Archives of Environmental Protection is the oldest Polish scientifi c journal regarding environmental engineering and protection. It has been published by the Institute of Environmental Engineering of PAS in Zabrze since 1975. The Committee on Environmental Engineering of PAS became its co-publisher in 2011. The quarterly publishes original articles (earlier, also announcements) concerning broadly understood areas of the environmental engineering and protection. The subjects include: air, land and water protection; technologies of fl ue gases, soil and wastewater treatment; transformations and transportation of pollutants in the environment; measurement techniques used in research and engineering as well as environmental monitoring. The published articles also focus on the reclamation and management of derelict lands, environmental management and other questions related to the environmental engineering and protection. The journal has been abstracted by Thomson Scientific since 2006 in the following databases: Science Citation Index Expanded, Biological Abstracts and BIOSIS Previews. Moreover, the journal was given the impact factor (IF) in 2010. The following article presents statistical data as well as a brief history and description of the journal.

A novel herbicidal controlled release formulation composed of (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid (2,4-D) chemically bonded to biodegradable (R,S)-3-hydroxybutyric acid oligomers was investigated. The synthesis of (R,S)-3-hydroxy butyric acid oligomers was carried out via the ring opening polymerization of β-butyrolactone initiated by 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic potassium salt in the presence of complexing agents. The formed oligomers were characterized by size exclusion chromatography, proton magnetic resonance and electrospray mass spectrometry in order to fi nd out their molar mass distribution and molecular structures. An assessment of biological effectiveness of the obtained herbicidal formulation was carried out in the greenhouse vs. Sinapis alba var. Nakielska. A promotion of the controlled release formulation with decreased water solubility and with low vapor pressure of the active ingredient, instead of traditional formulations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid may help to ensure a greater safety for workers and reduce the risk of dissemination of the active ingredient in the soil profi le.

This article presents ways of possible utilization and application of fl uidal combustion wastes as active additives to hardening slurries which are used to seal environment protection structures, i.e. cut-off walls in waste dumps and wastewater treatment plants. Cut-off walls are often exposed to fi ltrating action of eluates - polluted (aggressive) waters. Results of hydraulic conductivity tests of slurries after their long-term (210 days) fi ltration with eluates from a municipal waste dump and with tap water are presented. Porosity tests were also conducted to show the porosity structure of the fi ltered slurries. Additionally, compressive strength of slurries maturing in tap water and waste dump eluates was tested in parallel.

When identifying the conditions required for the sustainable and long-term exploitation of geothermal resources it is very important to assess the dynamics of processes linked to the formation, migration and deposition of particles in geothermal systems. Such particles often cause clogging and damage to the boreholes and source reservoirs. Solid particles: products of corrosion processes, secondary precipitation from geothermal water or particles from the rock formations holding the source reservoir, may settle in the surface installations and lead to clogging of the injection wells. The paper proposes a mathematical model for changes in the absorbance index and the water injection pressure required over time. This was determined from the operating conditions for a model system consisting of a doublet of geothermal wells (extraction and injection well) and using the water occurring in Liassic sandstone structures in the Polish Lowland. Calculations were based on real data and conditions found in the Skierniewice GT-2 source reservoir intake. The main product of secondary mineral precipitation is calcium carbonate in the form of aragonite and calcite. It has been demonstrated that clogging of the active zone causes a particularly high surge in injection pressure during the fi rst 24 hours of pumping. In subsequent hours, pressure increases are close to linear and gradually grow to a level of ~2.2 MPa after 120 hours. The absorbance index decreases at a particularly fast rate during the fi rst six hours (Figure 4). Over the period of time analysed, its value decreases from over 42 to approximately 18 m3/h/MPa after 120 hours from initiation of the injection. These estimated results have been confi rmed in practice by real-life investigation of an injection well. The absorbance index recorded during the hydrodynamic tests decreased to approximately 20 m3/h/MPa after 120 hours.

Aeromonas hydrophila is a valuable indicator of the quality of water polluted by sewage and pathogens that pose a risk for humans and cold-blooded animals, including fi sh. The main aim of this research was to evaluate anthropogenic pollution of river water based on genetic diversity of 82 A. hydrophila strains by means of RAPD, semi-random AP-PCR (ISJ) and the rep-BOX conservative repeats test. Genetic diversity of A. hydrophila was HT = 0.28 (SD = 0.02) for all DNA markers (RAPD, semi random and rep-BOX). None of the analyzed electrophoretic patterns was identical, implying that there were many sources of strain transmission. The presence of genes for aerolysin (aerA), hemolysin (ahh1) and the cytotoxic enzyme complex (AHCYTOGEN) was verifi ed for all tested strains, and drug resistance patterns for tetracycline, enrofl oxacin and erythromycin were determined. The most diverse A. hydrophila strains isolated from river water were susceptible to enrofl oxacine (HS = 0.27), whereas less diverse strains were susceptible to erythromycin (HS = 0.24). The presence of the multidrug resistance marker (ISJ4-25; 1100 bp locus) in the examined strains (resistant to three analyzed drugs) indicates that intensive fi sh cultivation affects the microbiological quality of river water.

