This study examined the process of filtering of infiltrated water containing excessive amounts or iron, manganese, and fulvic acids through two filtration beds-sand and zeolite-exhibiting catalytic properties. The fulvic acids that were added to the filtered water were extracted from mud in Kołobrzeg. The zeolite bed was modified with manganese oxide using our own technology and required periodic regeneration using 0.3% KMnO, solution. Our study showed the fulvic acids' negative effect on the process of water purification. The zeolite bed reduces this effect and is more effective than the quartz sand bed.

Speciation of trace elements in the sediment of a meromictic Piaseczno Lake (inundated opencast sulphur mine, southern Poland) with permanently anoxic monimolimnion was studied. A 6-step sequential extraction procedure was applied to determine operationally defined phases: exchangeable (FI), carbonate (F2). easily reducible (F3), moderately reducible (F4), organic/sulphides (FS). and residual (F6) in the sediment. The differences in trace elements (except Mn) speciation in the littoral sediment with the respect of lake depths were not found Considerable difference in the trace elements speciation between the littoral sediment and permanently anoxic profundal one was found.

Main sources of emission of benzene and its alkylated derivatives to the atmospheric air, particularly the vehicular ones, are characterized in the paper. Growing use of fuels. especially unleaded gasoline, leads to emission of considerable amounts of these aromatic hydrocarbons. The paper presents and discusses results of determinations of the content of benzene and its alkylated derivatives in engine fuels. Also emission factors of these hydrocarbons from commonly used in Poland types of cars, both with spark- and self-ignition engines, are considered. Profiles of investigated hydrocarbons in fuels and exhaust gases were determined. Respectively compared profiles proved the motor vehicles responsible for main part of the benzene and its alkylatcd derivatives in air in the vicinity of communication arteries.

This paper presents the results of the research aiming at determining content of selected anions in the samples containing precipitated water (rainwater and snowfall water) by isotachophoretic method. This work is a continuation of the complex pollution monitoring in the areas of Siedlce and Olecko (near Suwałki). The samples were collected from November 2006 to May 2007. Days of sampling depended on atmospheric conditions. Sulfate and hydrogen carbonate turned up to be the dominant anions in samples which were collected in city centers. Higher contents were observed in Siedlce. The content of nitrites in both cities was low. The highest concentration of sulfates and chlorides in rainwater was obtained in the samples collected near the Company of Thermal Energy (CTE) in Siedlce. Similar results of sulfate concentration were observed in Olecko. In samples of snowfall water (collected near to the CTE) sulfates and sulfites were the dominating anions.

jakość wód podziemnych. W badaniach zastosowano trzy gatunki roślin, jako możliwe kierunki stosowania osadów ściekowych: trawa - rekultywacja gleb zdegradowanych, kukurydza - produkcja pasz, wierzba- wykorzystanie energetyczne biomasy. Jako kontrolę zastosowano lizymetry pozbawione roślinności. Przyjęto nastepujące dawki osadów ściekowych: O. IO, 50. 110,225 i 450 Mg s.m./ha. Statystycznie istotna. liniowa zależność pomiędzy dawką osadów a wielkością przewodności elektrolitycznej właściwej (EC), ChZT oraz azotanów wskazuje na potencjalne zagrożenie zanieczyszczenia wód podziemnych przy przyrodniczym wykorzystaniu osadów ściekowych, szczególnie w przypadku wysokich dawek osadów przekraczających 50 Mg s.m./ha. Zależności te oraz ryzyko zanieczyszczenia wód podziemnych obserwowano przez trzy lata doświadczenia dla wskaźników zanieczyszczenia EC i ChZT. W przypadku azotanów, zagrożenie ich migracji stwierdzono jedynie w pierwszym roku badań. Dodatkowo stężenia metali ciężkich oraz obecność patogenów w wodach gruntowych była na niskim poziomic. Stwierdzono, że zastosowane rośliny nie zmniejszyły negatywnego wpływu osadów ściekowych na jakość wód podziemnych.

Deposits used as fertilizer bring to soil both biogens necessary for plant growth and other ingredients such as metals. including heavy metals. Knowledge of quantities and rate in which heavy metals are to be released to soil from granulates is important because of their toxic influence on plants (in the case of high metals concentration). This paper presents results of investigation of elution of Cu. Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb. and Cr from granulates prepared from municipal sewage sludge, hard coal ash and brown coal ash. Elution to water solution was carried out in static conditions with single-stage and tree-stage extraction. Heavy metal a component of sludge-ash granulates eluted in various quantities, i.e. from trace for cadmium to 9.26-9.53 mg/kg of d.m. for zinc. Among the soluble forms of metals the most mobile are (in decreasing sequence): Cu > Pb> Zn> Ni in granulates containing brown coal ash and Cu> Pb> Ni> Zn in granulates contain hard coal ash.

Arsenic content was determined in the soil profiles collected from the former dumping ground of post-crystallization lye (presently under recultivation) in the area of the chemical plant in Luboń, near Poznań. Of particular concern was the content of the two most toxic species ofAs(lll) and As(V) in the environmentally available exchange fraction. Extraction was performed with a phosphate buffer of pH= 6.0 ± 0.2, and the analytical method applied was HPLC-HG-AAS. As(V) species were found in all samples, whereas As(III) species in a few samples collected at different depths. The concentration of As(V) varied from 91 to 1228 ng/g, while that of As(ll I) - from 17 to 48 ng/g. As there are no watertight rock formations underneath the dumping site, the polluting substances can he easily washed out by ground waters and carried into the Warta River, which is a main source of water for the city of Poznań.

The adsorption of cadmium(ll) ions by low moor Alder Peat occurring in the overburden of brown coal deposits in Bełchatów Brown Coal Mine was investigated under dynamic conditions. Cadmium(ll) ions were applied to the column in aqueous solutions containing either cadmium sulfate or cadmium chloride. Solutions were also prepared containing cadmium ions alone or in combination with zinc(ll) and copper(ll) ions. The peat used as the adsorbent in this study had a high capacity for adsorbing the ions tested. The cadmium adsorbing capacity of the peat was significantly affected by pH, the anions present in the solution, and other cations present in the solution. The cadmium adsorbing capacity of the peat was significantly lower in the presence of other metal cations such as zinc(l l) and copper(l l), because these cations effectively compete with cadmium ions for binding sites on the peat. Peat can be recommended for purification processes designed to remove cadmium ions. Because cadmium ions arc predominantly loosely bound to the peat, they are easily extracted. This means that the cadmium adsorbing capacity of the peat is regenerated so that it can be used in further purification cycles.