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Search results for: ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION
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Visual Traffic Noise Monitoring in Urban Areas
PublicationThe paper presents an advanced system for railway and road traffic noise monitoring in metropolitan areas. This system is a functional part of a more complex solution designed for environmental monitoring in cities utilizing analyses of sound, vision and air pollution, based on a ubiquitous computing approach. The system consists of many autonomous, universal measuring units and a multimedia server, which gathers, processes and...
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Evaluation of the prediction ability of air pollutants based on the electronic nose responses
PublicationElectronic noses are able to perform on-line measurements of the toxic volatile compounds in air. Due to their low cost and compact size they can be placed in the areas exposed to pollution, outside the laboratory. Those advantages, on the other side, force the need for development of the reliable sensors data analysis procedures. One of the most important issues connected with electronic noses is the lack of stability of the gas...
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Aspects of pollution in Gdansk and gdynia Harbours at the coastal zone of the South Baltic Sea
PublicationOrganotin compounds (OTC), as well as metals, are toxic to many organisms. Even at very low concentrations OTC and metals can have several negative effects. The paper discusses key issues relating to the location of harbours in the coastal zone (including near the river mouths and semi-closed access to the sea) and the pollution of harbour sediments with heavy metals (e.g. zinc, copper, nickel and lead) and organotin derivatives...
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Remote Monitoring of Environmental Pollutants
PublicationAtmospheric air quality is one of the key factors influencing human health. Air quality evaluation is not an easy task as the atmosphere is a complex system subjected to continuous changes in time. Observed progress in the development of measurement devices and technologies is fundamental for acquisition of more reliable information about condition and quality of atmospheric air. Unfortunately, this process leads to an increase...
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Treatment of malodorous air in biotrickling filters: A review
PublicationOdour nuisance, resulting mainly from the presence of the compounds containing osmophore group and characterized by low olfactory threshold, is associated with danger and may be the cause of negative psychosomatic symptoms. Among different methods of malodorous air treatment, biological methods are of importance, mainly due to reduced operating costs, high purification efficiency of voluminous gas streams characterized by low concentrations...
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A review on electrospun membranes for potential air filtration application
PublicationAir pollution is one of the major environmental concerns in most highly populated cities, which is typically caused by particulate (PM2.5 and PM0.1) or gaseous pollutants that can be removed using electrospun membranes. These membranes are characterized by different features in terms of uniform and controllable structure, tuneable porosity, and high surface area, where their separation efficiency strongly depends on their properties....
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Temperature Sensors Based on Polymer Fiber Optic Interferometer
PublicationTemperature measurements are of great importance in many fields of human activities, including industry, technology, and science. For example, obtaining a certain temperature value or a sudden change in it can be the primary control marker of a chemical process. Fiber optic sensors have remarkable properties giving a broad range of applications. They enable continuous real-time temperature control in difficult-to-reach areas, in...
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Studies on the formation of formaldehyde during 2-ethylhexyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate demethylation in the presence of reactive oxygen and chlorine species
PublicationIn order to protect the skin from UV radiation, personal care products (PCPS) often contain chemical UV-filters. These compounds can enter the environment causing serious consequences on the water ecosystems. The aim of this study was to examine, the effect of different factors, such as UV light, the presence of NaOCl and H2O2 on the formaldehyde formation during popular UV filter, 2-ethylhexyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate (ODPABA)...
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The treatment of wastewater containing pharmaceuticals in microcosm constructed wetlands: the occurrence of integrons (int1–2) and associated resistance genes (sul1–3, qacEΔ1)
PublicationThe aim of this study was to analyze the occurrence of sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1–3) and other genetic elements as antiseptic resistance gene (qacEΔ1) and class 1 and class 2 integrons (int1–2) in the upper layer of substrate and in the effluent of microcosm constructed wetlands (CWs) treating artificial wastewater containing diclofenac and sulfamethoxazole (SMX), which is a sulfonamide antibiotic. The bacteria in the substrate...