In the study suitability of water quality index approach and environmetric methods in fi ngerprinting heavy metal pollution as well as comparison of spatial variability of multiple contaminants in surface water were assessed in the case of The Gediz River Basin, Turkey. Water quality variables were categorized into two classes using factor and cluster analysis. Furthermore, soil contamination index was adapted to water pollution index and used to fi nd out the relative relationship between the reference standards and the current situation of heavy metal contamination in water. Results revealed that surface water heavy metal content was mainly governed by metal processing, textile and tannery industries in the region. On the other hand, metal processing industry discharges mainly degraded quality of water in Kemalpasa and Menemen. Furthermore, Kemalpasa region has been heavily affected from tannery and textile industries effl uents. Moreover, pollution parameters have not been infl uenced by changes in physical factors (discharge and temperature). This study indicated the effectiveness of water quality index approach and statistical tools in fi ngerprinting of pollution and comparative assessment of water quality. Both methods can assist decision makers to determine priorities in management practices.

Zinc plant residue is a hazardous waste which contains high quantity of nickel and other valuable metals. Process parameters such as reaction time, acid concentration, solid-liquid ratio, particle size, stirring speed and temperature for nickel extraction from this waste were optimized using factorial design. Main effects and their interactions were obtained by the analysis of variance ANOVA. Empirical regression model was obtained and used to predict nickel extraction with satisfactory results and to describe the relationship between the predicted results and the experiment results. The important parameters for maximizing nickel extraction were identifi ed to be a leaching time solid-liquid ratio and acid concentration. It was found that above 90% of nickel could be extracted in optimum conditions.

The study was to determine the effect of water activity (0.850; 0.900; 0.950; 0.995; and 0.999 aw) on the growth of T. lanuginosus on solid media containing different cellulose substrates (crystalline cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose - CMC, fi lter paper, and sawdust) and xylan. The growth of isolates from coffee beans and garden composts were compared. All isolates did not grow on media with aw < 0.950. On media with aw > 0.950, the hydrolysis zones were only observed on xylan and CMC. The highest daily growth and hydrolysis zone rates were mostly obtained at 0.995 aw and the lowest values were observed at 0.950 aw. The coffee beans isolates at 0.950 aw had the CMC hydrolysis coeffi cient 1.7-times higher than that for xylan. The fungal growth (FG) coeffi cient data indicate that the coffee beans isolates were able to utilize CMC and crystalline cellulose for growth and the highest growth rate was obtained at 0.999 aw. Subsequently, the compost isolates were able to grow on all substrates but the highest growth rate was obtained on CMC at 0.950 and 0.999 aw. Thus, coffee beans and composts provide T. lanuginosus isolates with various growth and hydrolytic zone rates in the range of 0.950−0.999 aw.

In the paper, a numerical simulation of the co-combustion process of sewage sludge gasifi cation syngas in a hard coal-fi red boiler was done. Two different syngases (SS1 and SS2) were taken in consideration. Additional (reburning) fuel was injected into the combustion chamber, which was modeled as a plug fl ow reactor (PFR). The molar fl ow rates ratio of reburning fuel is assumed to be 5.0%, 7.5%, 10.0%, 12.5% and 15.0% of the whole exhaust. The simulations were conducted for constant pressure equal to 1atm for temperatures range from 600 to 1400 K. It was assumed that a fl ue gases which enters the reburning zone contains 300 ppm of NO and that during combustion only NO is formed without other NOx. Results show that that gas from sewage sludge gasifi cation gives reburning effi ciency of up to 90%. Calculation shows also an optimum value of temperature reburning for gas from sewage sludge gasifi cation which is equal to 1200 K. The type of the sewage sludge has no strong infl uence on the NO reduction.

The role of fungi in the treatment of wastewater has been extensively researched. Many genera of fungi have been employed for the dye decolourization either in living or dead form. In this study, the removal of an acidic dye, Indigo Carmine (IC), from an aqueous solution by biosorption on dead fungus, Pleurotusostreatus, was investigated. The effects of contact time, initial dye concentration, amount of dead biomass, agitation rate and initial pH on dye removal have been determined. Experimental results show that an increase in the amount of dead biomass positively affected the dye removal. The highest removal was obtained at 150-200 rpm. Slightly lower removing activities were found at lower agitation rates. The dye adsorption effi ciency was not affected by pH except minor variation in the pH of 2-8. Color removal was observed to occur rapidly within 60 minutes. The removal of dye by dead biomass of P. ostreatus was clearly dependent on the initial dye concentration of the solution. Dye removal was reduced from 93% to 64% as concentration was increased from 50 to 500 mg/L Indigo Carmine. This study showed that it was possible to remove textile dyes by dead biomass of P. ostreatus.

A forecast of the negative impact exerted on the environment by selected trace elements in “Bełchatów” Power Plant has been prepared on the basis of the results of investigations into these elements’ distribution carried out as part of earlier research on coal from “Bełchatów” Field and the data on updated analyses of the content of these elements in 55 brown coal samples from test boreholes. Work in “Bełchatów” Power Plant, which is supplied with coal from “Szczerców” Field, will be accompanied by trace elements transfer. On the basis of the conducted investigations it has been found that the biosphere is most threatened by mercury emissions. As shown by the presented results of analyses and calculations, the emissions of mercury in “Bełchatów” Power Plant are low. Mercury is accumulated chiefl y in gypsum produced in the FGD plant. The content of mercury in slag and ash is low.