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Number of results: 7
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Abstract

The paper presents the results of studies on the changes in the PAHs concentration during pre-filtration and ultrafiltration (UF) processes. In the study, biologically treated wastewater (after denitrification and nitrification processes), discharged from the biological treatment plant and used in coke plant, was used. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used in order to qualify and quantify the PAHs. Sixteen PAHs listed by EPA were determined. The wastewater samples were collected three fold and initially characterized for the concentration of nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, COD, TOC and pH. In the first step, wastewater was filtrated on the sand bed. Total concentration of 16 PAHs in the treated wastewater before initial filtration was in the range of 44.8‒53.5 mg/L. During the process the decrease in the concentration of the most studied hydrocarbons was observed. Concentration of PAHs after initial filtration ranged from 21.9 to 38.3 μg/L. After the initial filtration process the wastewater flew to the ultrafiltration module and then was separated on the membrane (type ZW-10). The total concentration of 16 PAHs in the process of ultrafiltration was in the range of 8.9‒19.3 mg/L. The efficiency of removal of PAHs from coke wastewater in the process of ultrafiltration equaled 66.6%. Taking into account the initial filtration, the total degree of removal of PAHs reached 85%. The obtained results indicate the possibility of using the ultrafiltration process with the initial filtration as additional process in the coke wastewater treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

Marzena Smol
Maria Włodarczyk-Makuła
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Abstract

The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the energy efficiency of the phytoremediation process, supported using energy crops. The scope of conducted work includes the preparation of a field experiment. During the evaluation, 2 factors were into consideration – total energy demand and total energy benefit. The case study, used as an origin of data, consists a 3-years field study, conducted with the use of 2 energy crops – Phalaris arundinacea L. and Brassica napus L. The area subjected to the experiment was polluted with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and herbicides, classified as phenoxy acids (2, 4 D). The experimental design consisted of 4 groups of fields, divided according to the used plant species and type of treatment. For each energy crop, 2 types of fertilization strategies were used. Therefore the 1st and 3rd sets of fields were not treated with any soil amendment while the 2nd and 4th sets were fertilized with compost. The obtained data allowed to observe that the cultivation of P. arundinacea L. and B. napus L. allowed a positive energy balance of the process to be achieved. However, it should be noted, that the B. napus L. growth in the first vegetation season was not sufficient to fully compensate a total energy demand. Such a goal, in the mentioned case, was possible after the 2nd vegetation season. The collected results show also that the best energetic potential combined with the most effective soil remediation were obtained on the fields with the cultivation of P. arundinacea L. fertilized with compost. The number of biofuels, collected from the 1 ha of such fields, can reach a value equal even to12.76 Mg of coal equivalent.

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Authors and Affiliations

Dariusz Włóka
Marzena Smol
ORCID: ORCID
Małgorzata Kacprzak
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Abstract

Municipal waste management has been an area of special interest of the European Commission (EC) for many years. In 2018, the EC pointed out issues related to municipal waste management as an important element of the monitoring framework for the transition towards a circular economy (CE), which is currently a priority in the economic policy of the European Union (EU). In the presented monitoring framework, 10 CE indicators were identified, among which issues related to municipal waste appear directly in two areas of the CE – in the field of production and in the field of waste management, and indirectly – un two other areas – secondary raw materials, and competitiveness and innovation. The paper presents changes in the management of municipal waste in Poland in the context of the implementation of the CE assumptions, a discussion of the results of CE indicators in two areas of the CE monitoring framework in Poland (production and waste management), and a comparison of the results against other European countries.