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A multi‑criteria approach to investigate spatial distribution,sources, and the potential toxicological effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments of urban retention tanks
PublicationBottom sediments deposited in retention tanks (RTs) located on two urban streams (Oliwski and Strzyza) in the central part of Gdansk (Poland) were analysed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons’ (PAHs) content. PAHs were extracted from samples with methylene chloride, then the extracts were subjected to clean-up applying the solid phase extraction (SPE) method. Quantitative and qualitative determination of 16 PAHs was performed...
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Environmental and toxicological aspects of sulfamethoxazole photodegradation in the presence of oxidizing agents
PublicationSulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a popular active substance, which is extensively applied to treat bacterial infections in humans and animals. Due to its widespread use, SMX enters the natural environment, where it can undergo degradation. Similarly to other emerging contaminants, SMX photodegradation and the use of oxidants in wastewater treatment processes can lead to the formation of potentially adverse transformation products for...
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Application of Nanomaterials for Cadmium Adsorption for Sustainable Treatment of Wastewater: a Review
PublicationMany heavy metals, particularly cadmium, are detrimental to both people and the environment when present in large quantities. In wastewater treatment plants, several conventional approaches are employed for cadmium abatement to restore the ecosystem, food supplies, and health of people and animals. Ion exchange, coagulation, membrane filtration, and chemical precipitation are a few examples of ways for removing heavy metals 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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Seashore sediment and water chemistry at the Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Maritime Antarctica) – geochemical analysis and correlations between the concentrations of chemical species
PublicationThis study covers water and sediment chemical characteristics by the western shore of Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctica) in 2016. Chemical processes between sediment and water have been described based on the determination of ions, metals, non-metals, and TOC concentrations. Rock weathering is an important source of Fe, Ni, Co, Al in the seashore area. The PCA shows the impact of acidification in the release metals...
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Investigation of functional layers of solid oxide fuel cell anodes for synthetic biogas reforming
PublicationSolid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are one of the most promising energy conversion devices due to their high efficiency, low pollution and fuel flexibility. Unfortunately, when hydrocarbons are used as a fuel, for example in the form of a biogas, solid carbon can deposit on the anode surface. This process leads to the degradation of the fuel cell performance. A possible solution to this problem is to apply an additional catalytic material,...
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A Model-Based Improved Control of Dissolved Oxygen Concentration in Sequencing Wastewater Batch Reactor
PublicationBiochemical processes at wastewater treatment plant are complex, nonlinear, time varying and multivariable. Moreover, relationships between processes are very strong. One of the most important issues is exerting proper control over dissolved oxygen levels during nitrification phase. This parameter has a very large impact on activity of microorganisms in activated sludge and on quality of pollution removal processes. Oxygen is supplied...
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A novel method for archiving multibeam sonar data with emphasis on efficient record size reduction and storage
PublicationOver the past few years considerable advances in sonar technology, spatial positioning capabilities and computer processing power have lead to significant improvements in mapping, imaging and technologies of seafloor exploration. Recently, modern multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) capable of recording backscatter data for the whole water column, not just for the seabed, have become available thus providing data allowing for...
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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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Solid phase microextraction–comprehensive twodimensional gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry: a new tool for determining PAHs in airport runoff water samples
Publicationfundamental aspect of airport operations is the pollution caused by airport runoff waters. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the most important groups of xenobiotics which are commonly found in runoff water originating from airports. Only very limited data on the analysis of airport runoff water have been published until now. Therefore, a reliable and accurate analytical method based on headspace solid-phase microextraction...
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Effect of Microplastics Pollution on Hydrogen Production from Biomass: A Comprehensive Review
PublicationHydrogen production from biomass and organic wastes is considered as a potential alternative energy source and is known as a clean and CO2-free fuel energy carrier. H2 is considered very promising among the other energy sources; therefore, the effective conversion of biomass and organic solid waste to this secondary energy source is urgently sought. As a result, it is of importance to assess the impact of the existence of microplastics...
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Elucidating the impact of enzymatic modifications on the structure, properties, and applications of cellulose, chitosan, starch and their derivatives: a review
PublicationPolysaccharides, as one of the most prominent natural biopolymers, display numerous biological activities and industrial applications. Nevertheless, some polysaccharides lack biological properties or display weak biological activities. Besides, practical usages of polysaccharides still remain challenging because of their poor solubility and inappropriate hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance. Hence, enzymatic or chemical modifications...
