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Vanadium and nickel exist in oils as porphyrin complexes. Metalloporphyrins are concentrated in the asphaltene-resinous part of the oil, while the maximum content of vanadium and nickel is accounted for by asphaltenes. Up to the present time, information about features of content and distribution of vanadium, nickel, and the types of the corresponding metal complexes in asphaltenes and resins of heavy oils and natural bitumens has a disparate and non-systemic character. In this work, composition and distribution o...

This paper aims to bring the latest information on annual calibration of measuring equipment installed in cement plants. Calibration should be certified to confirm the quality of continuous measurements, namely the measurements of plant equipment is controlled by parallel measurements with standard reference methods by an authorized testing laboratory (accredited). These types of measurements are referred to as instant annual measurements or measurements for the chimney testing. A continuous emissions monitoring e...

The paper presents an original experimental stand for measuring emissions and pollutant by-products in a casting shop of machine-building plant. The experimental results are achieved if the cast shapes forming in normal mixture and ground foundry.The work gives the calculation and determination of the coefficient of pollution and environmental indicators for the two molding processes. In order to determine the impact on the working environment and the effects of pollutants on the health of human operators, numerou...

The characteristic thickness and type of intercalations is important when assessing the suitability of bituminous coal deposits for exploitation. The data on coal partings is of key importance due to a number of factors, including: the optimum selection of technological processes of exploitation, the quantity of resources, the quality of the coal output, the cost of production and processing of coal, and the variability of quality parameters of coal пїЅ in that case, the ash content in the examined seams is worth ...

Located in the northern part of continental Portugal, the city of Porto is characterized by low-to-moderate levels of seismicity, thus one of reasons for the lack of studies regarding the influence of site effects in this area. In this study, the HVSR technique (horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio) was used in order to obtain information about the fundamental frequencies of the ground in several parts of the city which was later compared to the geotechnical information presented in the Geotechnical Map of Porto,...

Costs constitute the basic economic indicator that affects the business activities of mining companies. Cost optimization in the mining company is a key factor of business and the goal to successful growth and profit formation. The costs of the mining company are high and costs affect negatively corporate profit. We will search costs in mining companies in Slovakia in area of small, medium and large companies. The goal of this paper is to find out the development costs in the mining companies in Slovakia relative ...

The article deals with the cost-benefit analysis of Short Rotation Woody Crops plantations (SRC) for local supply chains and heat use. There are analysed benefits and costs (expenditure) from the positions of farmers (land operators). The cost-benefit analysis has been carried out by applying the method of discounted cash flow as this method allows assessing the entire life cycle of the plantations including initial establishment of the plantation and several rotation cycles. There are assessed the plantations in ...

The Black Sea coastal zone of Georgia is especially valuable for its natural conditions and economic function. Concerning to the implementation of requirements of EU-Georgia Association Agreement the main guiding document regarding the marine environment is The Marine Strategy Framework Directive пїЅ MSFD which came into force on July 15, 2008. The goal of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is to achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status пїЅ GES in marine waters of Europe (including Black Sea) not ...

There are an industrial air pollutants as a new, negative factor in agriculture, reflected mainly in second part of the 20. century. There are thousands of hectares of uncultivated agricultural land as a consequence of this form of soil intoxication. There is also reduced soil fertility below the fertility level, on the another thousand hectares of soil, where is needed high energy excess in the form of fertilizers or agro-technical works. Physical and chemical properties of soils have been changed, erosion has be...

Raising the issue of the relevance of culture and peculiar behaviour patterns for taking effective action of individuals and professional groups is an extremely practically useful thread of the analysis of social functioning of a person living in the conditions of modern civilization. The concept of pattern assumes a certain, usually positive, method of its evaluation. Behaviour patterns usually will be transmitted in the area of culture including common environmental views among generations as a tool of a good so...

The aim of this study is certainly not to include and introduce various types of civic amenity buildings in terms of functionality and hierarchy, nor to investigate in detail particular types of civic amenity buildings. The aim of this study is rather to focus on the current trends in building types within the new public facilities, which are based on current problems, namely the lack of services and facilities which are being either supplemented with new ones or are completely replacing the existing, nowadays unu...

This article provides a review of recent unfolding geopolitical situation on the world stage. China and Russia have taken huge steps to create alternatives to USD dominated trade and finance. Not too long ago surplus trade countries such as China, Russia and the rest had no choice but to buy U.S. Treasury securities with their surplus USD enabling U.S. currency printing and war waging. China and Russia have accumulated massive amounts of physical gold, amid increased economic sanctions and trade war with U.S. Join...

The issue of preserving and protecting forests in the face of increasing human activity was presented as very up-to-date. Irrational human activity and fires have led to deforestation of places, once completely covered with forests. The area of tropical forests in Africa has decreased by 70 percent, South America пїЅ by 60 percent, only 8 percent of Chinese territory is covered with forest. The article briefly examines the process of degradation of forest resources in the global economy. This study explores the lo...

