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Fans are such simple and common equipment, that we tend to underestimate their importance, giving them our attention only when their performances are not meeting our criteria. General mechanical ventilation is typically carried out by two co-operating installations: one for the inlet of fresh air into the room or technological space, and the second for absorbing the vicious air. Both fresh air and the evacuation of the air, the fans must be equipped with a diffuser. When the fan blows freely into the atmosphere wi...

The paper presents an attempt to integrate the results of surface geochemical survey (?free gas? method) and soil magnetic susceptibility carried out in "Brzesko-Wojnicz" area, the SE part of Poland. The measurement profile is located at the border of two regional tectonic units: the central part of the Carpathian Foredeep and the Outer Carpathians. . The purpose of the article was to find out a relationship between different indicators of hydrocarbon microseepage, which can provide useful information, especially ...

In the development of Latvia?s economy fisheries industry has always played a significant role, especially in development of the Baltic Sea and Riga Gulf coastline area. The fisheries industry has not only a long-standing history and traditions, but also an internal development potential and the ability to produce competitive products in the world market. The aim of the research is to reflect the diversity and competitiveness of the product in the Latvian fisheries industry. On the grounds of the methodology offer...

This paper analyzes and summarizes the main results of Technological and Nontechnological Eco-innovations performance through the investment planning framework and gives comprehensive overview of one of European Union Investments planning case in one of the Baltic States. The used methods: scientific literature and legislative documents analysis show the planned and called investments overview during the 20142020 financial planning period and explicitly outlines the fields of investment planning attractiveness int...

Weathering of open adits, dumps and non-isolated tailing impoundments at abandoned ore deposits cause many problems such as water, soil and stream sediments contamination by potentially toxic elements. Soil contamination often results in a local change in biodiversity. In the present study, we describe the diversity of plants and fungi in the areas contaminated mainly with arsenic and antimony. The highest contaminant contents (As, Sb, Pb, Zn, Cu) in soils were generally identified in alluvia of draining streams. ...

Dozens of objects that have cultural, technical or historical value are destroyed in the world every day. Sometimes these are small monuments of various origins, standing in seclusion. Yet they disappear irrevocably, and often there is even no mention of them. The reasons are the expansion of civilization, lack of interest, poverty, terrorism, wars, religious conflicts, vandalism and other unfortunate phenomena of human civilisation. This contribution deals with an example of the gradual collapse of technical monu...

A study conducted over a longer period of time for an architectural heritage building from masonry is presented. The specific features of the asymmetric structural systems, the normative provisions in Romania, the strengthening works possibilities necessary after the action of severe Vrancea earthquakes for these systems and also of structural analysis using instrumental data processing techniques are considered. The results obtained in three stages- before, during and after the strengthening works, from Fourier s...

This paper presents an analysis of available statistical data on changes in the area of renewable energy sources in the European Union (EU). The analysis of the results takes into account, e.g. the share of renewable energy in final gross energy consumption and the share of renewable energy in gross power consumption. The analyzed source data relate to EU member states. The presented statistical data are based on data prepared in accordance with the accounting rules set in Directive 2009/28/EC regarding the promot...

Global warming is a phenomenon that makes us increasingly aware of the importance of protecting nature. One of the biggest problems is water scarcity in the world and the gradual drying up of water resources. This is the main reason why we are trying to return greenery to our cities, saving water and appreciating rainwater much more. Drinking water and rainwater storage tanks, as well as sludge tanks for wastewater treatment and recycling to technical water are becoming increasingly important. For built-up areas, ...

Greenery is an indispensable element of the urban structure, which brings not only ecological but also economic and social benefits. The regulation of urban greenery is an essential part of spatial planning. In addition to regulating the proportion of a green area, a so-called Green space factor, taking the environmental benefits of urban greenery into account is becoming increasingly important. This tool is usually used for regulation of urban structure at a zonal level. Nowadays, when special attention is paid t...

