Search results for: EFFICIENCY DECREASE
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At what temperature should the tire rolling resistance be measured?
PublicationThe climate crisis is already an indisputable fact and therefore, it is necessary to reduce energy consumption, and especially energy wasting. One of the ways to reduce energy consumption of motor vehicles is to decrease vehicle movement resistance, including rolling resistance. In order for the optimization of tire rolling resistance to be efficient, it is necessary to apply appropriate optimization criteria that are closely related...
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Impact of strontium non-stoichiometry of SrxTi0.3Fe0.7O3-δ on structural, electrical, and electrochemical properties for potential oxygen electrode of intermediate temperature solid oxide cells
PublicationThis work presents the results of a comprehensive study on the impact of the A-site non-stoichiometry of SrxTi0.3Fe0.7O3-δ (x = 0.90, 0.95, 1.00, 1.05) ceramics on their physicochemical properties. The materials were fabricated by the conventional solid-state reaction method and their structure was determined by X-ray diffractometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron microscopy. Their sintering and thermal expansion...
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Beeswax And Palmitic Acid Utilization With Heat Pipes For Electronics Cooling
PublicationThis paper presents an experimental study of heat pipes supported by phase change materials (PCMs) coated at their adiabatic sections in application for electronics cooling. The PCMs investigated in this research were palmitic acid and beeswax, the latter being considered as a more cost-effective alternative. The study focused on three powers: 20W, 25W, and 30W. The experimental results revealed that the incorporation of palmitic...
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Analytical studies on the environmental state of the Svalbard archipelago - critical source of information about anthropogenic global impact
PublicationThe Svalbard archipelago differs from other polar regions due to its specific environmental conditions and geographic location which make the area gather pollution from long-range transport. Due to the recent development in analytical techniques it is possible to determine the concentration of pollutants at the level present there. This paper collates and discusses the information from the literature about: pollutants present in...
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INTER-LAYER SHARING OF BACKUP PATH CAPACITIES PROVIDING FAST SERVICE RECOVERY IN IP-MPLS/WDM NETWORKS
PublicationIn this paper, we investigate the issue of providing the transmission continuity in IP-MPLS/WDM networks in the presence of failures of nodes/links. Special focus is put on assuring fast restoration of flows affected after a failure in a scenario assuming sharing the backup path capacities in order to decrease the overall bandwidth consumption. In particular, we propose a new approach to inter-layer sharing of link capacity reserved...
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Hazard assessment of sediments from a wetland system for treatment of landfill leachate using bioassays
PublicationFour bioassays were used in this study for the hazard assessment of sediments from sediment traps and several ponds in a treatment wetland for landfill leachate at Atleverket, Sweden. In the 6-day solid phase microbiotest with the sediment-dwelling crustacean Heterocypris incongruens both acute and chronic effects were observed with a gradual decrease and loss of toxicity with treatment in the wetland system. Some samples showed...
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Is There any Demand for the Workers Aged 50+ in Poland?
PublicationThe process of ageing affects all the European Union Member States, including Poland. According to forecasts by the Central Statistical Office, in 2035, the population of Poland will decrease in relation to 2010 by more than 2 million, and the share of people aged 50+ in the total population will increase from 34.8% to 46.6% (Prognoza ludności 2009). In the context of current and projected demographic changes, a discussion is taking...
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Portable Electronic Nose Based on Electrochemical Sensors for Food Quality Assessment
PublicationThe steady increase in global consumption puts a strain on agriculture and might lead to a decrease in food quality. Currently used techniques of food analysis are often labour-intensive and time-consuming and require extensive sample preparation. For that reason, there is a demand for novel methods that could be used for rapid food quality assessment. A technique based on the use of an array of chemical sensors for holistic analysis...
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Theoretical and Actual Feed Per Tooth During Wood Sawing on an Optimizing Cross-Cut Saw
PublicationThe work presents the geometries of circular saw teeth, whose task is to divide the cross-cut of the cutting layer. For efficient machining on a cross-cut saw with high feed speed values (about 1 ms−1) maximal theoretical feeds per tooth are determined. These values were compared with the actual values determined during transverse cutting of pine wood on a special test stands in industrial conditions. In the experiment the rotational...
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The Issue of Shading Photovoltaic Installation Caused by Dust Accumulation on the Glass Surface
PublicationThe issue of accumulation of dust and other pollutants on the surface of photovoltaic modules was thoroughly analysed over the years. One of the first surveys in this field of knowledge linked pollutant accumulation on the module surface with transmittance loss of its glass covering, which leads to lessened amount of solar radiation reaching solar cells. First stage of this accumulation process is linear transparency loss, and second...
