The article attempts to show Szczepan Twardoch’s novel Drach as a literary version of the counter- history, which constitute an alternative vision of the past. The theory of counter-history was taken from Michel Foucault’s writings Society Must Be Defended. By this conception Foucault tried to restore the history of those excluded from the offi cial historical discourse.

The essence of the methane fermentation course is the phase nature of changes taking place during the process. The biodegradation degree of sewage sludge is determined by the effectiveness of the hydrolysis phase. Excess sludge, in the form of a flocculent suspension of microorganisms, subjected to the methane fermentation process show limited susceptibility to the biodegradation. Excess sludge is characterized by a significant content of volatile suspended solids equal about 65 ÷ 75%. Promising technological solution in terms of increasing the efficiency of fermentation process is the application of thermal modification of sludge with the use of dry ice. As a result of excess sludge disintegration by dry ice, denaturation of microbial cells with a mechanical support occurs. The crystallization process takes place and microorganisms of excess sludge undergo the so-called “thermal shock”. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of dry ice disintegration on the course of the methane fermentation process of the modified excess sludge. In the case of dry ice modification reagent in a granular form with a grain diameter of 0.6 mm was used. Dry ice was mixed with excess sludge in a volume ratio of 0.15/1, 0.25/1, 0.35/1, 0.45/1, 0.55/1, 0.65/1, 0.75/1, respectively. The methane fermentation process lasting for 8 and 28 days, respectively, was carried out in mesophilic conditions at 37°C. In the first series untreated sludge was used, and for the second and third series the following treatment parameters were applied: the dose of dry ice in a volume ratio to excess sludge equal 0.55/1, pretreatment time 12 hours. The increase of the excess sludge disintegration degree, as well as the increase of the digestion degree and biogas yield, was a confirmation of the supporting operation of the applied modification. The mixture of reactant and excess sludge in a volume ratio of 0.55/1 was considered the most favorable combination. In relation to not prepared sludge for the selected most favorable conditions of excess sludge modification, about 2.7 and 3-fold increase of TOC and SCOD values and a 2.8-fold increase in VFAs concentration were obtained respectively. In relation to the effects of the methane fermentation of non-prepared sludge, for modified sludge, about 33 percentage increase of the sludge digestion degree and about 31 percentage increase of the biogas yield was noticed.

Controlling low-temperature drying facilities which utilise nonprepared air is quite difficult, due to very large variability of ventilation air parameters - both in daily and seasonal cycles. The paper defines the concept of cumulative drying potential of ventilation air and presents experimental evidence that there is a relation between this parameter and condition of the dried matter (sewage sludge). Knowledge on current dry mass content in the dried matter (sewage sludge) provides new possibilities for controlling such systems. Experimental data analysed in the paper was collected in early 2012 during operation of a test solar drying facility in a sewage treatment plant in Błonie near Warsaw, Poland.

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.

During the machining processes, heat gets generated as a result of plastic deformation of metal and friction along the tool–chip and tool–work piece interface. In materials having high thermal conductivity, like aluminium alloys, large amount of this heat is absorbed by the work piece. This results in the rise in the temperature of the work piece, which may lead to dimensional inaccuracies, surface damage and deformation. So, it is needed to control rise in the temperature of the work piece. This paper focuses on the measurement, analysis and prediction of work piece temperature rise during the dry end milling operation of Al 6063. The control factors used for experimentation were number of flutes, spindle speed, depth of cut and feed rate. The Taguchi method was employed for the planning of experimentation and L18 orthogonal array was selected. The temperature rise of the work piece was measured with the help of K-type thermocouple embedded in the work piece. Signal to noise (S/N) ratio analysis was carried out using the lower-the-better quality characteristics. Depth of cut was identified as the most significant factor affecting the work piece temperature rise, followed by spindle speed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to find out the significant parameters affecting the work piece temperature rise. ANOVA results were found to be in line with the S/N ratio analysis. Regression analysis was used for developing empirical equation of temperature rise. The temperature rise of the work piece was calculated using the regression equation and was found to be in good agreement with the measured values. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to verify the results obtained. From the confirmation test it was found that the Taguchi method is an effective method to determine optimised parameters for minimization of work piece temperature.

The purpose of the work was to predict the selected product parameters of the dry separation process using a pneumatic sorter. From the perspective of application of coal for energy purposes, determination of process parameters of the output as: ash content, moisture content, sulfur content, calorific value is essential. Prediction was carried out using chosen machine learning algorithms that proved to be effective in forecasting output of various technological processes in which the relationships between process parameters are non-linear. The source of data used in the work were experiments of dry separation of coal samples. Multiple linear regression was used as the baseline predictive technique. The results showed that in the case of predicting moisture and sulfur content this technique was sufficient. The more complex machine learning algorithms like support vector machine (SVM) and multilayer perceptron neural network (MPL) were used and analyzed in the case of ash content and calorific value. In addition, k-means clustering technique was applied. The role of cluster analysis was to obtain additional information about coal samples used as feed material. The combination of techniques such as multilayer perceptron neural network (MPL) or support vector machine (SVM) with k-means allowed for the development of a hybrid algorithm. This approach has significantly increased the effectiveness of the predictive models and proved to be a useful tool in the modeling of the coal enrichment process.