The article deals with the impact of public recreation on forest communities near sacred sites in the suburban area of the city. The question is actual and is caused by an assessment of influence of forest types of recreation on components of forest biogeocenosis. It is revealed that for this purpose it is necessary to achieve strict observance of the basic ecological and forestry requirements at the organization of forest territories by types of the recreational occupations guaranteeing reliable preservation and ...

The following article is devoted to ecological education in university training of future geologists. The purpose of our research is a comprehensive study of the concept of ?ecology of education? and the determination of its place in higher education. The object of the study is the methods of teaching students - geologists. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that it responds to the growing interest in the processes of environmental communication and its modeling capabilities. We try to underline the role...

In order to fight for a clean environment, different types of action that can be helpful in this situation must be taken. The environment should be taken care of by the governments of individual countries, enterprises and various organizations, but also by ordinary people. The last group is particularly important because people transfer their behavior to their family, children, work, etc. But to know what to do, how to behave to help the environment, people must have an ecological awareness of their actions and li...

The purpose of this project was to perform an environmental impact assessment of useful plants in the conditions of the Western Baikal region by soil factor and luminance. The studies were carried out based on the results of analysis of geobotanical descriptions made by the authors on the study area. When performing studies, the authors relied on ecological scales of foreign and Russian scientists, such as L.G. Ramenskii, E. Landolt, D.N. Tsyganov, G. Ellenberg, I.A. Tsatsenkin, etc. Based on the studied geobotani...

Often, accelerated development of business activity in modern world contradicts with environment and thus, ecological condition worsens. The topic is so urgent, that it has acquired a global character and constitutes the significant problem for many country. Mountains of Ajara is one of the demographically loaded region, which has quite developed business environment. Because of its complex relief and high level of precipitation, natural environment is less stable and elemental processes are active (landslide, mud...

In the XX century many drillings for exploration and exploration of oil and gas were conducted in Northern Bulgaria. Up to 1500 boreholes with a depth of several hundred meters to more than 5000 m have been drilled on its territory so far. During drilling, aquifers with different hydrochemical properties have been registered. The aim of the present study is to assess the current ecological status of the old oil boreholes in Central Northern Bulgaria. As a result of the field activities a catalogue with information...

The progress of development must be assessed by relevant indicators. Two fundamental indicators for agriculture often proposed by principal schools of modern economics are work and land productivity. In addition to facilitating comparisons between countries, it is paramount to consider historical factors that have shaped agriculture. Poland's accession to the European Union fostered a number of discussions on the performance of Polish agriculture between both scientists and decision makers. To analyse selected soc...

Latvia is one of the greenest countries in Europe, and one of the advantages it gives is an opportunity to incorporate its nature and naturalness in tourism products. It is important for Latvia as a small country to contribute to the visibility of tourism products, which could promote sustainable economic growth. Solutions could be found within the scope of government policies. One of the objectives is to promote exports of tourism services without causing problems to the natural and social environments. In touris...

Currently, the depletion of traditional oil and gas reserves makes it necessary to develop hard-to-recover reserves, develop and apply new technologies for hydrocarbon exploration and production in hard-to-reach areas of Eastern Siberia and on the Arctic shelf. Solving these problems calls for intensifying the implementation of information technologies in the oil and gas complex. The article states that, at present, an intensive digital transformation is taking place in the oil and gas complex of Russia. Companies...

Production of energy in Poland is still based on traditional energy sources, such as: hard and brown coal. However, depletion of fossil fuel resources and the problem of excessive emission of carbon dioxide cause that the interest in renewable energy sources (RES) grows. In the recent years awareness of environmental damage caused by conventional energy has increased and a membership in the European Union was an additional stimulus for restructuring of the Polish energy sector. Therefore, the concept of renewable ...

