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Search results for: air pollution
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Towards sustainable catalyst-free biomass-based polyurethane-wood composites (PU-WC): From valorization and liquefaction to future generation of biocomposites
PublicationA substantial aspect of materials engineering lies in the responsible process of designing polymer-based materials. Due to environmental pollution, excessive consumption of natural resources, and increasing environmental awareness of society, there is a massive need for polyurethane (PU) materials with reduced environmental impact. To date, research on catalyst-free polyurethane-wood composites (PU-WC) has demonstrated a huge potential...
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Hydrophobic (deep) eutectic solvents (HDESs) as extractants for removal of pollutants from water and wastewater – A review
PublicationDeep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a new generation of solvents that attracted increasing attention in diverse applications. In last years, growing number of studies on hydrophobic (deep) eutectic solvents (HDESs) as an alternative extractants for various chemicals from aqueous environments have been reported. This article provides an overview on the usage of HDESs in liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) of different pollutants from water...
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Engineering boron and nitrogen codoped carbon nanoarchitectures to tailor molecularly imprinted polymers for PFOS determination
PublicationPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have gained significant attention as emerging contaminants due to their persistence, abundance, and adverse health effects. Consequently, the urgent need for ubiquitous and effective sensors capable of detecting and quantifying PFAS in complex environmental samples has become a priority. In this study, we present the development of an ultrasensitive molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)...
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Advancing sustainable hybrid bitumen systems: A compatibilization solution by functionalized polyolefins for enhanced crumb rubber content in bitumen
PublicationPolymer waste pollution has a profound effect on the environment and, consequently, on the lifestyle of hu- mankind. The massive production and disposal of cross-linked polymers clearly exemplify the challenges of recycling. Increasing efforts are being undertaken to introduce recycled polymers, especially crumb rubber (CR), into asphalt formulations. Due to the rather poor processability and phase separation associated with CR- modified...
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The effect of groyne field on trapping macroplastic. Preliminary results from laboratory experiments
PublicationMacroplastic, a precursor of microplastic pollution, has become a new scope of research interest. However, the physical processes of macroplastic transport and deposition in rivers are poorly understood, which makes the decisions of where to locate macroplastic trapping infrastructure difficult. In this research, we conducted a series of experiments in a laboratory channel, exploring the impact of groynes and flexible artificial...
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Urban dew formation efficiency and chemistry in Poland
PublicationThe measurements of dew formation efficiency and chemistry were performed in Poland in September 2009, as a part of a longer, two-year sampling campaign. Pairs of sites, representing centers of major Polish cities and rural conditions in three different regions, were compared. With the aim to get more detailed landuse-oriented characteristics of dew, two additional sites were set close to Wroclaw. Collection of dew at each site...
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From the pills to environment – Prediction and tracking of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug concentrations in wastewater
PublicationThe extend of environment pollution by pharmaceuticals is in a stage that required more automatic and integrated solutions. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most popular pharmaceutical in the world and emerging pollutants of natural waters. The aim of the paper was to check the correlation of the sales data of selected NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac) and their concentration in the WWTP...
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STORMWATER AS AN ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCE: QUALITY CHANGES WITH RAINFALL DURATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TREATMENT APPROACHES
PublicationThe pressure on the world’s water resources is rapidly increasing due to population growth and climatic changes. Valorisation of stormwater as a water resource for non-potable reuse can reduce high-quality water demands and save it for potable uses. In this context, not only roof runoff but also drained stormwater outflow, representing considerably higher pollution levels, should be considered as a potential resource. We analysed...
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Monitoring of Caged Bluefin Tuna Reactions to Ship and Offshore Wind Farm Operational Noises
PublicationUnderwater noise has been identified as a relevant pollution affecting marine ecosystems in different ways. Despite the numerous studies performed over the last few decades regarding the adverse effect of underwater noise on marine life, a lack of knowledge and methodological procedures still exists, and results are often tentative or qualitative. A monitoring methodology for the behavioral response of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)...
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Determination of Surfactants in Environmental Samples. Part III. Non-Ionic Compounds
PublicationNon-ionic surface active agents are a diverse group of chemicals which have an uncharged polar head and a non-polar tail. They have different properties due to amphiphilic structure of their molecules. Commercial available non-ionic surfactants consist of the broadest spectrum of compounds in comparison with other types of such agents. Typically, non-ionic compounds found applications in households and industry during formulation...
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Polysaccharide nanocomposites in wastewater treatment: A review
PublicationIn modern times, wastewater treatment is vital due to increased water contamination arising from pollutants such as nutrients, pathogens, heavy metals, and pharmaceutical residues. Polysaccharides (PSAs) are natural, renewable, and non-toxic biopolymers used in wastewater treatment in the field of gas separation, liquid filtration, adsorption processes, pervaporation, and proton exchange membranes. Since addition of nanoparticles...