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Additive Manufacturing as a Solution to Challenges Associated with Heat Pipe Production
PublicationThe aim of this review is to present the recent developments in heat pipe production, which respond to the current technical problems related to the wide implementation of this technology. A novel approach in HP manufacturing is to utilise hi-tech additive manufacturing techniques where the most complicated geometries are fabricated layer-by-layer directly from a digital file. This technology might be a solution to various challenges...
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Lateral load resistance of piled raft foundation - A case study of District Jail, Saidu Sharif, Swat Pakistan
PublicationPiled raft foundations under lateral loads are usually designed as a pile group, ignoring the contribution of the raft to resisting the lateral loads. In this paper, a case study was performed to determine the raft's contribution to the lateral load resistance. This study analyzed a pile-supported reinforced concrete retaining wall for two different foundation conditions, i.e., pile group foundation and pile raft foundation. Pile group...
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Capping ligand initiated CuInS2 quantum dots decoration on, ZnIn2S4 microspheres surface under different alkalinity levels resulting in different hydrogen evolution performance
PublicationSurface distribution of quantum dots (QDs) at the semiconductor matrix caused by synthesis condition (e.g. pH of solution during coupling) could lead to different photocatalytic activity. Thus, achieving an optimal covering of semiconductor matrix by QDs has been challenging. Herein, the influence of the alkalinity level of aqueous decoration medium for the coupling of mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) capped CuInS2 quantum dots (CIS)...
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Pounding between high-rise buildings with different structural arrangements
PublicationEarthquake-induced structural pounding has led to significant damages during previous earthquakes. This paper investigates the effect of pounding on the dynamic response of colliding high-rise buildings with different structural arrangements. Three 3-D buildings are considered in the study, including 5-storey building, 7-storey building and 9-storey building. Three pounding scenarios are also taken into account, i.e. pounding between...
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Wavelet filtering of signals without using model functions
PublicationThe effective wavelet filtering of real signals is impossible without determining their shape. The shape of a real signal is related to its wavelet spectrum. For shape analysis, a continuous color wavelet spectrogram of signal level is often used. The disadvantage of continuous wavelet spectrogram is the complexity of analyzing a blurry color image. A real signal with additive noise strongly distorts the spectrogram based on continuous...
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Earthquake-Induced Pounding Between Asymmetric Steel Buildings
PublicationEarthquake-induced pounding between buildings has been the subject of numerous numerical and experimental studies in the resent years. The phenomenon may cause severe damage to structural elements as well as may also lead to the total collapse of colliding structures. A major reason leading to pounding between adjacent, insufficiently separated buildings results from the differences in their dynamic properties. The aim of this...
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Impact of Climate Change on Groundwater Resources in a Young Glacial Multi-Aquifer System
PublicationThe aim of this study was to evaluate the trends of climate change on the Kashubian Lake District and to determine the impact of expected trends on groundwater resources. The analysis of trends in temperature and precipitation was conducted for the six-decade history of meteorological measurements at the weather station in Koscierzyna. The analysis shows the trend of temperature increase of +0.0182ºC/year. The highest increase...
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Effect of nitrogen doping on TiOxNy thin film formation at reactive high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering
PublicationThe paper is focused on a study of formation of TiOxNy thin films prepared by pulsed magnetron sputtering of metallic Ti target. Oxygen and nitrogen were delivered into the discharge in the form of reactive gases O2 and N2. The films were deposited by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering working with discharge repetition frequency f = 250 Hz at low (p = 0.75 Pa) and high (p = 10 Pa) pressure. The substrates were on floating...
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Structural Design and Sensitivity Analysis of Semi-Rigid Pavement of a Motorway
PublicationThis paper presents application of mechanistic-empirical methods in design of semi-rigid pavement for a section of a motorway in Poland. The stage construction was assumed. Three fatigue criteria were applied in the design. For asphalt fatigue cracking and subgrade soil the criteria from the Asphalt Institute (1981) were applied. For fatigue cracking of cement stabilized bases the Dempsey (1984) and De Beer (1992) criteria were...
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Ion conduction in beryllium-alumino-silicate glasses doped with sodium or sodium and lithium ions
PublicationElectrical properties of beryllium-alumino-silicate glasses containing sodium ions or sodium and lithium ions were studied with impedance spectroscopy technique over a frequency range from 10 mHz to 1 MHz and at temperature range from 213 to 473 K. The frequency- and temperature-dependent conductivity spectra of individual single alkali glasses were superimposed by means of the Summerfield scaling. Mixed-alkali glasses do not overlap...