This paper studies one of the biggest problems facing older buildings or historic monuments like ascendant humidity that occurs upward because water migrates into the walls from different sources from the soil found in foundation. The experimental researches have been made in the basement of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering from Craiova, which is a heritage building that was badly affected by the earthquake from 1977. The subsequent rehabilitation was unable to repair the damage of the building's foundation. ...

One of the main factors determining economic and social development of particular countries is availability of cheap energy source. In a case of European countries, this availability has also important influence on the integration process. Amount of produced energy in given country tells about the level of its civilizing development. Also so-called energy independence that most countries are aimed and which guarantees political independence is strictly related to this problem. It can be assumed, that energy is one...

The basic tasks of building and production sphere, housing and communal services are connected with life protection and comfortable conditions creations for people. In this way the automated control systems of distributed energy supply and life support facilities play an important part. The main scientific direction in this area is increasing their energy efficiency. Paper represents results of implementation of automated dispatch control systems of distributed energy supply and life support facilities that includ...

We offer two approaches for construction of block lithosphere models. First is for selection of blocks in mantle only, it is applicable to both two- and three-dimensial models. Second method (3D) helps to select blocks related to known tectonic structures. Usual approach for tectonic maps construction is the gravity field analysis. However, this method is significantly limited because the gravity field includes integral information about density features in lithosphere. This makes impossible to split selected tect...

This article is dedicated to issues of commissioning of a small pumped storage hydropower plant in mine. Pumped storage hydropower plants are one of several ways to solve the problem of non-constant power consumption from the mains. This hydropower plant, we are going to deal with in this article, is located at Jeremenko mine in Ostrava, 580 meters below the surface of the earth. The entire facility is composed of Pelton turbine, Bibi's coupling and a generator of electrical energy. There will be described the iss...

The introduction of energy dissipating devices as passive dampers in structural systems under earthquake excitation is intended to reduce structural deformation and in certain cases to reduce the risk of damage to equipment attached to the structural system. In seismic design, the input energy of an earthquake is typically dissipated through hysteretic behaviour of structural members, which allows the structure to undergo inelastic deformations without compromising the stability of the structure. The energy dissip...

Sewage treatment plants (STPs) have been constructed in most places to reduce the degradation of water quality and ensure a healthy environment. STPs are major investments due to the high capital required to build them as well as their high operating and maintenance costs. Small and isolated villages or settlements with low population densities can be served by decentralized systems, which are simple and have low costs. While functioning within general environment protection activities, wastewater originating from...

Producing energy from renewable sources represents an essential component of energy policies at a national level and it leads to important savings of fossil fuel and primary energy. According to the targets established by the National Reform Programme, Romania intends to obtain a rate of 24% sources of renewable energy from the total consumption in 2020. On this foundation, the challenge of renewable energy goes beyond assessing its future role. This article investigates the development of renewable energy in term...

In this study, we present series of GPR experiments to identify and solve problems, which might be encountered while carrying out GPR survey in sandy soils for various purposes. Study was carried out in the Smeceres sils sand-gravel quarry, which is located in the Madona-Trepe ice-marginal ridge in Eastern Latvia. This specific quarry was selected as a study site, because it has a boulder pavement located in its uppermost part. Two similar experiments were carried out in dry (after long period of dry weather condi...

Passage form the idea to market is a long journey, which if it is appropriately planned, may bring satisfaction and success. On the other hand, implementation new technology on the market give a risk of grave errors committing at the stage of planning. The procedure of transfer may end with fiasco, even though the concepts were really innovative and interesting. In this paper determinants of geothermal water deironing technology commercialization has been presented. The developed technology has been not breakthrou...

Contribution follows the issues included in the contribution пїЅInfluence of a possibility to emplace a building and a type of a building being placed on the value of the landпїЅ published in the conference proceedings SGEM 2016. The authors of the contribution focused on issues related to the conditions for the building placement on the land. They will examine what conditions must be met to place a building, in response to various forms of placement permits. The conditions of the building placement determine the ...

Oil production decline in Russia can be explained by deterioration of its oil reserves. That is why the country pays much attention to development issues of high-viscosity oil fields of the Middle and Lower Carboniferous sediments. In this regard, using new chemical agents with combined effects and study of their impact mechanism has become of scientific and practical significance. This paper presents a laboratory physical simulation experiment to study reservoir performance after steam and chemical agent injectio...

The aim of this paper is to thermo-analytically study the process of heat generation during flame and flameless combustion of lignocellulos pellets dust made from various types of raw materials. The heat release rate of the test samples was measured by a cone calorimeter. Different heat fluxes (30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 kW.m-2) were used to determine the behaviour of three different types of lignocellulose pellets dust under a thermal load. The mass loss and the time to ignition was continuously monitored during each ...