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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...
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Insights into Seawater Biodegradation of Sustainable Mater-Bi/Poly(ε-caprolactone)-Based Biocomposites Filled with Diisocyanate-Modified Cellulose Particles
Publication: Due to rapid economic growth, the use of plastics in almost all areas of human life has significantly increased over recent decades, leading to massive pollution. Therefore, works dealing with sustainable and biodegradable polymer materials are vital now. Herein, sustainable MaterBi/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based biocomposites, filled with diisocyanate-modified cellulose particles, were prepared and subjected to 12-week seawater...
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Decolorisation of Methylene Blue with Sodium Persulfate Activated with Visible Light in the Presence of Glucose and Sucrose
PublicationThe paper presents the results of research on the methylene blue (MB) degradation with sodium persulfate (PDS) activated with visible light (Vis) in the presence of glucose and sucrose. The following test were examined: absence and presence of sugars in concentrations of 50–300 mM, presence and absence of Vis radiation, pH of the model solution (6.0–12.0), identification of free radicals, kinetics of the pseudo-first-order reaction....
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Determination of total mercury in raw petrol using cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry
PublicationPresence of different forms of mercury in petroleum based products may impair the proper operation of the equipment or led to poisoning of automotive catalysts. However much more important problem is environmental pollution with mercury emitted from different types of fossil fuels. Although the average mercury concentration in petroleum based products (automotive fuels) is on the level around 1 ppb, taking into account annual...
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SMART AND RESILIENT CITIES – NEW CHALLENGES FOR POLISH CITIES IN TERMS OF 2020 BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION.
PublicationGlobal climate change action along with energy efficiency optimizations are becoming increasingly pressing principles in terms of moving towards sustainable development. As a member of EU and UN Poland is also obliged to follow restricted rules concerning energy efficiency of buildings which come to force in 2020. To meet new goals, innovative approaches - like moving towards smart and resilient cities -may be required. Through...
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Potential of Functionalized Polyolefins in a Sustainable Polymer Economy: Synthetic Strategies and Applications
PublicationPolymers play a crucial role in our modern life as no other material exists that is so versatile, moldable, and lightweight. Consequently, the demand for polymers will continue to grow with the human population, modernization, and technological developments. However, depleted fossil resources, increasing plastic waste production, ocean pollution, and related growing emission of greenhouse gases has led to a change in the way we...
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Selected issues related to the toxicity of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents—a review
PublicationGreen Chemistry plays a more and more important role in implementing rules of sustainable development to prevent environmental pollution caused by technological processes, while simultaneously increasing the production yield. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) constitute a very broad group of substances. Apart from many imperfections, ILs and DESs have been the most promising discoveries in the world of Green...
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A method of selecting light sources from night satellite scenes
PublicationSatellite images carries a lot of data. Very sophisticated methods of analyses may reveal very complicated nature of the observed objects. In case of night images, lights play the role of information sources. In this paper we would like to present results of the research aimed to describe light sources from satellite night images by providing description of their luminosity. The authors point source imaging data from the satellite...
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The application of environmental issues in designing urban structures – a framework for comprehensive local planning policies
PublicationThe implementation of environmental issues in planning and designing urban structures is becoming a novel approach and a common practice consistent with the paradigm of sustainable development. Maintaining environmental quality in urban areas, managing natural resources and understanding the complexity of urban systems is becoming increasingly challenging. Therefore, it is important to develop strategies for the integration of...
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Assessment of Trace Metals Leaching During Rainfall Events from Building Rooftops with Different Types of Coverage – Case Study
PublicationRunoff water is an important medium transporting various types of pollution originating from the atmosphere and washed out from roofing materials. The study presents a quality assessment of runoff from different roofs in the context of trace metal concentrations. The analysed rooftops were covered with copper, tar paper and ceramic tile. The quality of the rain water collected at the same time satisfies the demands of the first...