Ecotourism is often connected s concepts nature tourism, wildlife tourism, soft tourism, green tourism. In Slovakia, there is a known concept of green tourism, which main goal is stay in environment untouched by man. Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a lowimpact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial mass tourism. It means responsible travel to natural areas, conserving the environment, an improving the well...

The paper is focused on the issue of the economic evaluation of biotope impacts and changes, caused by the revitalization of brownfields, in types of abandoned minning areas. The biotope changes evaluation is often the primary and most valubale benefit of revitalization of this type of brownfield. One way to evaluate the value of biotope changes is using some of known methodologies of biotope evaluation. One of them is called Methodology of biotope revitalization by nature and landscape protection agency, which is...

In the last decades the ecotourism become ever so popular in the protected natural areas. This form of tourism is more and more used as a new science which can reflect the new coordinates and trends for the development of the tourism industry on a global scale. In the beginning it was applied only in the natural protected areas, and step by step its area of influence got extended over the other major forms of tourism as well. By the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century the ecotourism is gradua...

Ecotourism is one of the most rapidly developing new forms of the tourism industry which started to gain ground considerably by the end of the 20th century. This is the new trend in promoting a conscious and sustainable form of tourism with regards to the inherited natural environment and which promotes education, protection and preservation of the natural environment, economic growth and social development of the local communities. Thus in this paper we would like to present some of the aspects of the actual stat...

Salmonid fishes have always been the most valuable objects of the fisheries in the Baltic region. The population growth in Baltic region and the demand for fish products have resulted in the overfishing and impoverishment of many fishing areas. Most of wild types of fishes are losing their native spawning areas because of anthropogenic transformation involving hydro-technical construction, eutrophication of water bodies, water pollution and inadequate fishery. Heavy metals are considered as main toxicants in the p...

A research of edible gelatin rainbow holograms is presented. Gelatin is an edible material with optical properties: it is transparent in the visible region of the spectrum and has refractive index close to refractive index of optical polymers. Gelatin is capable to transfer diffraction relief and save it for a long time. Gelatin holograms were prepared by nanoimprinting method from gelatin aqua solutions with different concentrations (1 part of gelatin per 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 parts of water). The samples were made o...

For several years already, Latvian companies have been participating in the evaluation of Sustainability Index where the environment is an important factor. Sustainability Index is a tool aiming to help companies in establishing the level of sustainability and responsibility. In addition, it supports and praises the enterprises that help to strengthen the Latvian economy, environment, and society in the long term. One of the elements of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the impact of the organization on soc...

A global climate change caused by anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) is one of the most important environmental problems in the latest human history. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agriculture reach approximately 70% of annual global N2O emissions and approximately 75% of all N2O emissions in Slovakia. Cultivated soils are the main source of N2O in terrestrial ecosystems and therefore its mitigation from agriculture is urgently required. The studies on the effect of biochar application ...

The current demand of some specific metals (alloys) in the HiTech industry has pushed researchers to increase the number of investigations to improve the quality of products on the market. Generally, coltan is a byproduct of tin metallurgy and is collected in the slag. The formation of phases in the slag needs to be investigated in order to optimize the collection of coltan in specific phases by trying different ratios in fluxes. Also, cassiterite is associated with iron ores and during smelting the iron get reduc...

Catch crops have the potential to positively affect soil and environmental quality, including the reduction of soil erosion by water. As growing of catch crops require additional costs, farmers should be aware of the benefits that catch crops can provide. The objective of the paper is to evaluate the potential effect of catch crops with respect to reduction of soil erosion in transboundary Lielupe and Venta river basin districts (RBDs) shared by Latvia and Lithuania. Both RBDs are characterized by intensive crop f...

In-situ combustion is considered as one of the most effective ways to enhance recovery of heavy crude oils and bitumens. The oxygen from injected air reacts with the heavy components of the crude oil, forming a hot zone in which the cracking and oxidation of the heavy fractions occurs. It is noted that the combustion process essentially depends on the pressure and the nature of the crude oil. Thus detailed study on the effect of the gas phase composition on the processes of crude oil oxidation seems to be relevant...