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Occurrence and seasonal variations of 25 pharmaceutical residues in wastewater and drinking water treatment plants
PublicationThousands of tons of pharmaceuticals are introduced into the aqueous environment due to their incomplete elimination during treatment process in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and water treat- ment plants (WTPs). The presence of pharmacologically active compounds in the environment is of a great interest because of their potential to cause negative effects. Furthermore, drugs can undergo different pro- cesses leading to the...
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Seasonal contributions of nutrients from small urban and agricultural watersheds in northern Poland
PublicationDiffuse sources of pollution like agricultural or urban runoff are important factors in determining the quality of surface waters, although they are more difficult to monitor thanpointsources.Theobjectiveofourstudywastoverifyassumptionsthattheinflow from agricultural nutrient sources is higher than from urbanized ones. It has been done by comparing the nutrients and organic matter concentrations and loads for three small streams...
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Sustainable energy consumption – Empirical evidence of a household in Poland
PublicationThere is an expected increase in the demand for electricity from households in European countries. The outcome of the growing proportion of renewable energy sources in the energy supply mix should result in improved customer awareness regarding their electricity usage. Additionally, they must assume a more proactive role in overseeing their electricity usage. Innovation and pollution management have become crucial catalysts for...
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Assessment of River Water Quality and Pollution Status Using Physicochemical and Biometrics, Awetu River, Ethiopia
PublicationThe surface water is contaminated by a variety of synthetic organic and inorganic compounds, chemicals, and nutrients; due to this reason, the quality of the water resources of Ethiopia is declining at an alarming rate, resulting in severe environmental degradation. The main objective of the study was to recognize the pollution status river for the study area by physicochemical parameters and the extent of microbial environmental...
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Performance and emission characteristics of diesel engines running on gaseous fuels in dual-fuel mode
PublicationConventional fossil fuels are being substituted with alternative green fuels because of their greenhouse gas emissions and pollution problems, which pose a severe threat to the environment. Several studies have reported the usage of biodiesel and gaseous fuels in both single and dual-fuel modes. Gaseous fuels such as producer gas, biogas, syngas, and hydrogen produced from renewable biomass could potentially be used along with...
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A new method and equipment for the detection of presence and estimation of the content of the petroleum-based fraction in lubricating oils, especially those emitted to the atmosphere
PublicationLubricating oil, used in cutting equipment, works in the so-called open lubrication system and is entirely emitted to the environment. When such an oil contains even a small portion of the crude oil-derived fraction, which is still very common, the oil is a serious environmental pollution. In addition, the oil mist poses a serious threat to the health of employees. Current legal regulations require users of saws and harvesters...
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The impact of thermomechanical and chemical treatment of waste Brewers’ spent grain and soil biodegradation of sustainable Mater-Bi-Based biocomposites
PublicationDue to the massive plastic pollution, development of sustainable and biodegradable polymer materials is crucial to reduce environmental burdens and support climate neutrality. Application of lignocellulosic wastes as fillers for polymer composites was broadly reported, but analysis of biodegradation behavior of resulting biocomposites was rarely examined. Herein, sustainable Mater-Bi-based biocomposites filled with thermomechanically-...
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Modelling the impact of the agricultural holdings and land-use structure on the quality of inland and coastal waters with an innovative and interdisciplinary toolkit
PublicationThe changes taking place in the marine coastal zones are extremely important, as about 40% of the human population currently lives in the coastal areas (within 100 kilometres of the coastline) increasing anthropogenic pressure on the marine ecosystems. Agriculture is a significant source of nutrients to the marine environment that increase hypoxia, eutrophication and may pose a threat to the services provided by ecosystems. In...
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Technical solutions and benefits of introducing rain gardens – Gdańsk case study
PublicationNowadays, Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) are developing as innovative multifunctional tools to maximize urban ecosystem services such as storm water preservation, reduction of runoff and flood protection, groundwater pollution prevention, biodiversity enhancement, and microclimate control. Gdańsk is one of the first Polish cities to widely introduce rain gardens (one example of an NBS) in different areas such as parks, city center,...
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The fate and contamination of trace metals in soils exposed to a railroad used by Diesel Multiple Units: Assessment of the railroad contribution with multi-tool source tracking
PublicationSoil samples from cut slopes from lightly loaded railway lines used by Diesel Multiple Units for 5 years in Gdansk (Poland) were collected and analyzed for trace metals (TMs): Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Cu, and Fe. The main aim was to assess soil enrichment, contamination status, and distribution of TMs relative to the distance from the railway track. Extensive source tracking analyses were performed using cluster analysis (CA) and the...