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Laser-assisted modification of titanium dioxide nanotubes in a tilted mode as surface modification and patterning strategy
PublicationElectrochemical anodization is regarded as a facile and easily scalable fabrication method of titania nanotubes (TiO2NTs). However, due to the extended duration of calcination and further modifications, much faster alternatives are highly required. As a response to growing interest in laser modification of nanotube arrays, a comprehensive investigation of pulsed-laser irradiation and its effect onto TiO2NT properties has been carried out....
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Effect of Semiconductor Element Substitution on the Electric Properties of Barium Titanate Ceramics
PublicationThe investigated ceramics were prepared by a solid-state reaction from simple oxides and carbonates with the use of a mixed oxide method (MOM). The morphology of BaTi0.96Si0.04O3 (BTSi04) ceramics was characterised by means of a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that Si+4 ion substitution supported the grain growth process in BT-based ceramics. The EDS results confirmed the high purity and expected quantitative composition...
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Structural and electrical properties of Cr-doped SrTiO 3 porous materials
PublicationSeries of single-phase materials with assumed formula SrTi1−xCrxO3 (where x = 0, 1, 4, 6 mol.%) were obtained by sol-gel method. The structure and microstructure of materials were characterised by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy methods. Moreover, the study of electrical properties and evaluation of chemical stability in CO2/H2O atmosphere was performed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and thermogravimery...
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Effects of electrophoretic deposition times and nanotubular oxide surfaces on properties of the nanohydroxyapatite/nanocopper coating on the Ti13Zr13Nb alloy
PublicationLoad-bearing implants are developed with a particular emphasis placed on an application of ceramic hydroxyapatite coatings in order, to enhance the bioactivity of titanium implants and to shorten the healing time. Therefore, thin, fully crystalline coatings that are, highly adhesive, hydrophilic and demonstrating antibacterial properties are ly looked for. The aim of this research was to develop and characterize the properties...
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Femtosecond laser ablated trench array for improving performance of commercial solid oxide cell
PublicationThe performance of electrode-supported solid oxide cells (SOCs) is limited adversely by gas diffusion impedance in thick and porous support. This work focuses on the improvement of gas transport properties of commercial Ni-YSZ anode-supported SOFC by femtosecond laser-based micromachining where micro-holes of identical depth but different hole separations pitches with minimal heated affected zones were imposed. The polarization...
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Can sodium 1-alkylsulfonates participate in the sodium dodecyl sulfate micelle formation?
PublicationThe aggregation behavior of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was studied in an aqueous solution in the presence of increasing concentrations of selected sodium 1-alkylsulfonates, namely sodium 1-octanesulfonate, sodium 1-decanesulfonate, and sodium 1-dodecanesufonate. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of SDS was determined by conductivity and fluorescence intensity measurements. The steady-state fluorescence quenching experiments...
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EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF RUBBER AND STYROFOAM BUMPERS INFLUENCE ON THE COLLIDING STRUCTURES
PublicationPast and recent investigations of colliding structures under seismic excitation confirmed that pounding may have a significant influence on the structural response. Interactions between adjacent buildings may cause serious damage to the structures, leading even to its total collapse. The main reason of earthquake-induced pounding, besides insufficient distance between structures, are differences in stiffness or mass of colliding structures....
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Role of nitrogen in evolution of sp2/sp3 bonding and optical band gap in hydrogenated carbon nitride
PublicationDrastic changes in the bonding are found in amorphous hydrogenated carbon nitride (a-CNx:H) film as a function of nitrogen concentration (or N/C ratio). The total C-sp3 fraction and hardness shows a sharp decrease (at N/C = 0.40) whereas optical band gap and resistivity shows a gradual increase as nitrogen concentration increases from 0.07 to 0.58. Raman spectrum of a-CNx:H film is fitted with both Gaussian (integrated intensity...
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Robustness in Compressed Neural Networks for Object Detection
PublicationModel compression techniques allow to significantly reduce the computational cost associated with data processing by deep neural networks with only a minor decrease in average accuracy. Simultaneously, reducing the model size may have a large effect on noisy cases or objects belonging to less frequent classes. It is a crucial problem from the perspective of the models' safety, especially for object detection in the autonomous driving...
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Speciation of heavy metals in bottom sediments of drinking water reservoir for Gdansk, Poland – changes over the 14 years
PublicationThere was conducted a comparative study of the concentrations of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd) in the surface layer of sediments collected in two investigation periods: 1999–2000 and 2013. Theresults demonstrated that the degree of metals pollution decreased over time. The contamina-tion factors (Cf) calculated for Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd were respectively 3.63, 3.86, 3.23, and 3.25 in the first period of research and 1.35, 3.42,...