In Poland, tasks related to the implementation of municipal waste management from July 1, 2013 are the responsibility of the municipality, which is obliged to ensure the conditions for the system of selective collection and collection of municipal waste from residents, as well as the construction, maintenance and operation of regional municipal waste treatment installations (RIPOK). The municipality is also committed to the proper management of municipal waste, in accordance with the European waste management hierarchy, whose overriding objective is to prevent waste formation and limiting its amount, then recycling and other forms of disposal, incineration and safe storage. The study analyzed changes in the value of two selected CE indicators, i.e. (1) the municipal waste generation indicator, in the area of production and (2) the municipal waste recycling indicator, in the area of waste management. For this purpose, statistical data of the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and Eurostat were used. Data has been presented since 2014, i.e. from the moment of initiating the need to move to the CE in the EU. In recent years, there has been an increase in the amount of municipal waste generated in Poland as well as in the EU. According to Eurostat, the amount of municipal waste generated per one inhabitant of Poland increased from 272 kg in 2014 to 315 kg in 2017. It should be noted that the average amount of municipal waste generated in Poland in 2017 was one of the lowest in EU, with a European average of 486 kg/person. Poland has achieved lower levels of municipal waste recycling (33.9%) than the European average (46%). The reason for Poland’s worse results in the recycling of municipal waste may be, among others, the lack of sufficiently developed waste processing infrastructure, operating in other countries such as Germany and Denmark, and definitely higher public awareness of the issue of municipal waste in developed countries. Municipal waste management in Poland faces a number of challenges in the implementation of GOZ, primarily in terms of achieving the recycling values imposed by the EC, up to a minimum of 55% by 2025.

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Authors and Affiliations

Marzena Smol
Joanna Kulczycka
Agnieszka Czaplicka-Kotas
Dariusz Włóka
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Abstract

Celem przeprowadzonego eksperymentu było zbadanie możliwości zastosowania upraw roślin energetycznych, w postaci mozgi trzcinowatej (Phalaris arundinacea), w procesie fitoremediacji terenów zanieczyszczonych herbicydami z grupy fenoksykwasów (2,4-D, MCPA) oraz wybranymi WWA (suma 10 WWA zgodnie z Dz.U. 2016, 1395). Dodatkowo, w ramach doświadczenia przeprowadzono ocenę kinetyki wzrostu i rozwoju proponowanego gatunku roślin w odniesieniu do nawożenia gleby kompostem pochodzenia odpadowego, nano ditlenkiem krzemu oraz mieszanką tych materiałów. Z akres wykonanych badań obejmował dwumiesięczny test donicowy w warunkach ex-situ z wykorzystaniem dwóch serii badawczych (seria 1 – kontrole bez roślin; seria 2 – próby z roślinami). Wyniki uzyskane w trakcie realizacji prac badawczych, pozwoliły wykazać, iż zastosowanie P. arundinacea, w charakterze „czynnika remediacyjnego”, pozwala na znaczące zwiększenie efektywności usunięcia zanieczyszczeń organicznych z gleby. Niemniej jednak zaznaczyć należy, iż najlepsze efekty zarówno w kontekście efektywności procesu, jak i ilości pozyskiwanej biomasy, uzyskane zostały pod wpływem aplikacji nawozu organicznego w postaci kompostu. Dodatkowo zaobserwowano, iż stosowanie materiałów o wysokich właściwościach sorpcyjnych, w charakterze substancji współnawożącej, może znacząco zwiększyć efektywność biotycznych procesów rozkładu zanieczyszczeń organicznych w glebie. Podsumowując można stwierdzić, że proponowana technologia fitoremediacji charakteryzuje się wysoką efektywnością działania, a jej praktyczna implementacja przyczynić się może dodatkowo do zwiększenia udziału produkcji energii z alternatywnych form paliw odnawialnych.
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Authors and Affiliations

Marzena Smol
Dariusz Włóka
Agnieszka Placek
Małgorzata Kacprzak
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Abstract

The circular economy (CE) has been a European Union (EU) priority since 2014, when first official document on the CE was published. Currently, the EU is on the road to the transformation from a linear economy model to the CE model. In 2019, a new strategy was announced – the European Green Deal, the main goal of which is to mobilize the industrial sector for the CE implementation. The CE assumes that the generated waste should be treated as a secondary raw material. The paper presents an analysis of the possibility of using selected groups of waste for the production of fertilizers. Moreover, an identification of strengths and weaknesses, as well as market opportunities and threats related to the use of selected groups of waste as a valuable raw material for the production of fertilizers was conducted. The scope of the work includes characteristics of municipal waste (household waste, food waste, green waste, municipal sewage sludge, digestate), industrial waste (sewage sludge, ashes from biomass combustion, digestate) and agricultural waste (animal waste, plant waste), and a SWO T (strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. The fertilizer use from waste is determined by the content of nutrients (phosphorus – P, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, calcium ) and the presence of heavy metals unfavorable for plants (zinc, lead, mercury). Due to the possibility of contamination, including heavy metals, before introducing waste into the soil, it should be subjected to a detailed chemical analysis and treatment. The use of waste for the production of fertilizers allows for the reduction of the EU’s dependence on the import of nutrients from outside Europe, and is in line with the CE.
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Authors and Affiliations