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Elucidation of transformation pathway of ketoprofen, ibuprofen, and furosemide in surface water and their occurrence in the aqueous environment using UHPLC-QTOF-MS
PublicationThe identification and determination of transformation products (TPs) of pharmaceuticals is essential nowadays, in order to track their fate in the aqueous environment and, thus, to estimate the actual pollution. However, this is a challenging task due to the necessity to apply high-resolution instruments enable to detect known and unknown compounds. This work presents the use of liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight...
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Spatial and vertical distribution analysis of heavy metals in urban retention tanks sediments: a case study of Strzyza Stream
PublicationConcentrations of seven heavy metals (HMs): Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, and Fe in core samples of bottom sediments from four retention tanks (RTs) located along the Strzyza Stream in northern Poland (Gdansk) were measured to obtain a general view of sediment quality. The recognition of contamination and potential environmental impacts is the main aim of this paper. A total of 96 sediment samples were collected from eight sampling sites...
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Efficient Calibration of Cost-Efficient Particulate Matter Sensors Using Machine Learning and Time-Series Alignment
PublicationAtmospheric particulate matter (PM) poses a significant threat to human health, infiltrating the lungs and brain and leading to severe issues such as heart and lung diseases, cancer, and premature death. The main sources of PM pollution are vehicular and industrial emissions, construction and agricultural activities, and natural phenomena such as wildfires. Research underscores the absence of a safe threshold for particulate exposure,...
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Evaluation of the use of reindeer droppings for monitoring essential and non-essential elements in the polar terrestrial environment
PublicationExcess or toxic metals, non-metals and metalloids can be eliminated from the organism by deposition in inert tissue (e.g. fur) or excretion with body secretions, urine and faeces. Droppings are one of the main routes for the elimination of multiple elements and they can be collected without direct contact with the animal. Contaminant concentration has been examined in non-lethally collected tissues of several species (especially...
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POSSIBILITIES OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY GENERATION IN PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS INSTALLED IN CENTRAL EUROPE
PublicationNowadays, fossil fuels are the main sources of energy from which electricity is obtained. But these sources will not last forever, so in due course renewable energies will have to replace them in this role. One of these new sources is solar energy. To generate electricity from sunlight, solar (photovoltaic - PV) cells and modules are used. The increasing interest in PV cells and modules worldwide is due mainly to the fact that...
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The effects of urban vehicle traffic on heavy metal contamination in road sweeping waste and bottom sediments of retention tanks
PublicationDiffuse pollution formed during a surface runoff on paved surfaces is a source of heavy metals (HMs) of various origin. This research study indicates the connection between bottom sediments of retention tanks located on urban streams and road sweeping wastes (RSW) that migrate during surface runoff to the stormwater drainage systems with discharge to the retention tanks. Moreover, we test the primary sources of HMs in RSW by analysing...
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Optimization and Modeling of Cr (VI) Removal from Tannery Wastewater onto Activated Carbon Prepared from Coffee Husk and Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) as Activating Agent by Using Central Composite Design (CCD)
PublicationThe primary goal of this research is to lower the hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) concentration that has occurred from the growth of the tannery industry. As a result, the potential for heavy metal concentration is increasing day by day. Industrial effluent containing Cr (VI) contributes significantly to water pollution. Chromium hexavalent ion (Cr (VI)) in wastewater is extremely hazardous to the environment. It is critical to address...
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Paweł Burdziakowski dr inż.
PeoplePaweł Burdziakowski, PhD, is a professional in low-altitude aerial photogrammetry and remote sensing, marine and aerial navigation. He is also a licensed flight instructor and software developer. His main areas of interest are digital photogrammetry, navigation of unmanned platforms and unmanned systems, including aerial, surface, underwater. He conducts research in algorithms and methods to improve the quality of spatial measurements...
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Chicken feather keratin as a source of bioactive peptides useful in prevention of metabolic disorders – in silico and in vitro hydrolysis
PublicationProtein derived bioactive peptides not only serve as nutrients but can also exert drug-like activity, e.g. antidiabetic, antihypertensive, or antimicrobial, to name a few. Most biopeptides have beneficial effects on health that make them attractive for nutraceutical applications. The majority of bioactive peptides have been obtained from food proteins, but protein-rich by-products generated by agriculture...
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Efficiency of pollutants removal from landfill leachates using Nb/BDD and Si/BDD anodic oxidation
PublicationLandfill leachates (LLs) is a complex, refectory and difficult to depurate liquid generated from sanitary landfills. It contains excessive levels of biodegradable and in particular non-biodegradable products (e.g. heavy metals, phenols, sulphide, plasticisers). LLs are among the effluents that may pose major environmental concerns, they can be a dangerous source of pollution e.g. due to infiltration into soil and underlying water....
