenyl ethers in soil and sediment samples
PublicationDespite the introduction of restrictive regulations in the USA and the European Union, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are still found in various types of environmental and biological samples at significant concentration levels. The presence of these persistent organic pollutants in the environment raises important issues because of their negative impact on immunological and neurological systems, and on the hormonal balances...
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DETERMINATION OF THE HYDROXYL NUMBER OF GROUND TIRE RUBBER PARTICLES VIA MODIFIED TEST METHOD FOR ISOCYANATE GROUPS
PublicationNowadays, considering the environmental trends and law regulations associated with the circular economy, it is very important to seek for the methods of by-products and waste utilization. The example of such material, which requires the attention and recycling method is ground tire rubber generated during recycling of post-consumer car tires. It can be introduced into various polymer matrices as a filler, but to enhance its effectivity...
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Polymeric porous membranes as solid support and protective material in microextraction processes: A review
PublicationPolymeric porous membranes have proven to be a versatile and efficient material for microextraction processes. In analytical practice, they are used both as a solid support and as a protective medium for improved sample preparation in various analytical applications. Polymeric porous membranes offer unique advantages in microextraction due to their large surface area and controllable pore size, eliminating interfering effects from...
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Towards an integrated assessment of environmental and human health impact of energy sector in Poland
PublicationReferat prezentuje system zintegrowanej oceny wpływu sektora energetycznego na stan środowiska i zdrowie ludzkie w Polsce. W podejściu wykorzystano kombinację modelu transportu zanieczyszczeń w powietrzu POLAIR 3D z modelem informacyjno-symulacyjnym RAINS. Model oszacowuje emisje i koncentracje zanieczyszczeń powietrza, koszty kontroli emisji zanieczyszczeń i inne koszty związane z różnymi scenariuszami rozwoju sektora energetycznego.The...
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Concentrations of heavy metals and PCBs in the tissues of European beavers (Castor fiber) captured in northeastern Poland
PublicationEuropean beavers (Castor fiber) from two regions were examined to identify exposure to persistent environmental contaminants. A reference group was comprised of six animals from the Forest Division of Srokowo, and an exposed group was comprised of five animals from the vicinity of a former military airport operated in 1918–1986—both from Warmia land in Poland. 137 Cs in beavers' muscles was considered negligible for the overall...
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Novel approach to ecotoxicological risk assessment of sediments cores around the shipwreck by the use of self-organizing maps
PublicationMarine and coastal pollution plays an increasingly important role due to recent severe accidents which drew attention to the consequences of oil spills causing widespread devastation of marine ecosystems. All these problems cannot be solved without conducting environmental studies in the area of possible oil spill and performing chemometric evaluation of the data obtained looking for similar patterns among pollutants and optimize...
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HIERARCHICAL CYCLES IN MODERN POWER SYSTEMS – EXERGY ANALYSIS UNDER PART LOADS
PublicationThe aim of the paper is to investigate thermodynamic efficiency of advanced hierarchic power cyclesunder partial loads by using of exergy analyze. Advanced hierarchical power systems arecomposed of few energy conversion cycles, most common are steam and gas cycles in various configurations, but they may contain fuel cells, ORC, lithium bromide absorption chillers and others. Moreover hierarchical cycles can be powered by several...
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Metrics for green analytical chemistry
PublicationGreen analytical chemistry, although not being a new concept, does not have a greenness metrics system. Green chemistry metrics are not suitable for analytical procedure assessment because they often refer to the mass of the product. Some efforts have been made to develop suitable metrics for analytical chemistry. Some are simple to use but do not cover all aspects of analytical methods’ environmental impact. Others are more comprehensive...
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Determination of selected chemical parameters in surface water samples collected from the Revelva catchment (Hornsund fjord, Svalbard)
PublicationSurface water samples (river and lake) were collected from the Revelva catchment every summer from 2010 to 2013. This study concerns importance of the use of some analytical techniques for pollutants and parameters deter- mination in Arctic environmental samples based on the example of total organic carbon, phenols, and formaldehyde determination and measurement of pH and electrical conductivity parameters. Significant...
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High Temperature Air Combustion and Gasification (HTAC; HTAG)
PublicationCombustion and gasification technology utilizing high-cycle regenerative air/steam preheater has drawn increased attention in many application areas. The process is to be realized at temperature level above ash melting point using highly preheated agent. The use of highly preheated media above 900oC provides additional energy in to conversion processes and results in considerable changes to the design of combustion and gasification...
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The potential interaction of environmental pollutants and circadian rhythm regulations that may cause leukemia
PublicationTumor suppressor genes are highly affected during the development of leukemia, including circadian clock genes. Circadian rhythms constitute an evolutionary molecular machinery involving many genes, such as BMAL1, CLOCK, CRY1, CRY2, PER1, PER2, REV-ERBa, and RORA, for tracking time and optimizing daily life during day-night cycles and seasonal changes. For circulating blood cells many of these genes coordinate their proliferation,...
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SURFACTANTS IN KLODNICA RIVER (KATOWICE, POLAND). PART II. QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
PublicationThe paper presents methods of determination of analytes of the cation group (alkyl benzyl dimethyl ammonium (BDDA-C12-C16), alkyl trimethyl ammonium (TMA), hexadecyl piridinium (HP)) in surface water and bottom sediment samples. In the sample preparation phase the solid phase extraction (SPE) or accelerated solvent extraction/ultrasound assisted extraction (ASE/UAE)-SPE technique was used and in the identification phase and quantitative...