An electrolyte for chromium based nano-composite electrolytic coatings (nano-CE?) obtaining has been developed. Nano-CEC was applied on steel of the St 3 brand with constant exposure to ultrasound, electrolyte temperature 50?60°?, current density 7kA/m2 for 1 and 2 hours from two variants of chromium-plating electrolytes, differing in the fact that one electrolyte contained strontium sulfate, in the other ? without it. Quantitative assessment of the corrosion resistance of nano - CEC deposited on steel St.3, was e...

Vegetables are considered a rich source of antioxidants (flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamins), which are frequently added to stop the process of oxidation in processed food systems. The solid waste generated in food industry was considered as a low cost raw material for the extraction of natural antioxidants. The effect of drying techniques (ambient-drying and oven-drying) on the total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of selected vegetables byproducts (garlic (Allium sativum L.), tomato (Lycopersicon escul...

One of the most widespread acidophilic fruit crops in Latvia is highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.). The first commercial plantings were established at the beginning of 2000th, and in 2016 the blueberry orchards exceeded 290 ha. In general, blueberry is a highly specialized crop that has definite soil agrochemical prerequisites. In Latvia, highbush blueberries are cultivated in extracted raised bogs on peat soil, as well as on mineral soils with high organic matter content. Unlike most fruits, blueberries...

The crack propagation and autogenous shrinkage pose a significant weakness for concrete structures. On this account, the utilization of smart materials can be viewed as a promising step to overbridge the common issues. Namely, the application of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) can improve the autogenous shrinkage and crack sealing thanks to its great swelling capability. However, SAP particles used as water retaining admixtures have a substantial influence on the rheological properties due to fast water removal fro...

The presented work deals with the effect of maize and legume planting density within mixed cropping system (MC) on selected indicators of soil quality: (1) microbial carbon content (Cmic); (2) total soil carbon (Ctot) content and (3) total soil nitrogen (Ntot) content. To demonstrate potential effect of different plant density within MC, 4-year field experiment was established in 2017 and will continue until 2020. The field experiment consisted of two MC groups with different plant density of maize (75 000 plants/...

Acidophilic microorganisms oxidizing ferrous iron and sulfur are widely used in hydrometallurgy to extract different metals including copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, and uranium from sulfide ores. The activity of microorganisms and screening of microbial strains capable of biooxidation of ferrous iron and sulfur compounds under different conditions, i.e. in the present of different toxicants, which may be present in treated ores, are crucial for the development of biohydrometallurgical technologies. Different factor...

Biohydrometallurgical technologies based on the oxidation of sulfide minerals by acidophilic microorganisms oxidizing ferrous iron and sulfur are widely used for the extraction of non-ferrous and precious metals from sulfide ores and concentrates including gold-bearing refractory concentrates. Microorganisms involved in oxidation of sulfide minerals differ in ability to use sources of carbon for constructive metabolism and capable of both CO2 and organic nutrients assimilation. Their activity depends on availabili...

One of the promising areas of rational use of wood and wood waste is their processing using pyrolysis technology, in which solid biomass can be converted into liquid useful products. Pyrolysis liquid products in the form of raw bio-oils or charcoal suspensions have several advantages over solid ones: high energy density, composition stability during storage, ease of use and transportation. The article investigates the effect of preliminary heat treatment of ground aspen wood on the mass yield of products, obtained...

The development of industry is always accompanied by an increase in the negative impact on nature. A variety of waste generated at the production stage for a long time is stored, accumulated and transformed. This is especially true for organic waste, the amount of which is steadily increasing as the industry develops. In this regard, the issue of their processing is becoming increasingly important. Currently, one of the optimal types of organic mass processing is pyrolysis. However, in most cases, thermochemical p...