The aim of this study was to determine the ecological characteristics of vascular plants colonizing serpentine mining waste dumps and quarries in Lower Silesia. The investigated flora was analyzed with regard to species composition, geographical-historical status, life forms, as well as selected ecological factors, such as light and trophic preferences, soil moisture and reaction, value of resistance to increased heavy metals content in the soil, seed dispersal modes and occurrence of mycorrhiza. There were 113 species of vascular plants, belonging to 28 families, found on seven sites in the study. The most numerous families were Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae and Caryophyllaceae. Only 13% of all plants recorded occurred on at least five of the study sites. The most numerous were species related to dry grassland communities, particularly of the Festuco-Brometea class, which included taxa endangered in the region of Lower Silesia: Avenula pratensis, Salvia pratensis, Festuca valesiaca. Apophytes dominated in the flora of the investigated communities. Hemicryptophytes were the most numerous group and therophytes were also abundant. The serpentine mining waste dumps and querries hosted heliophilous species which prefer mesic or dry habitats moderately poor in nutrients, featuring neutral soil reaction. On two study sites 30% of the flora composition consisted of species that tolerate an increased content of heavy metals in the soil. Anemochoric species were the most numerous with regard to types of seed dispersal. Species with an arbuscular type of mycorrhiza were definitely dominant in the flora of all the study sites, however, the number of nonmycorrhizal species was also relatively high. It was suggested that both the specific characteristics of the habitats from serpentine mining and the vegetation of adjacent areas had a major impact on the flora composition of the communities in the investigated sites.

Regarding the importance of short circuit and inrush current simulations in the split-winding transformer, a novel nonlinear equivalent circuit is introduced in this paper for nonlinear simulation of this transformer. The equivalent circuit is extended using the nonlinear inductances. Employing a numerical method, leakage and magnetizing inductances in the split-winding transformer are extracted and the nonlinear model inductances are estimated using these inductances. The introduced model is validated and using this nonlinear model, inrush and short-circuit currents are calculated. It has been seen that the introduced model is valid and suitable for simulations of the split-winding transformer due to various loading conditions. Finally, the effects of nonlinearity of the model inductances are discussed in the following.

Flowability of fine, highly cohesive calcium carbonate powder was improved using high energy mixing (dry coating) method consisting in coating of CaCO3 particles with a small amount of Aerosil nanoparticles in a planetary ball mill. As measures of flowability the angle of repose and compressibility index were used. As process variables the mixing speed, mixing time, and the amount of Aerosil and amount of isopropanol were chosen. To obtain optimal values of the process variables, a Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) was applied. To match the RSM requirements it was necessary to perform a total of 31 experimental tests needed to complete mathematical model equations. The equations that are second-order response functions representing the angle of repose and compressibility index were expressed as functions of all the process variables. Predicted values of the responses were found to be in a good agreement with experimental values. The models were presented as 3-D response surface plots from which the optimal values of the process variables could be correctly assigned. The proposed, mechanochemical method of powder treatment coupled with response surface methodology is a new, effective approach to flowability of cohesive powder improvement and powder processing optimisation.

The paper presents an original method of measuring the actual chromite content in the circulating moulding sand of foundry. This type of

material is applied for production of moulds. This is the case of foundry which most frequently perform heavy casting in which for the

construction of chemical hardening mould is used, both the quartz sand and chromite sand. After the dry reclamation of used moulding

sand, both types of sands are mixed in various ratios resulting that in reclaimed sand silos, the layers of varying content of chromite in

mixture are observed. For chromite recuperation from the circulating moulding sand there are applied the appropriate installations

equipped with separate elements generating locally strong magnetic field. The knowledge of the current ratio of chromite and quartz sand

allows to optimize the settings of installation and control of the separation efficiency. The arduous and time-consuming method of

determining the content of chromite using bromoform liquid requires operational powers and precautions during using this toxic liquid.

It was developed and tested the new, uncomplicated gravimetric laboratory method using powerful permanent magnets (neodymium).

The method is used in the production conditions of casting for current inspection of chromite quantity in used sand in reclamation plant.

The present investigation has been made to assess the influence of B4C reinforced with Ti-6Al-4V matrix prepared by powder metallurgy route. High energy ball milling was used to prepare the composites. Cylindrical preforms were prepared using suitable die set assembly. The green preforms were sintered in the muffle furnace at 900°C for 1 h. Further the preforms were cooled inside the furnace till the room temperature has attained. SEM with EDS mapping analysis was used to evaluate the morphology and elemental confirmation of the prepared composite. The density and hardness of the samples are determined using Archimedes principle and Rockwell hardness testing machine. The wear resistance of the samples was determined by employing a pin on disc apparatus. The hardness of the composites (Ti-6Al-4V /10B4C) was increased while comparing to the base material (Ti-6Al-4V) which is attributed to the presence of hard ceramic phase. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) five level central composite design approach was accustomed and it minimised the amount of experimental conditions and developed mathematical models among the key process parameters namely wt. % of B4C, applied load and sliding distances to forecast the abrasive response of Specific Wear Rate (SWR) and Coefficient of Friction (CoF). Analysis of variance was used to check the validity of the developed model. The optimum parameters of specific wear rate and coefficient of friction were identified.

Maritime freight transport represents an effective solution, allowing to ensure a low-impact

service both under an economic and a sustainable perspective. As a consequence, in the last

ten years, an increasing trend of goods transported by sea has been observed. In order to

improve the terminal containers’ performance, recently published scientific studies shown

the applicability of the ‘lean logistic’ concept as a strategic key for ensuring a continuous

improvement of the logistic chain for inter-/intra terminal containers’ activities. According

to this approach, the adoption of a dry port can positively affect terminal containers’ performance,

but this requires resources and investments due to inter-terminal activities (e.g.

transport of the container from port to dry port and vice versa). The purpose of the study is

to develop a mathematical programming optimization model to support the decision making

in identifying the best containers’ handling strategy for intermodal facilities, according to

lean and green perspectives. Numerical experiments shown the effectiveness of the model in

identifying efficient material handling strategies under lean and green perspective.