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Hydrogen Embrittlement and Oxide Layer E ect in the Cathodically Charged Zircaloy-2
PublicationThe present paper is aimed at determining the less investigated effects of hydrogen uptake on the microstructure and the mechanical behavior of the oxidized Zircaloy-2 alloy. The specimens were oxidized and charged with hydrogen. The different oxidation temperatures and cathodic current densities were applied. The scanning electron microscopy, X-ray electron diffraction spectroscopy, hydrogen absorption assessment, tensile, and...
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Designing with Green and Blue – Climate Adaption Proposals for Lowland Areas of Gdańsk
PublicationThe paper gives insight into issues explored within the framework of the SOS Climate Waterfront workshop that took place in Gdańsk in June 2019. The aim of the study was to propose solutions that will decrease the number of flooding events and span the gap between flood prevention strategies and the provision of other benefits such as ecological, urban, cultural and social. Historical cartography enquiries and research by the design...
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Actual field corrosion rate of offshore structures in the Baltic Sea along depth profile from water surface to sea bed
PublicationThe paper presents the results of field electrochemical investigations on the corrosion rate of carbon steel in seawater of the Baltic Sea at the location of the Baltic Beta production rig. The measurements were conducted throughout the year in seawater at different depths from the sea surface to the sea bed (about 75 m). The results revealed corrosion aggressiveness of the seawater along the entire depth profile. There was...
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Assessment of unusual failure in crankshaft of heavy-duty truck engine
PublicationThe unusual premature failure of a heavy-duty truck engine crankshaft has been the subject of a rigorous study, and this manuscript describes it in detail. The failure was happened to begin with the growth of the crack from the surface defects, in the form of the clusters of non-metallic inclusions, in the lubrication hole zone of the first main journal, which was the stress concentration zone. A series of experiments including...
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Nanostructure of the laser-modified transition metal nanocomposites for water splitting
PublicationAlthough hydrogen is considered by many to be the green fuel of the future, nowadays it is primarily produced through steam reforming, which is a process far from ecological. Therefore, emphasis is being put on the development of electrodes capable of the efficient production of hydrogen and oxygen from water. To make the green alternative possible, the solution should be cost-efficient and well processable, generating less waste...
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The effect of heating and fermenting on antioxidant properties of white cabbage
PublicationIt is widely believed that natural antioxidants found in food are significantly lost during processing. Nevertheless, it was recently demonstrated that processed fruits and vegetables may retain their antioxidant activity. In the present work, the changes in the overall antioxidant properties as a consequence of fermentation of cabbage and/or heat treatment of cabbage juices and extracts were studied. Fermentation processes as...
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Geoscience Methods in Real Estate Market Analyses Subjectivity Decrease
PublicationReal estate management, including real estate market analysis, is part of a so-called geosystem. In recent years, the popularity of creating various types of systems and automatic solutions in real estate management, including those related to property classification and valuation, has been growing in the world, mainly to reduce the impact of human subjectivity, to increase the scope of analyses and reduce research time. A very...
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Utilizing pulse dynamics for non-invasive Raman spectroscopy of blood analytes
PublicationNon-invasive measurement methods offer great benefits in the field of medical diagnostics with molecular-specific techniques such as Raman spectroscopy which is increasingly being used for quantitative measurements of tissue biochemistry in vivo. However, some important challenges still remain for label-free optical spectroscopy to be incorporated into the clinical laboratory for routine testing. In particular, non-analyte-specific...
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Current trends in analytical strategies for the determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in samples with different matrix compositions – Part 2: New approaches to PBDEs determination
PublicationHerein, we review the latest technical solutions for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) determination in samples with different matrix compositions, largely focusing on gas chromatography but also presenting some liquid chromatography–based solutions. Moreover, we discuss the use of diverse sample injection techniques while considering the advantages and disadvantages of each injection system in the context of PBDEs analysis....
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Reinforcing and plasticizing effects of reclaimed rubber on the vulcanization and properties of natural rubber
PublicationThe production of high-added value reclaimed rubber (RR) is of great signifi-cance for the sustainability of rubber industries. To green recycle waste rub-bers and broaden the application of RR, a RR material with potentialreinforcing and plasticizing effects on nature rubber (NR) composites are pre-pared by a thermo-oxidative reclamation process. The reclamation degree ofRR is controlled by adjusting the content of soybean oil....
