Archives of Environmental Protection

According to the general classification of shallow eutrophic lakes, two alternative types are distinguished: phytoplankton-dominated and macrophyte-dominated lakes. The latter type is rare and currently endangered by human activity. In order to determine the effect of reduced inflow of surface water by an earth dyke on the lake trophic state, certain biological and physico-chemical parameters were evaluated. This work focuses on two lakes of similar morphometric characteristics situated in the agricultural landscape. The effect of the earth dyke on the trophic state was positively verified. The lake situated in the catchment basin, in which the inflow of surface water was reduced, was defined as meso-eutrophic, with a small amount of phytoplankton and high water transparency. The reference lake was highly eutrophic, with low water transparency and a large amount of phytoplankton. The water body surrounded by the earth dyke was macrophytes dominated (65% of the lake area), whereas the reference lake was a phytoplankton-macrophyte type (42% of the lake area). The trophic evaluation of a lake can be underestimated because of a significant amount of biogenic compounds accumulated in plant tissues. Thus, the values of Carlson’s indices in macrophyte-dominated lakes may not account for the total amount of nutrients in the water body.

The surface properties of particles emitted from six selected coal-fired power and heating plants in Poland have been studied in this work for the first time. Samples were collected beyond the control systems. Surface composition of the size-distributed particles was obtained by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

The reflection of the smallest, submicron particles was also measured to calculate their specific/mass absorption. The surface layer of the emitted particles was clearly dominated by oxygen, followed by silicon and carbon. The sum of the relative concentration of these elements was between 85.1% and 91.1% for coarse particles and 71.8–93.4% for fine/submicron particles. Aluminum was typically the fourth or fifth, or at least the sixth most common element. The mass absorption of the submicron particles emitted from the studied plants ranged from 0.02 m2g-1 to 0.03 m2g-1. Only specific absorption obtained for the “Nowy Wirek” heating plant was significantly higher than in other studied plants probably because the obsolete fire grate is used in this heating plant.

The obtained results suggest that the power/heating-plant-emitted fine particles contain less carbonaceous material/elemental carbon on their surfaces than those that are typical in urban air.

The aim of the study was to develop an effective treatment of post-digestion liquors highly-loaded with biogenic and organic substances. The scope of the research project encompassed: mesophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) as well as the treatment of post-digestion liquors, coming from the most appropriate HRT value of 25 days, in the process of ammonium magnesium phosphate (struvite) precipitation targeted at ammonia nitrogen binding and a subsequent reverse osmosis (RO) process. It was established that the method combining chemical precipitation and high-pressure filtration ensures a high degree of contaminants removal allowing for a direct release of treated liquors into the natural reservoir. However, in order to decrease the residual NH4+ concentration (6.1 mg NH4+/dm3) in the purified post-digestion liquors below the level allowing for a direct release to the natural reservoir, it turned out to be necessary to apply increased molar ratio of magnesium and phosphates (Mg:NH4+: PO43-= 1.5:1:1.5).

The aim of this work was to identify concentration levels of different chemical forms of mercury (TGM, TPM) in the ambient air in selected areas of the Silesian Region, characterized by low and high mercury emission. Based on the obtained data TGM and TPM concentration levels were determined. The project also focused on determination of dry and wet deposition of mercury compounds. Data concerning TGM and TPM flux rates in the ambient air and data on mercury deposition were used to determine a deposition coefficient. The coefficient was calculated as a share of mercury deposition on the land surface (dry and wet) to the amount of this contaminant transported with loads of air in the form of TGM and TPM in a given measurement station. At both monitoring stations the deposition coefficient did not exceed 0.2 %. The idea of calculating the deposition coefficient based on the analysis of TGM and TPM flux rate is a new solution. The proposed deposition coefficient allows to quantify information on a selected contaminant concentration and its potential impact resulting from deposition. Further studies on the deposition coefficient may contribute to the development of methods for estimating the impact of contaminants contained in the ambient air on other environmental components based on the analyses of the contaminant flux rate.

The paper addresses the effect of a compost prepared from tobacco wastes with an admixture of bark and straw on the enzymatic activity and certain chemical properties of a grey-brown podzolic soil amended with that compost.

The study was conducted under the conditions of a pot experiment in which the soil material was collected from the surface horizon of the grey-brown podzolic soil. The effect of the application of the compost was compared with soil without such amendment. The test plant was maize cv. Kosmo 230. Fertilisation of the light soil with the compost studied caused changes in the enzymatic activity of the soil that were related both to the dose of the compost and to the kind of enzyme studied. With increase in the dose of the compost there was an increase in dehydrogenase activity (highest dose) and a significant decrease in the activity of acid phosphatase. Moreover, it was observed that tobacco compost was a significant source that enriched the light soil in organic matter, total nitrogen, and available forms of phosphorus, magnesium and potassium, which was evident in increased yields of maize grown as the test plant.

Significant correlations were also demonstrated between a majority of the biochemical and chemical parameters, which indicates that those parameters characterise well the biological properties of a grey-brown podzolic soil amended with tobacco compost.

Runoff estimation is a key component in various hydrological considerations. Estimation of storm runoff is especially important for the effective design of hydraulic and road structures, for the flood flow management, as well as for the analysis of land use changes, i.e. urbanization or low impact development of urban areas. The curve number (CN) method, developed by Soil Conservation Service (SCS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for predicting the flood runoff depth from ungauged catchments, has been in continuous use for ca. 60 years. This method has not been extensively tested in Poland, especially in small urban catchments, because of lack of data. In this study, 39 rainfall-runoff events, collected during four years (2009–2012) in a small (A=28.7 km2), urban catchment of Służew Creek in southwest part of Warsaw were used, with the aim of determining the CNs and to check its applicability to ungauged urban areas. The parameters CN, estimated empirically, vary from 65.1 to 95.0, decreasing with rainfall size and, when sorted rainfall and runoff separately, reaching the value from 67 to 74 for large rainfall events.