Small hydroelectric power plants (SHPP) are accepted by the legislation of EU Member States to benefit from renewable energy promotion scheme through various market mechanism. The SHPPs are a particular form and case of hydroelectric power plants (HPP) and are having a maximum capacity of 10 MW. Since the green certificate (GC) promotion scheme was awarded in Romania (2008), a considerable number of SHPP were constructed and commissioned in the last years. These projects have the same philosophy as a large hydro, ...

In this paper, we have studied the changes in the rheological and hydromechanical properties of oil environments (oil, fuel oil, diesel fraction) at various rates of their flow and turbulence in the temperature range. A formula has been developed and the mechanism of action of a viscous-turbulent additive with a nanocomplex in the temperature range from 20 пїЅ C to -5 пїЅ C has been studied. The action of this composition (additive) is based on the formation of new straight-chain structures - "macromolecules" due ...

Circular economy, i.e. a closed-loop economy, is an idea in which the value of products and materials is retained as long as possible. A concept that minimizes the environmental impact of the products created, through such choice of components and design that will allow them to be reused. Speaking of circular economy, it is impossible not to mention the role of alternative fuels. According to the EN-15359: 2005 standard - Solid recovered fuels. Specification and classes, alternative fuels are flammable wastes, def...

The paper presents development of Geotourism and associated mining heritage on a unique example of two mining sites пїЅ the oldest mine in the world for mining opal above the village of ?ervenica (Slovakia) and the oldest mine in the world for oil in BпїЅbrka (Poland). Both sites have rich mining past, which they want to use for the development of tourism. Based on the visits, structure of services and development plans, we speak in terms of tourism development on two different sites, even though the distance betw...

Rural tourism has many development opportunities, mainly in the areas that still preserve customs, traditions, craft and handicraft. Ideal for creating a tourist offer competitive on international market would be the possibility of developing some tourist packages with local specific, to this purpose all the natural elements, plus the traditions and folklore, creates clear possibilities for realizing a rural tourism, at high international standards, allowing attracting tourists. In many countries operate successfu...

The paper analyzes the role of small innovative business in the sustainable development of Russia's oil and gas industry and resource regions. The authors show that, in modern conditions, an urgent task is a fundamental change in the institutional and organizational structure of the hydrocarbons extraction and processing industries of Russia. Development of small deposits by small innovative oil and gas companies is more economically efficient. The paper shows that the development of small innovative business in t...

All over the world, including Latvia, terrorism, warfare and other threats are on the increase, and risk prevention and minimization of the consequences of these events are associated with civil protection actualization and developing the competence necessary for that. This state of events is recognized through the replacement of the former Civil Protection Law with the Civil Protection and Disaster Management Law, proclaimed in 2016. The aim of the study was to evaluate the dynamics of the students` competence in...

Lake Baikal is a world heritage site, one of the most valuable sources of a large volume of fresh water of its own purity. A serious threat to the endemic ecosystems of Lake Baikal, which determines the properties of Baikal water, are the wastes from the Baikal pulp and paper mill accumulated over the years of its operation (1966-2003). Sludge accumulators of this enterprise finding on the shore of Lake Baikal. They contains more than 6.2 million cubic meters of various wastes. There is a rather real threat of pol...

In many cases, the specific energy consumption indicators do not reflect the energy efficiency, since the amount of energy consumption is affected both by the technical condition and design of buildings and the specific use of energy, and specifics of its use and the proper organization (culture) energy consumption. The paper presents a generalized indicator of the energy efficiency of objects that have different purposes and are located in buildings with different technical conditions. The indicator contains two ...

This article describes a study approach of winter multi-hazards and assessment of their impact on shores, coastal infrastructure and hydraulic structures in the closed water bodies on an example of the Caspian Sea. The whole approach is divided into four main stages. The first stage is devoted to the analysis of existing criteria for hazardous natural phenomena. The second stage is devoted to the reconstruction (hidcasting) of winter multi-hazards. At the third stage, the classification of winter periods depending...

Hydrochemical studies of mine water on abandoned Nagornaya mine showed that they are weakly alkaline with high color, permanganate demand (PD) and content of iron cations compared to Russian state legislation standards for natural water of a different type. Mine water are polluted with Na, Li, Cu, Ni and Sr cations, while gas chromatography identified some saturated hydrocarbons, mainly from ?22?46 to ?32?66. The study demonstrates a developed technology of local mine water treatment with a high color, PD and iron...

The developed bank ASTIOB of the coordinated thermodynamic information consists of five databases пїЅ for inorganic and organic individual (including unstechiometric) condensed compounds and gases, and components of aqueous solutions. For each of the condensed substances is given its chemical formula, standard enthalpy ? f o H298 and Gibbs energy ? f o G298 of formation, entropy S o 298 , and also for each of phase (agregate or structural) states - appropriate binary index, enthalpy ?tr T o H of polymorphic or agr...