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Polymer Materials for U-Shaped Optic Fiber Sensors: A Review
PublicationFiber optic sensors have gained popularity over the last few decades. This is due to their numerous advantages, such as good metrological parameters, biocompatibility and resistance to magnetic and electric fields and environmental pollution. However, those built from glass fiber have one main disadvantage—they are fragile, meaning they can be easily damaged, even by the presence of vibration. Due to the great progress made by...
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Automated Parking Management for Urban Efficiency: A Comprehensive Approach
PublicationEffective parking management is essential for ad-dressing the challenges of traffic congestion, city logistics, and air pollution in densely populated urban areas. This paper presents an algorithm designed to optimize parking management within city environments. The proposed system leverages deep learning models to accurately detect and classify street elements and events. Various algorithms, including automatic segmentation of...
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Polarised light pollution on river water surfaces caused by artificial light at night from illuminated bridges and surroundings
PublicationLight is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye, and such electromagnetic waves can be polarised (Foster et al., 2018) (Supplementary Material). Generally, humans are not able to perceive polarised light, apart from some very specific situations (Haidinger, 1844), while several animals are able to perceive it (Foster et al., 2018). Polarisation can occur when unpolarised light is reflected or transmitted...
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Corrosion monitoring as a factor increasing the safety of hydrotechnical infrastructure
PublicationWater distribution systems at KGHM S.A. are of great importance for the efficient production of copper and environmental protection. For failures leading to perforation and leakage, the corrosion processes are responsible. This paper aims to assess corrosion on the basis of the analysis of the exposure of the Hydrotechnical Plant pipelines. To this end, the system of transfer and deposition of post-flotation waste as well as the...
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Comparison of PM10 concentration in Gdansk and London using electron microscopy
PublicationParticulate matter (PM) has been considered as one of the most dangerous elements of air pollution. Multiply analytical methods are employed to identify the composition of particles present in the air. The theoretical part of this work is a description of different research centres all over the world where particulate matter is being analyzed using various techniques. The purpose of this project is to analyze and compare particles...
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Mobility and biodegradability of an imidazolium based ionic liquid in soil and soil amended with waste sewage sludge
PublicationSorption on solids and biodegradation are main phenomena that can mitigate the pollution of soil and water by ionic liquids (ILs). ILs sorbed on soil particles become immobilized (temporarily or permanently) which prevents them from spreading into deeper layers of soil or groundwater but which also makes them less bioavailable. In this study we attempt to examine if amendment of soil with waste sludge has a potential to mitigate...
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Comparison of PCBs and PAHs levels in European coastal waters using mussels from the Mytilus edulis complex as biomonitors
PublicationMussels from the Mytilus edulis complex were used as biomonitors for two groups of organic pollutants: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, congeners: 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benz(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene,...
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Contamination of Runoff Water at Gdańsk Airport (Poland) by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
PublicationAirport runoff can contain high concentrations of various pollutants, in particular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the environmental levels of which have to be monitored. Airport runoff water samples, collected at the Gdańsk-Rębiechowo Airport from 2008 to 2009, were analysed for PAHs and PCBs by gas chromatography. The aromatic fractions were separated by liquid-liquid extraction...
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Analysis of causes of crude oil tankers' disasters
PublicationW referacie przedstawiono dane statystyczne dotyczące rozlewów ropy surowej oraz opis katastrof tankowców w latach 1999-2003. Zlekceważenie problemów poprawnej eksploatacji wielokrotnie kończy się tragicznie. Z tych powodów wypełniony ropą grecki tankowiec ''Amaragos'' czy też maltańska ''Erika'' złamały się na pół i poszły na dno. Przykładów takich jest więcej. W referacie przedstawiono analizę przyczyn rozlewów olejowych według...
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Hydrogen fuel cell power supply for hybrid elelectric multiple unit train
PublicationIn European countries, electrified routes amount for 40% to 65% of the total railway networks length. Some of those routes are only partially electrified, and construction of a catenary network might not be viable on all routes. Consequently, operators run diesel trains under catenary or require both an electric and diesel vehicle, increasing costs of operation. Dual-mode vehicles exist, but they are mostly equipped with diesel...