SI engines are highly susceptible to excess emissions when started at low ambient temperatures. This phenomenon has multiple air quality and climate forcing implications. Direct injection petrol engines feature a markedly different fuelling strategy, and so their emissions behaviour is somewhat different from indirect injection petrol engines. The excess emissions of direct injection engines at low ambient temperatures should also differ. Additionally, the direct injection fuel delivery process leads to the formation of PM, and DISI engines should show greater PM emissions at low ambient temperatures. This study reports on laboratory experiments quantifying excess emissions of gaseous and solid pollutants over a legislative driving cycle following cold start at a low ambient temperature for both engine types. Over the legislative cycle for testing at -7°C (the UDC), emissions of HC, CO, NOx and CO2 were higher when tested at -7°C than at 24°C. Massive increases in emissions of HC and CO were observed, together with more modest increases in NOx and CO2 emissions. Results from the entire driving cycle showed excess emissions in both phases (though they were much larger for the UDC). The DISI vehicle showed lower increases in fuel consumption than the port injected vehicles, but greater increases in emission of HC and CO. DISI particle number emissions increased by around 50%; DISI particle mass by over 600%. The observed emissions deteriorations varied somewhat by engine type and from vehicle to vehicle. Excesses were greatest following start-up, but persisted, even after several hundred seconds’ driving. The temperature of the intake air appeared to have a limited but significant effect on emissions after the engine has been running for some time. All vehicles tested here comfortably met the relevant EU limits, providing further evidence that these limits are no longer challenging and need updating.

According to data of the Central Statistical Office, the amount of sludge produced in municipal wastewater treatment plants in 2010 amounted to 526000 Mg d.m. The forecast of municipal sewage sludge amount in 2015 according to KPGO2014 will reach 642400 Mg d.m. and is expected to increase in subsequent years. Significant amounts of sludge will create problems due to its utilization. In order to solve this problem the use of thermal methods for sludge utilization is expected. According to the National Waste Management Plan nearly 30% of sewage sludge mass should be thermally utilized by 2022. The article presents the results of co-combustion of coal and municipal sewage sludge in a bubbling fluidized bed boiler made by SEFAKO and located in the Municipal Heating Company in Morag. Four tests of hard coal and sewage sludge co-combustion have been conducted. Boiler performance, emissions and ash quality were investigated.

The aim of the study was to determine the toxicity of the extract obtained from the cyanobacterial cells derived from the waters of Zemborzycki dam reservoir with use of a battery of biotests. The taxonomic identification of the bloom-forming cyanobacteria revealed high abundance of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and Dolichospermum spp. (Anabaena spp.) and in a lower degree of Microcystis aeruginosa and Planktothrix agardhii. In the extract obtained from concentrated cyanobacterial cells, hepatotoxin microcystin-LR at a concentration of 22.89 ± 3.74 μg/L and neurotoxin Antx-a at 13.02 ± 0.01 μg/L have been detected. Toxicity of the extract was evaluated with the following assays: Daphtoxkit F magna with the crustacean Daphnia magna, Thamnotoxkit F with the crustacean Thamnocephalus platyurus, Rotoxkit F with the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus and Protoxkit F with ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila. The most sensitive organism among all studied was T. platyurus for which EC50 was estimated to be 1.2% of the initial extract concentration. On the basis of the highest obtained value of the toxicity unit (TU = 83) the studied sample was classified to the IV class, which is of high acute toxicity. Additionally, it was found that reactivity on cyanobacterial products differs greatly among organisms used in bioassays, which indicate the need for using a set of biotests.

In order to investigate the mechanism of adsorption of reactive dyes from the textile industry on ash from heating plant produced by brown coal combustion, some characteristic sorption constants are determined using Langergren adsorption equations for pseudo-fi rst and pseudo-second order. Combined kinetic models of pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order can provide a simple but satisfactory explanation of the adsorption process for a reactive dye. According to the characteristic diagrams and results of adsorption kinetic parameters of reactive dyes on ashes, for the applied amounts of the adsorbents and different initial dye concentrations, it can be concluded that the rate of sorption is fully functionally described by second order adsorption model. According to the results, the rate constant of pseudo-second order decreases with increasing initial dye concentration and increases with increasing amount of adsorbent – ash.

M embrane-based water desalination processes and hybrid technologies are often considered as a technologically and economically viable alternative for desalination of geothermal waters. This has been confirmed by the results of pilot studies concerning the UF-RO desalination of geothermal waters extracted from various geological structures in Poland. The assessment of the feasibility of implementing the water desalination process analysed on an industrial scale is largely dependent on the method and possibility of disposing or utilising the concentrate. The analyses conducted in this respect have demonstrated that it is possible to use the solution obtained as a balneological product owing to its elevated metasilicic acid, fluorides and iodides ions content. Due to environmental considerations, injecting the concentrate back into the formation is the preferable solution. The energy efficiency and economic analysis conducted demonstrated that the cost effectiveness of implementing the UF-RO process in a geothermal system on an industrial scale largely depends on the factors related to its operation, including without limitation the amount of geothermal water extracted, water salinity, the absorption parameters of the wells used to inject water back into the formation, the scale of problems related to the disposal of cooled water, local demand for drinking and household water, etc. The decrease in the pressure required to inject water into the formation as well as the reduction in the stream of the water injected are among the key cost-effectiveness factors. Ensuring favourable desalinated water sale terms (price/quantity) is also a very important consideration owing to the electrical power required to conduct the UF-RO process.