The pesticide persistence, in particular in soils, often significantly exceeding the declarations of their manufacturers is surprising. There are many publications devoted to the explanation of this phenomenon in the field literature, but the diverse research methodologies used may lead to the ambiguous conclusions. On the basis of the collected literature, the attempt was made to systematize the available information on the interactions of commonly used groups of pesticides with individual soil components. The complex mechanisms of interactions between pesticides and soil based on van der Waals forces, ionic and covalent bonding, ligand exchange and charge transfer complexes formation were demonstrated. It was also proved that the nature of interactions is strictly dependent on the structure of the pesticide molecule. The conclusion of the review may contribute to the choice of plant protection products that, in addition to their effectiveness, are as little ballast for the environment as possible.

This study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of biosurfactants - saponin, tannin and rhamnolipids JBR 515 and 425, for the removal of cadmium, zinc and copper from activated sludge immobilized in 1.5% sodium alginate with 0.5% polyvinyl alcohol. We also established the impact of pH value on biosorbent regeneration with the analyzed biosurfactants and determined the critical micelle concentration (CMC) in solutions containing the biosorbent and biosurfactant and in exact samples with heavy metals. Saponin exhibited the highest effectiveness of metals leaching at pH 1-5, and rhamnosides at pH 5-6. In addition, the study demonstrated a significant effect of the ratio of biosorbent mass to washing agent volume (m/V) on the effectiveness of metals leaching. Of the biosurfactants analyzed, saponin was ca. 100% effective in leaching zinc and copper. The effectiveness of the other biosurfactants was lower and depended on the metal being leached

The process of carbon dioxide removal from monoethanolamine (MEA) - water solution was investigated on Poly Di Methyl Siloxane (PDMS) hydrophobic tubular membrane with a ceramic support. The effects of feed temperature, liquid flow rate and MEA concentration on CO2 mass transfer and selectivity were examined and found to be with a reasonable deviation (±25%) with predictions based on the multilayer film model. The membrane resistance was evaluated in separate experiments. The measured CO2 mass fluxes (0.17-0.45 kg/(m2h)) were found to be independent of the MEA concentration in the feed.

The dynamic performance of cylindrical double-tube adsorption heat pump is numerically analysed using a non-equilibrium model, which takes into account both heat and mass transfer processes. The model includes conservation equations for: heat transfer in heating/cooling fluids, heat transfer in the metal tube, and heat and mass transfer in the adsorbent. The mathematical model is numerically solved using the method of lines. Numerical simulations are performed for the system water-zeolite 13X, chosen as the working pair. The effect of the evaporator and condenser temperatures on the adsorption and desorption kinetics is examined. The results of the numerical investigation show that both of these parameters have a significant effect on the adsorption heat pump performance. Based on computer simulation results, the values of the coefficients of performance for heating and cooling are calculated. The results show that adsorption heat pumps have relatively low efficiency compared to other heat pumps. The value of the coefficient of performance for heating is higher than for cooling

The processes occurring at the marine water - atmosphere boundary layer and involving selected important components of our environment arc discussed. Special attention is focused on the specific role of the marine water surface microlayer in transfer of those components, properties of aerosols, fundamental question of CO2 absorption/desorption balance and environmental conditions enabling re-emission of mercury from marine water into the atmosphere. Simple laboratory experiments on CO2 absorption from atmosphere and desorption of CO2 from marine water arc shown as an initial point for any wider discussion on the global carbon budget. The emission of mercury to the atmosphere is considered to be promoted by the solar radiation. Under strong solar radiation the ability of organic matter to reduce these ions is enhanced thus making the emission more effective. The phenomenon observed seems to be confirmed by the analysis of the data for months of low and high radiation intensity. A sign i fi cant role of atmospheric iron in cutophication of southern Baltic is emphasized. Concentration of this clement in dry and wet deposition is, however, too low to prevent limitation of phytoplankton growth in marine water.

There are currently large quantities of heterogeneous contaminated sites and the in-situ thermal conductive heating (TCH) technology have been widely used in soil remediation. Some engineering cases have shown that when soil remediation of heterogeneous sites use TCH technology, the gases carrying contaminants migrate laterally and contaminate clean areas. However, there are relatively few domestic studies on this phenomenon. Some international scholars have confirmed the occurrence of this phenomenon on the laboratory scale, but have not proposed an effective solution to the above scientific question. This study first introduced the heating mechanism and heating process of TCH. Meanwhile, the forms and transformation mechanism of organic contaminants were fully expounded during soil remediation by TCH. In addition, the formation, migration, accumulation, and lateral diffusion of gaseous contaminants were comprehensively reviewed during the in-situ thermal desorption of heterogeneous strata. Finally, arrangement methods of extraction pipes to effectively capture gas are provided for the heterogeneous contaminated soils remediated by TCH. The results of this study will provide theoretical and technical support for in-depth understanding of steam movement in heterogeneous formations and the remediation of heterogeneous contaminated sites by TCH technology.

Modified Bohm’s formalism was applied to solve the problem of abstruse layer depth profiles measured by the Auger electron spectroscopy technique in real physical systems. The desorbed carbon/passive layer on an NiTi substrate and the adsorbed oxygen/ surface of an NiTi alloy were studied. It was shown that the abstruse layer profiles can be converted to real layer structures using the modified Bohm’s theory, where the quantum potential is due to the Auger electron effect. It is also pointed out that the stationary probability density predicts the multilayer structures of the abstruse depth profiles that are caused by the carbon desorption and oxygen adsorption processes. The criterion for a kind of break or “cut” between the physical and unphysical multilayer systems was found. We conclude with the statement that the physics can also be characterised by the abstruse measurement and modified Bohm’s formalism.

In longwall absolute methane emission rate forecasting, the range of the destressing zone is determined empirically and is not considered to be dependent on the geomechanical parameters of the rock strata. This simplification regarding destressing zone determination may result in significant differences between the forecast and the actual methane emission rates. During the extraction of coal seams using a system involving longwalls with caving under the conditions of low rock mass geomechanical parameters, the absolute methane emission rate forecasts are typically underestimated in comparison to the actual methane emission rates.

In order to examine the influence of the destressing zones on the final forecasting result and to assess the influence of the rock mass geomechanical parameters on the increased accuracy of forecast values, destressing zones were determined for three longwalls with lengths ranging from 186 to 250 m, based on numerical modelling using the finite difference method (FDM). The modelling results confirmed the assumptions concerning the upper destressing zone range adopted for absolute methane emission rate forecasting. As for the remaining parameters, the destressing zones yielded great differences, particularly for floor strata. To inspect the accuracy of the FDM calculation result, an absolute methane emission rate forecasting algorithm was supplemented with the obtained zones. The prepared forecasts, both for longwall methane emission rates as well as the inflow of methane to the longwalls from strata within the destressing zone, were verified via underground methane emission tests. A comparative analysis found that including geomechanical parameters in methane emission rate forecasting can significantly reduce the errors in forecast values.