The purpose of this article is to discuss the authigenic chlorite, illite and illite-smectite mixed layers at the sandstone of upper Triassic reservoir at Euphrates graben fields east of Syria related to their structural, morphology and diagenetic events and precipitation. The upper Triassic sandstone reservoir is one of the most important oil and gas reser-voirs at the east of Syria; it contains about 60 % of the total hydrocarbon volume at the area. Petrographical analyses combined with the different core analys...

Based on the example of arsenic, co-occurring in the Cu-Ag deposits (the Fore-Sudetic Monocline, Poland) while considered to be harmful for the environment, the paper describes difficulties associated with the reliable estimation of trace and rare elements concentrating in parts of deposits. The characteristics of these elements that make the estimation of the resources difficult include: extremely high variability of content, the dominant share of random components in the differentiation structure, and the concep...

The paper presents the results of surface geochemical surveys carried out using "free gas method" in "Brzesko-Wojnicz" area in the SE part of the Poland. The surveys were conducted along 2 measurement profiles. A total of 341 soil gas samples were collected from 1.2 m depth below the surface. Maximum concentrations of CH4, total alkanes C2- C5, total alkenes C2-C4 reached: 27,1 vol.%., 45,3 ppm and 0,174 ppm, respectively. In total, in the analyzed area there are anomalous concentration of total C2-C5 alkanes (ove...

As of January 1, 2017, according to the Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups public-interest entities fulfilling particular requirements described in the document are obligated to disclose non-financial and diversity information. Due to this fact, the main aim of the paper was the assessment of the current state of reporting of non-fin...

Romania is an active country from a seismic point of view, every year occurring around 250 earthquakes, many of these of a medium to strong level. This is one of the reasons why the seismic design of bridges is very important in Romania. The seismic provisions applied in Romania evolved from P100 - 92 to P100 - 2013, containing major changes regarding the ground acceleration and corner period, but also regarding the structural details. The cantilever method for prestressed concrete bridges has obvious benefits for...

In this paper it has been analyzed the water quality from a total of nine wells located in Radovan village, as sources of drinking water from groundwater aquifers. For this, in 2012 there has been collected a total of 567 samples, monthly from March to November, analyzing the content of ammonium, nitrate, chloride, potassium, sodium, phosphate and pH. Analyzing the content of nitrates can be seen that, except well no. 1, in March and April in all other wells, to the data of determinations, nitrate content exceeds ...

Heavy-metal pollution of forest soils around closed mines represents an important environmental concern and we measured the contamination level in the forest plants. The waste material generated by the now-abandoned ore-processing plant of Tarni?a-Suceava, Romania, situated in the Eastern Carpathians, contain large amount of heavy metals, aluminum, and arsenic. The high risk of environmental contamination of sterile dumps is amplified by their susceptibility to airborne, hydromechanical and hydrochemical transport...

The objective of the article was to identify eco-innovations and logistical processes to which eco-innovations are implemented. The article presents the quantitative methods of assessing the impact of logistic processes on the environment, which are also used for eco-design of processes in ecology. In the article the following methods were described: process assessment in supply chain GreenSCOR, LCA, MIPS, OPM. The research objective of the article was to evaluate the impact of the selected logistic process on the...

Eco-system services, particularly agricultural eco-system services as landscape functions are defined as goods and services provided that contribute to human well-being. The aim of the study is to evaluate the capability of sustainable providing agricultural eco-services - landscapes as base of innovative activities in the rural areas. The following aspects as the tasks have been covered in the study: to evaluate sustainability aspects of Latvian agricultural landscapes, as agricultural eco-system services; to inv...

Ecolabel is an environmental policy tool introduced at European level in 2000 by Ecolabel Regulation. Ecolabel is a tool to promote products with reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle. These products contribute to an efficient use of resources and a level of environmental protection, offering consumers accurate information about the eco-labeled products. Touristic enterprises that have Ecolabel care for environment and consumer health. If we take the examples of agritourism structures, we will h...

The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the relatively simple way how to both increase fire safety of paper technology processing and to remove one environmentally unfriendly and unhealthy chemical substance from the production process. Practical examination of flammability based on standardized testing method STN ISO 871:2010-07 of selected cellulosic material focusing on harvesting specimens and tissue paper bring new insights into the issues of flammability and combustion of the materials and finished pro...

Background: With the development of ecological awareness, the demand for financial and non-financial information is growing with regard to an entity's relationship with the environment. The literature presents various opinions on the solutions applied and their effects. Environmental reporting is only partially mandatory in Poland. Environmental information of business entity is generally non-financial and has various forms and scopes. This article aims to analyze and evaluate the state of environmental reporting ...