The purpose of the work was to determine the relationship between the of the water quality parameters in an artificial reservoir used as cooling ponds. Multivariate methods, cluster analysis and factor analysis were applied to analyze eighteen physico-chemical parameters such as air and water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, visibility of the Secchi disk, concentrations of total nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, total phosphorus, phosphate, concentrations of calcium, magnesium, chlorides, sulfates and total dissolved salts, pH, chemical oxygen demand and electric conductivity from 2002-2017 to investigated cooling water discharge. Hierarchical cluster analysis (CA) allowed identified five different clusters that reflect the different water quality characteristics of the water system. Similar results were obtained in exploratory factor analysis, five factors were obtained with 65.96% total variance. However, confirmatory factor analysis showed that four latent variables: salinity, temperature, eutrophication, and ammonia provide better fit to the data than a five-factor structure. Correlations between latent variables temperature, eutrophication and ammonia show a significant effect of temperature on the transformation of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds.

The paper presents the preliminary study of n-butanol removal in the adsorption process. The main objective of the research was to asess whether and to what extent biochars produced from selected organic waste materials are suitable for odor removal. Biochars produced from dried sewage sludge and beekeeping waste were tested in the adsorption process. At first, raw materials were pyrolyzed and then modified with a 25% ZnCl2 solution or a 30% H2O2 solution. The adsorption process was conducted using a model gas – the European reference odorant – n-butanol. The output parameter was odor concentration Cod [ouE/m3]. Odor concentration Cod values were obtained using a dynamic olfactometry method on T08 olfactometer. The solid byproducts of pyrolysis of digested sewage sludge and beekeeping waste may be used as adsorbents for the removal of n-butanol in the adsorption process. Adsorption performance of biochar from sewage sludge is better than biochar from beekeeping waste. Additional modification with H2O2 or ZnCl2 increases the efficiency of the process, thus decreasing the required bed height for the elimination of odorant. The results of the studies confirm the findings of other authors that biochars derived from sewage sludge and other organic waste materials may be efficient sorbents in the removal of various substances from water or the air. Other biochars and methods of their activation should be tested. For practical reasons, the next stage of the research should be the determination of the adsorption front height and its migration rate.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of industrial waste landfill on the release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on the environment with reference to water flow directions. 10 study plots were designated around the landfill site. Soil samples were taken from different soil layers. Plants: Solidago canadensis (leaves, stem), Quercus L. (leaves), and Poaceae were tested on PCBs contents. Groundwater samples were taken from piezometers. PCBs in the samples were determined by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC / ECD).The highest accumulation of PCBs congeners was observed in the topsoil layers and decreased with the sampling depth. The dominant PCBs congeners in soil were PCB 28 and PCB 138, in plants PCB 28 and PCB 52. The most significant PCBs accumulation in the topsoil layer occurred in the research area on which the largest amount of waste was deposited and was equal to 14.2 ng/g. The largest sum of determined PCBs congeners was found in Solidago canadensis leaves – 3.26 ng/g and Quercus L. leaves – 3.32 ng/g. PCB 28 and PCB 52 were capable of translocation from soil to plants. It was found that the water flow direction did not affect PCB content in soils

In this work, a highly effective catalyst (MoO3) is synthesized and applied for catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater. The catalyst is systematically characterized to investigate the morphology, crystal structure and chemical composition, and the findings demostrated that MoO3 catalyst is successfully synthesized. The degradation mechanism is also illustrated by the density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The degradation experiments confirm that MoO3 catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance in CWAO, and the removal rate of TOC (Total Organic Carbon) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) is achieved to more than 93%. The catalyst doses, reaction temperature and reaction time have a significant impact on the removal of pollutants. The degradation process of pollutants in CWAO could be satisfactorily fitted by the second-order kinetics. Besides, MoO3 displays a favorable stability as CWAO catalyst. DFT calculation illustrates that MoO3 catalyst is a typical indirect band gap semiconductor. Moreover, the high temperature environment provides the thermal excitation energy, which favors to the free electrons nearing Fermi level to escape the material surface, and excites them to the conduction band, then directly reduces the pollutants in CWAO. These findings demonstrate that MoO3 can be used as an efficient and excellent catalyst for CWAO of pharmaceutical wastewater.