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Synergism of floated paperboard sludge cake /sewage sludge for maximizing biomethane yield and biochar recovery from digestate: A step towards circular economy
PublicationAnaerobic digestion of floated paperboard sludge (PS) cake suffers from volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulation, nutrient unbalanced condition, and generation of digestate with a risk of secondary pollution. To overcome these drawbacks, sewage sludge (SS) was added to PS cake for biogas recovery improvement under a co-digestion process followed by the thermal treatment of solid fraction of digestate for biochar production. Batch...
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Phytoavailability of potentially toxic elements from industrially contaminated soils to wild grass
PublicationTopsoil and grass samples from 14 sites located in different distances from three copper mining factories and a copper smelter were collected in Srednogorie, Bulgaria. The paper discusses results of studies on the mobility of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) from contaminated soils to wild grass Cynodon dactylon in terms of transfer (TF: soil to plant) and phytoavailability (PF: EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic...
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Distribution and bioavailability of mercury in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea
PublicationThe study aimed to determine the level of mercury (Hg) and its labile and stable forms in the surface sediments of the Baltic Sea. The work considers the impact of current and historical sources of Hg on sediment pollution, together with the influence of different environmental parameters, including water inflows from the North Sea. Surface sediments (top 5 cm) were collected in 2016–2017 at 91 stations located in different...
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Multimedia System for Environmental Noise Monitoring. [Multimedialny System Monitorowania Hałasu Środowiskowego]
PublicationIntroductionNumerous reports relating to noise threats in Poland indicate that they occur commonly. The noise has an enormous impact on the health and life quality of the human beings. Noise pollution in Poland is greater than in others UE countries, moreover it has been increased recently. Taking into account 2002/49/WE directive related to the control and assessment of environmental noise a necessity of monitoring these threats...
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Influence of Thermal Decomposition of Wood and Wood-Based Materials on the State of the Atmospheric Air. Emissions of Toxic Compounds and Greenhouse Gases
PublicationThis paper presents the energy characteristics of wood and wood-based materials in the form of commercially available pellets, furniture board (MDF) and OSB. Toxicometric indices were determined for gaseous destructs arising from thermal decomposition and combustion of the materials studied. The paper proves that combustion conditions are crucial in terms of toxic destructive emissions. It has been shown that the combustion of...
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Environmental Role of Rime Chemistry at Selected Mountain Sites in Poland
PublicationThe results of field experiments on fog pollutantdeposition enhanced by local mountain climate, completed by thedendrochronological analysis of the forest response, are presentedin this paper. In spite of their low absolute altitude (1,000-1,600 ma.s.l), the Sudetes and the Silesian Beskid form a noticeable orographicbarrier for the airflow of the humid Atlantic air masses.This results in the increase of cloudiness and fog frequency...
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Grain type and size of particulate matter from diesel vehicle exhausts analysed in transmission electron microscopy
PublicationThe aim of this research was to apply a simple and quick method of size and shape characterization by TEM to diesel exhaust particles from large-capacity, high-performance trucks. Particulate matter (PM) samples were collected while the engines were idling. It was found that PM from vehicle exhaust emissions can be divided into three groups: soot, irregular-shaped particles and circular particles. Irregular-shaped particles and...
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Identification of pollutants at the adjacent areas to the landfill site using two dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry technique
PublicationMunicipal landfills are considered one of the main sources of air pollutants. In this article is presented the use of a modern analytical technique: a two dimensional gas chromatography to identify the substances in the atmospheric air near a waste processing plant located in Gdansk. In order to determine the types of substances occurring in different atmospheric conditions, the study was conducted from February to April 2016....
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Nitrogen oxides removal from hydrogen flue gas using corona discharge in marine boilers: Application perspective
PublicationThis paper focuses on the combustion of hydrogen in boilers, as it appears to be a more effective method than using fuel cells for heating purposes due to higher boiler efficiency. One of the main disadvantages of hydrogen combustion in air is NOx formation. Therefore, the authors decided to introduce corona discharge as an inno- vative technique to clean hydrogen flue gas by effectively reducing NOx levels. The method involves...
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Industrial Heritage in sacrifice zones, The potential of Bocamina I & II Thermoelectric in Coronel, Chile
PublicationThis work aims to present the recovery potential of the Chilean Sacrifice Zones, urban areas affected by high amounts of pollution caused by industrial activities. It centers in the case of “Bocamina I & II”, two Thermoelectric based in the city of Coronel, southern Chile. A settlement historically related to the mining processes. These plants operated for decades supplying the national energy...