By means of small wind turbines, it is possible to create distributed sources of electricity useful in areas with good wind conditions. Sometimes, however, it is possible to use small wind turbines also in areas characterized by lower average wind speeds during the year. At the small wind turbine design stage, various types of technical solutions to increase the speed of the wind stream, as well as to optimally orientate it, can be applied. The methods for increasing the efficiency of wind energy conversion into electricity in the case of a wind turbine include: the use of a diffuser shielding the turbine rotor and the optimization of blades mounted on the turbine rotor. In the paper, the influence of the diffuser and rotor blades geometry on the efficiency of an exemplary wind turbine for exploitation in the West Pomeranian Province is investigated. The analyses are performed for three types of the diffuser and for three types of rotor blades. Based on them, the most optimal shapes of the diffuser and blades are selected due to the efficiency of the wind turbine. For the turbine with the designed diffuser, calculations of the output power for the assumed different values of the average annual wind speed and the constant Betz power factor and the specified generator efficiency are made. In all the analyzed cases, the amount of energy that can be generated by the turbine during the year is also estimated. Important practical conclusions are formulated on the basis of these calculations. In the final part of the paper, a 3D model of the wind turbine with the diffuser and rotor blades chosen based on earlier analyses is presented. As a material for the diffuser and rotor blades, glass fiber type A is applied. By means of calculations using the finite element method, the limit displacement of the turbine structure under the influence of a hurricane wind are determined. Based on these calculations, the correctness of the modelled small wind turbine structure has been demonstrated.

Roger Scruton refers to Thomas Stearns Eliot in almost every one of his books, but despite the undoubtedly fundamental influence, which Eliot had exerted on the development of Scruton’s outlook, apart from a short article entitled Eliot and Conservatism, Scruton did not devote a separate work to Eliot’s thought. As I try to show this is due to the fact that Scruton was not so much a scholar of Eliot, as a continuator of his thought – not merely an expert on his philosophy and poetry, but an inheritor of his spiritual legacy. Both Eliot and Scruton belong to a current, which may rightly be called conservative philosophy of culture. In this paper I outline the conception of culture advanced by Eliot, and show how Scruton draws on this conception in his own spiritual development.

The safe environmental disposal of sulphide-rich copper/zine mine tailings is fast becoming a major economic factor in determining the profitability of mining operations. There have been new approaches and better technologies practised in the recent years which allow the mining industries to reduce and/or eliminate the environmental impacts of harmful mine tailings. One of these approaches is the use of high-density paste backfill (HDPB) which is consisting mainly of a mix of solid particles (with the cement) and water, containing between 70% and 85% by dry weight of solids. The increased use of HDPB has improved the reliability, and has reduced the cost of the preparation and transportation systems. This paper focuses on the potential environmental benefits of using the HDPB when tailings are acid generating, and also provides a case study conducted in an underground copper/zinc mine in northeast Turkey in order to illustrate these benefits.

In this article the capabilities or mathematical heavy gas atmospheric dispersion models to describe the dispersion or heavy gases in complex and obstructed terrain arc presented. The models have been entegorizcd into three main classes: phenomenological (empirical) models. intermediate (engineering) models and computational fluid dynamic (research) models. Each group or models is discussed separately. The general features or the models arc discussed briefly, Examples of the heavy gas atmospheric dispersion models carable to treat the influence or non-Ilut and obstructed terrain on the heavy gas dispersion result from the work carried out in the European Union and in the US. No model simulating the heavy gas atmospheric dispersion over complex or obstructed terrain has been yet developed in Poland. The need lor future work on the effects of complex and obstructed terrain on the heavy gas atmospheric dispersion is expressed. future research in the area should include both experimental and modeling work. In the context of this raper future modeling work is worth considering in more detail. il seems that all the approaches 10 describe the hcavv gas atmospheric dispersion over complex and obstructed terrain arc worth further aucntion. This opinion is supported by the fact that these approaches arc used in different types of heavy gas dispersion models. which in turn differ in applications. The simpler methods arc introduced to the simpler heavy gas atmospheric dispersion models applied mainly in the routine calculations. The advanced techniques capable to describe the: now near complicated geometrics are used in the sophisticated models applied mainly as a research tools.

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.

This article analyzes the perspective of implementing target indicators in the green transition of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine. It is established that soil degradation has acquired a global dimension, and it has become a serious problem of a socio-economic nature due to the military actions in Ukraine. Analysis of the state of agricultural land was performed based on the following indicators: humus content in the soil, volume of application of organic and mineral fertilizers, pesticides, land area under organic production, etc. The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of implementing waste-free biofuel production technologies at the enterprises of the agro-industrial complex to achieve eco-goals of the European Green Deal. The article outlines target guidelines for achieving eco-goals of the European Green Deal. Further steps necessary to overcome current problems in compliance with the norms of the EU legislation on environmental protection at agricultural enterprises for the sale of agricultural products to European markets are proposed. It has been scientifically proven that the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine has an untapped potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through ecological modernization and implementing waste-free production technologies. It is suggested to use biogas plants as a promising means of solving the problems of waste disposal, improving the ecological situation, reducing energy dependence, and increasing soil fertility. The effectiveness of applying organic fertilizer, namely digestate, a by-product of methane fermentation, as biofertilizers at agricultural enterprises has been proven. Recommendations are provided regarding soil regeneration measures in Ukraine in the future.