The results of the first limnological studies of the Kuźnica Warężyńska anthropogenic reservoir, by flooding the sand mine excavation, in 2005, are presented. Measurements of water temperature and the concentration of oxygen dissolved in water were made every month, from April to December, every 1 meter deep from the surface to the bottom (22m). Kuźnica Warężyńska anthropogenic lake was classified according to Olszewski and Patalas as dimictic, eumictic, stratified, stable, and extremely limnic. In terms of the share of the littoral zone in the total area, the reservoir is classified as grade II according to Dołgoff, where the pelagic zone is similar to the littoral zone. After 14 years of the reservoir's existence, during the summer stagnation period, the oxygen in the hypolimnion is completely depleted, from the 10th meter deep to the bottom, 22m. The analysis of the vertical distribution of the regression coefficient for the relationship between water temperature and the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water indicates the influence of the oxygen-free groundwater supplying the reservoir as a factor that may, in addition to the decomposition of organic matter, initiate anaerobic processes in the bottom water layer of the reservoir. When circulation ceases, the bottom eruption of oxygen-depleted groundwater is, during the summer and winter stagnation, a factor that shapes the anaerobic environment in the bottom layers of water early, initiating the internal enrichment process. Hydrological conditions, morphometry and thermal-oxygen relations of the Kuźnica Warężyńska reservoir are favorable for undertaking technical measures - changing the method of draining water from the surface to the bottom - to protect the quality of water resources.

The paper presents the results of the analysis of the content of selected heavy metals in used engine oils collected in car service stations during oil change. The main purpose of the research was to determine the difference in heavy metal content (Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn, Hg, Cd) depending on the engine type and oil change interval. The analysis comprised 80 samples of used engine oils obtained from passenger cars. The content of heavy metals was tested with use of the HDMaxine analyzer, operating on the basis of HDXRF (High-Definition X-Ray Fluorescence). Upon analyzing the differences in the average content of the examined elements, depending on the type of engine, it can be concluded that in oils coming from diesel engines the following elements showed a higher concentration – Cr (three times), Fe (1/3 times ), Ni (two times), Pb (1/2 times), whereas in oils coming from gasoline engines, only the average Cu content was higher (¾ times). Zinc had a comparable level of concentration. The multi-factor analysis of variance showed that in diesel engines the levels of Fe, Cr, Pb and Ni are statistically significantly different than in the reference group of gasoline engines. The study findings suggest that, depending on the engine type, the content of selected heavy metal elements in used oils varies. Therefore, to ensure proper handling of waste oils and reduce environmental risk, selective collection of used oils depending on the engine type may definitely be considered.

The introduction highlights the technologies of converting the chemical energy of biomass and municipal waste into various forms of final energy (electricity, heat, cooling, new fuels) as important in the pursuit of a low-carbon economy, especially for energy and transport sector. The work continues to focus mainly on gasification as a process of energy valorization of the initial form of biomass or waste, which does not imply that other methods of biomass energy use are not considered or used. Furthermore, the article presents a general technological flowchart of gasification with a gas purification process developed by Investeko S.A. in the framework of Lifecogeneration.pl. In addition, selected properties of the municipal waste residual fraction are described, which are of key importance when selecting the technology for its energy recovery. Significant quality parameters were identified, which have a significant impact on the production and quality of syngas, hydrogen production and electricity generation capacity in SOFC cells. On the basis of the research on the waste stream, a preliminary qualitative assessment was made in the context of the possibility of using the waste gasification technology, syngas production with a significant share of hydrogen and in combination with the technology of energy production in oxide-ceramic SOFC cells. The article presents configurations of energy systems with a fuel cell, with particular emphasis on oxide fuel cells and their integration with waste gasification process. An important part of the content of the article is also the environmental protection requirements for the proposed solution.

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of reclamation on selected soil water properties in soils developed from lignite fly ash, deposited as a dry landfill, twenty years after forest reclamation was initiated. Five soil profiles, classified as technogenic soils (Technosols) within the fly ash disposal site of the Adamów (central Poland) power plant, were selected for this study. Disturbed and undisturbed samples (V=100 cm3) were collected from depths of 5–15 cm and 30–60 in each soil profile. The following physical properties were determined: particle size distribution, particle density, bulk density, soil moisture, hygroscopic water content, and the soil-water potential. Readily available water (RAW; difference of water content at pF=2.0 and at pF=3.7) and total available water (TAW; difference of water content at pF=2.0 and at pF=4.2) were calculated based on soil moisture tension (pF) values. The following chemical properties were determined: soil reaction, total organic carbon, total nitrogen content, carbonate content. Statistical analyses were conducted using the GenStat 18 statistical software package. The soils under study were characterized by very low bulk density, high total porosity, high field water capacity and maximum hygroscopicity. The RAW/TAW ratio values indicate very effective water retention in the soils, thereby ensuring a satisfactory water supply to the plants. However, statistical analysis did not show any clear trends in variability of any determined properties. The small differences in observed outcomes probably resulted from the original variability of the fly ash deposited on the studied landfill. Obtained results show the strong similarity of fly ash derived soils and Andosols in respect of physical and soil-water properties