Marzena Smol
1
ORCID: ORCID
Dominika Szołdrowska
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
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Abstract

A novel herbicidal controlled release formulation composed of (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid (2,4-D) chemically bonded to biodegradable (R,S)-3-hydroxybutyric acid oligomers was investigated. The synthesis of (R,S)-3-hydroxy butyric acid oligomers was carried out via the ring opening polymerization of β-butyrolactone initiated by 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic potassium salt in the presence of complexing agents. The formed oligomers were characterized by size exclusion chromatography, proton magnetic resonance and electrospray mass spectrometry in order to fi nd out their molar mass distribution and molecular structures. An assessment of biological effectiveness of the obtained herbicidal formulation was carried out in the greenhouse vs. Sinapis alba var. Nakielska. A promotion of the controlled release formulation with decreased water solubility and with low vapor pressure of the active ingredient, instead of traditional formulations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid may help to ensure a greater safety for workers and reduce the risk of dissemination of the active ingredient in the soil profi le.
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Authors and Affiliations

Witold J. Kowalski
Iwona Romanowska
Marzena Smol
Andrzej Silowiecki
Mariola Głazek
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Abstract

The paper presents an application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method for the environmental evaluation of the technologies for the fertilizers production. LCA has been used because it enables the most comprehensive identifi cation, documentation and quantifi cation of the potential impacts on the environment and the evaluation and comparison of all signifi cant environmental aspects. The main objective of the study was to assess and compare two technologies for the production of phosphorus (P) fertilizers coming from primary and secondary sources. In order to calculate the potential environmental impact the IMPACT 2002+ method was used. The fi rst part of the LCA included an inventory of all the materials used and emissions released by the system under investigation. In the following step, the inventory data were analyzed and aggregated in order to calculate one index representing the total environmental burden. In the scenario 1, fertilizers were produced with use of an integrated technology for the phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge ash (SSA) and P fertilizer production. Samples of SSA collected from two Polish mono-incineration plants were evaluated (Scenario 1a and Scenario 1b). In the scenario 2, P-based fertilizer (reference fertilizer – triple superphosphate) was produced from primary sources – phosphate rock.

The results of the LCA showed that both processes contribute to a potential environmental impact. The overall results showed that the production process of P-based fertilizer aff ects the environment primarily through the use of the P raw materials. The specifi c results showed that the highest impact on the environment was obtained for the Scenario 2 (1.94899 Pt). Scenario 1a and 1b showed the environmental benefi ts associated with the avoiding of SSA storage and its emissions, reaching -1.3475 Pt and -3.82062 Pt, respectively. Comparing results of LCA of P-based fertilizer production from diff erent waste streams, it was indicated that the better environmental performance was achieved in the scenario 1b, in which SSA had the higher content of P (52.5%) in the precipitate. In this case the lower amount of the energy and materials, including phosphoric acid, was needed for the production of fertilizer, calculated as 1 Mg P2O5. The results of the LCA may play a strategic role for the decision-makers in the aspect of searching and selection of the production and recovery technologies. By the environmental evaluation of diff erent alternatives of P-based fertilizers it is possible to recognize and implement the most sustainable solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

Marzena Smol
1
ORCID: ORCID
Joanna Kulczycka
2
ORCID: ORCID
Łukasz Lelek
1
Katarzyna Gorazda
3
Zbigniew Wzorek
3

  1. Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences
  2. AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland
  3. Cracow University of Technology, Poland

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