Soil contamination with heavy metals is a major national economic and environmental problem, since heavy metals are subject to destruction and are able to be actively involved in the biological circulation and accumulate in vegetation and animal organisms [2]. Therefore, the theoretical and methodological basis of this work was the scientific development of the theoretical and methodological nature of scientists in the field of sugar production and poultry meat production, which revealed issues related to the crea...

Climate-change scenarios all around the world indicate that many areas of the globe will increase in aridity. Plants need a large amount of water and nutrients throughout their life cycle and all aspects of plant development are affected by a reduction in water content in the soil. This reduction in soil moisture leads to changes in the physical environment, which subsequently affect physiological and biochemical processes in plants. Based on sap flow measurements, it is possible to optimize irrigation. For our ex...

Pyrometallurgical processing of arsenic containing polymetallic ores and concentrates poses a problem due to the emission of toxic gases. Hydrometallurgical methods including bioleaching may be used as alternative approach to treat this type of mineral raw material. To perform effective hydrometallurgical processing of mineral raw materials, factors affecting leaching efficiency should be studied. The goal of the present work was to study the effect of sodium chloride on copper bioleaching from arsenic-containing ...

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is rightfully considered as a promising and advanced polymer for development and producing a variety of applications in medicine, biotechnology and tissue engineering. One such trend is electrospun fiber materials obtained from HA solutions. However, HA has absolutely highly resistance to volatile organic solvents (such solvents are strongly encouraged for utilizing in case of electrospinning), that make the obtaining of polymer fibers difficult. Despite this, some authors could elaborate nano...

The use of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PETr) in new value-added products is problematic because, during reprocessing in the melt, it undergoes a number of chemical, mechanical, thermal and oxidative degradations, which leads to decreased intrinsic viscosity / molecular mass and implicitly to poor mechanical and thermal properties. In the literature, numerous approaches have focused on obtaining polymer blends using PETr in combination with other thermoplastic polymers. Unfortunately, such mixtures are inc...

In the present work, films based on a potato starch/gelatin composition were prepared with a different ratio of components from 100/0 to 0/100 vol.%/vol.% with increment of 10 vol.% and addition of glycerol as plasticizer. The films were obtained with different drying regimes of the film-forming solutions at 25, 35, 45 and 50 °C for 24 h. For the obtained films the influence of their composition and the drying regime of the film-forming solution on the mechanical properties at puncturing, wettability and water sor...

Heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks including heavy and extra-heavy oils produced from oilsands reservoirs have a high viscosity, which cause a big challenge to their productions and pipeline transportations. Techniques to reduce the viscosity at low incremental production cost are desirable. Thermal decompositions of these resources-derived bitumen at temperatures of 250 °C was explored as a prospect strategy for viscosity reduction. In this work, thermal visbreaking experiments were carried out in a stainless-steel 350...

In situ combustion (ISC) method is considered as a relatively inexpensive and effective method for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). It can achieve a very high oil recovery factor due to a significant increase of pressure and temperature during the combustion process of crude oil. Over the last ten years, high pressure differential scanning calorimetry (HP-DSC) has been widely used for understanding the oxidation process of heavy oil. In this paper, HP-DSC experiments were carried out to investigate the alteration of c...

The biology and ecology of Daphnia (Crustacea: Cladocera) is dependent on a number of biotic and abiotic factors. One of the ways Daphnia adapts to changes in environmental conditions is their swimming behavior. In this study, we assessed the effect of temperature and light intensity on the swimming activity of Daphnia magna in laboratory experiments using computerized video analysis in real time by the hardware-software system ?TrackTox?. In experiments we simulated different levels of temperature (14.5 ± 0.2, 20...

The article deals with the effective reduction of drinking water loss in its distribution in the territory of the model municipality in the Czech Republic. Loss reduction is a long-term process that is one of the cornerstones of the strategy of each operator or owner of the water supply system. Losses of water in water network characterize not only the construction-technical condition of the distribution system in a given agglomeration, but also one of the business cards of the operator or owner of the distributio...