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Tuning of eg electron occupancy of MnCo2O4 spinel for oxygen evolution reaction by partial substitution of Co by Fe at octahedral sites
PublicationTo study the effect of partial Co substitution by Fe in the B site of MnCo2O4 spinel on its physicochemical and electrochemical properties, a series of MnCo2-xFexO4 powders (x=0.125; 0.250; 0.500; 0.750; 1.000) were synthesized by means of the sol-gel method. The produced powders were characterized by powder X ray diffraction (pXRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM & TEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy...
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Towards large-scale application of nanoporous materials in membranes for separation of energy-relevant gas mixtures
PublicationMembranes containing nanoporous materials (such as zeolites, metal–organic materials and 2D materials such as graphene derivatives) may allow more efficient separation of gas mixtures relevant to emerging energy technologies. For example, such membranes could be applied in the separation of gases containing mixtures of carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2). However, these membranes are currently at a relatively low technology...
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Interaction of cisplatin and two potential antitumoral platinum(ii) complexes with a model lipid membrane: a combined NMR and MD study
PublicationIn this study, the interaction of cisplatin (1) and two potential antitumoral Pt(II) complexes (2 and 3) with a model DMPC bilayer was investigated by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and MD simulations in order to understand its implication for the different antitumoral properties shown by the three complexes. In particular, 31P, 13C and 2H solid state NMR experiments were performed to obtain information on the phase structure, phase...
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Bacterial community succession in an Arctic lake–stream system (Brattegg Valley, SW Spitsbergen)
PublicationThe factors affecting prokaryotic and virus structure dynamics and bacterial commu-nity composition (BCC) in aquatic habitats along a ca. 1500 m of the Brattegg Valley lake–stream system (SW Spitsbergen) composed of three postglacial lakes created by Brattegg Glacier meltwater were examined. A high number of small-volume prokaryotic cells were found in the recently-formed, deep, upper,...
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Diagnosis of Damage in a Steel Tank Model by Shaking Table Harmonic Tests
PublicationDiagnosis of damage in civil engineering structures has recently become an important issue in the safety assessment procedure. Among a number of different approaches, a method of measuring the changes in natural frequencies is one of the most effective indicators of global damage. It has been successfully applied to relatively small. structures, however, the tests on large structures are very difficult and the practical application...
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Tailoring structural properties of lanthanum orthoniobates through an isovalent substitution on the Nb-site
PublicationTetragonal polymorph of lanthanum orthoniobate can be stabilized to room temperature by the substitution of Nb with an isovalent element. LaNb1-xAsxO4 (0 < x ≤ 0.3), where As is an element stabilizing tetragonal structure, were successfully synthesized with combined co-precipitation and solid-state reaction method. The phase transition temperature, above which the material has tetragonal structure, decreases linearly with increasing...
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Study of pH and temperature effect on lipophilicity of catechol-containing antioxidants by reversed phase liquid chromatography
PublicationLipophilicity of selected antioxidant phytochemicals, including flavonoids, phenolic acids and xanthonoids, was determined by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (RP-HPLC-UV). The analyses run at different temperature and pH conditions in isocratic mode suggested that lipophilicity as distribution coefficient (logD) between aqueous and organic phase decreases with increasing temperature. For...
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Enhanced boron doping of thin diamond films grown in deuterium-rich microwave plasma
PublicationThe boron-doped diamond thin films were growth in deuterium rich microwave plasma in CVD process. The mechanism of influence of plasma composition on boron doping level was studied using optical emission spectroscopy. Deuterium rich plasma results in an increased dissociation of B2H6 precursor and intense boron-radicals' production. In consequence, a higher doping level of diamond films was observed by means of Laser Induced Breakdown...
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In situ study of a composition of outlet gases from biogas fuelled Solid Oxide Fuel Cell performed by the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
PublicationThe purpose of this study was to develop a method and software based on the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy for the in-situ, quantitative analysis of the composition of outlet gases from Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC). The calibration procedure performed at the beginning of the experiment indicated a polynomial dependence between the concentration of a calibrating gas (CO, CO2, CH4) and the corresponding integrated absorbance in...
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Aeration Process in Bioreactors as the Main Energy Consumer in a Wastewater Treatment Plant. Review of Solutions and Methods of Process Optimization
PublicationDue to the key role of the biological decomposition process of organic compounds in wastewater treatment, a very important thing is appropriate aeration of activated sludge, because microorganisms have to be supplied with an appropriate amount of oxygen. Aeration is one of the most energy-consuming processes in the conventional activated sludge systems of wastewater treatment technology (may consume from 50% to 90% of electricity...