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Development and validation of an eco-compatible UV–Vis spectrophotometric method for the determination of Cu2+ in aqueous matrices
PublicationCu 2+ are ubiquitous ions in the ecosystem and are responsible of serious environmental pollution. Indeed, the development of sensitive methods for Cu 2+ detection is an urgent demand. In this work, we proposed a new spectrophotometric method for Cu 2+ determination in different water matrices (distilled water, drinking water, wastewater, and river water). The method employs a bio-based organic ligand namely tetrasodium iminodisuccinate...
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Heterotrophic Anodic Denitrification in Microbial Fuel Cells
PublicationNowadays, pollution caused by energy production systems is a major environmental concern. Therefore, the development of sustainable energy sources is required. Amongst others, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) seems to be a possible solution because it can produce clean energy at the same time that waste is stabilized. Unfortunately, mainly due to industrial discharges, the wastes could contain nitrates, or nitrates precursors such...
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COMBINATION OF ARCHITECTURAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL ASPECTS IN URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT. A CASE STUDY OF THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
PublicationIncreasing a city’s resilience against climate change is one of the major concerns of today. Sustainable stormwater management, using Green Infrastructure units (GI) integrated with an urban area, has proved to be effective in flooding control and to offer extra benefits encompassing groundwater recharge, stormwater treatment, mitigation of air pollution, and an urban micro-climate. Moreover, GI brings cultural benefits for the...
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How high-tech solutions support the fight against IUU and ghost fishing: a review of innovative approaches, methods, and trends
PublicationIllegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing is a major threat to human food supply and marine ecosystem health. Not only is it a cause of significant economic loss but also its effects have serious long-term environmental implications, such as overfishing and ocean pollution. The beginning of the fight against this problem dates since the early 2000s. From that time, a number of approaches and methods have been developed and reported....
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Seasonal changes of the concentrations of mineral forms of nitrogen and phosphorus in watercourses in the agricultural catchment area (Bay of Puck, Baltic Sea, Poland)
PublicationThe Baltic Region countries are obliged to meet the stringent limits of N and P discharge set by HELCOM for 2021. Area sources of pollution, including agriculture, are considered the main contributors of biogenic compounds. The Bay of Puck as an inner part of the Baltic Sea is particularly sensitive to eutrophication caused by nutrient in flow from agricultural lands. Rivers and streams inflowing to the Bay of Puck transport nitrogen...
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Effective method of treatment of effluents from production of bitumens under basic pH conditions using hydrodynamic cavitation aided by external oxidants
PublicationUtilization of cavitation in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) is a promising trend in research on treatment of industrial effluents. The paper presents the results of investigations on the use of hydrodynamic cavitation aided by additional oxidation processes (O3/H2O2/Peroxone) to reduce the total pollution load in the effluent from the production of bitumens. A detailed analysis of changes in content of volatile organic compounds...
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Katastrofy tankowców do przewozu surowej ropy oraz ich przyczyny.
Publication[Omyłkowo na materiałach nie umieszczono współautora : Gande-Milewska Paulina]W referacie przedstawiono dane statystyczne dotyczące rozlewów ropy surowej oraz opis katastrof tankowców w latach 1999-2003. Zlekceważenie problemów poprawnej eksploatacji wielokrotnie kończy się tragicznie. Z tych powodów wypełniony ropą grecki tankowiec "Amaragos" czy też maltańska "Erika" złamały się na pół i poszły na dno. Przykładów takich jest...
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Lighting Design for the 21st Century Applied research in lighting practice
PublicationFor those who are unfamiliar with research, it’s important to know there are two categories. Fundamental (or basic) research and applied research. Basic research often discusses scientific ideas/theories, whereas, applied research explores testing these ideas in practice to develop technology or techniques. It’s applied research which most interests lighting practitioners. Great lighting design that creates a pleasant and beneficial...
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Modelling of sequencing batch reactor operating at various aeration modes
PublicationThe presented study involved designing a computer model of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) at laboratory scale. The data pertaining to the technical aspects of the bioreactor and quality indicators of wastewater constituted the input for the employed simulation tool, i.e. GPS-X software package. The results of a simulation involving a 12-hour operation cycle are presented in this work; each cycle included 6 phases: filling, mixing,...