This article presents data on the anthropogenic air emissions of selected substances (CO2, SO2, total suspended particles (TSP), dioxins
and furans (PCDD/F), Pb and Cd) subject to reporting under the Climate Convention (UNFCCC) or the Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Air Pollution (UNECE CLRTAP). It also presents the national emissions of these substances in 2014 by the major source
categories and defines the share of metal production in these emissions. Analysis is based on national emission inventory reports. Most
important source of air emission in case of CO2 and SO2 is 1.A.1 Energy industries category. TSP and PCDD/F are emitted mainly from
fuel combustion in small sources (i.a. households). Emission of heavy metals (Pb and Cd) is connected mostly with 1.A.2. Manufacturing
industries and construction category. Metallurgy is significant source of emission only for lead and cadmium from among all considered
substances. The shares of particular sectors in the national emissions of given pollutants are important, in view of the possible reduction
measures and the determination in which industries they could bring about tangible results.
Natural gas combustion was carried out in air enriched with oxygen in the amount of 25 and 29% with addition of CO2 in place of part of nitrogen. The research was carried out at different flow rates of gas and oxygen excess ratios. The concentration of CO and NOx was analyzed. It has not been proved that the increased oxygen concentration influences significantly the CO concentration. However, the addition of CO2 caused a substantial variability of CO concentration in the exhaust gas, in contrast to the concentration of NOx which decreased monotonically. Model calculations, performed with use of FactSage, indicate an increase in the concentration of CO not only for the air enriched with oxygen, but after adding CO2 too, as well
Agriculture is a signifi cant source of gaseous pollutants such as ammonia, methane, nitrous oxide and volatile organic compounds. Ammonia is particularly important due to the high emission and local, as well as global impact on the environment. The release of NH3 is one of the main ways of nitrogen emission to the atmosphere and it contributes to its subsequent deposition. The aim of the study was to analyze ammonia emissions from animal production in Poland in 2005–2017, its regional diversity and possibilities of its reduction in agriculture. The ammonia emission was calculated for the animal production groups according to the NFR classifi cation. The values of ammonia emission were calculated based on ammonia emission factors used by KOBIZE, in accordance with the EMEP/EEA methods. In 2017, the NH3 emission from Polish agriculture amounted 288 Gg and it accounted for 96% of the emission in 2005. Ammonia emission from livestock production, in 2005–2017, on average accounted for 79.8% of agricultural emissions. The largest share had the cattle (51%) and swine (30%) production. The NH3 emissions differed strongly between provinces. The emission density (kg NH3·km-2·year-1) in provinces with intensive livestock production was about 5.5 times higher than in regions, where livestock production was the lowest. The mitigation strategies should be implemented primarily in provinces where reduction potential is the largest. The assessment of the reduction potential should take into account the NH3 emission per 1 km2 and the low
NH3 emission technologies, which are already applied in the regions.
CO, NO, NO2 and dust concentrations from combustion of deciduous wood (birch, beech, lime-tree) logs and pellets in two heating boilers (15 and 25 KW), situated in a heat station were investigated. Time dependences of pollutant concentrations as well as the impact of temperature in the combustion chamber and oxygen concentration on pollutant concentrations were presented. Pollutant emission indices have been estimated.
This study investigates cadmium (Cd) accumulation in the plant leaves of juglans regia (walnut) and cydonia oblanga (quince) trees related to traffic emissions on the highway roadside. The plant leaf samples were collected from 20 sites on the D-100 Highway roadside and washed with deionized water before analyzed. Determination of Cd was carried out using an inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometer after microwave digestion of the samples. Cd concentration on the plant leaves was found to be between 0.04–0.11 mg/kg. In order to determine the traffic-based emissions, vehicles were counted and an emission inventory was prepared. 0.18 tons of Cd was found to be delivered into the atmosphere every day. Cd accumulation depends on traffic density because there were no residential area and industrial plants. The distribution of Cd accumulation caused by traffic emissions was mapped by using a geographic information system (GIS). The maps showed that the Cd accumulation was high in the areas near the highway and then gradually decreased by moving away from the highway.
Tests for combustion of hay and sunflower husk pellets mixed with wood pellets were performed in a horizontal-feed as well as under-feed (retort) wood pellet furnace installed in boilers with a nominal heat output of 15 and 20 kW, located in a heat station. During the combustion a slagging phenomenon was observed in the furnaces. In order to lower the temperature in the furnace, fuel feeding rate was reduced with unaltered air stream rate. The higher the proportion of wood pellets in the mixture the lower carbon monoxide concentration. The following results of carbon monoxide concentration (in mg/m3 presented for 10% O2 content in flue gas) for different furnaces and fuel mixtures (proportion in wt%) were obtained: horizontal-feed furnace supplied with hay/wood: 0/100 - 326; 30/70 - 157; 50/50 - 301; 100/0 - 3300; horizontal-feed furnace supplied with sunflower husk/wood: 50/50 - 1062; 67/33 - 1721; 100/0 - 3775; under-feed (retort) furnace supplied with hay/wood: 0/100 - 90; 15/85 - 157; 30/70 - 135; 50/50 - 5179; under-feed furnace supplied with sunflower husk/wood: 67/33 - 2498; 100/0 - 3128. Boiler heat output and heat efficiency was low: 7 to 13 kW and about 55%, respectively, for the boiler with horizontal-feed furnace and 9 to 14 kW and 64%, respectively, for the boiler with under-feed furnace.
The impact of the fuel feeding mode (continuous or periodic with different stand-by/operation time ratios) on carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NO, NOx) concentration values in the flue gas was analysed for coniferous wood pellet firing. Experiments were performed in a 25 kW water boiler equipped with an over-fed wood pellet furnace located in a full scale heat station simulating real-life conditions. Influence of oxygen concentration and temperature in the combustion chamber on carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide concentrations was presented in diagrams. Dust and hydrocarbon concentrations were also monitored. It was concluded that the commonly used periodic fuel supply does not necessarily cause a significant increase of carbon monoxide concentration, as compared to the continuous fuel feeding mode. Continuous fuel supply can even induce higher carbon monoxide concentrations when fuel mass stream is not chosen properly. Each time new fuel type is used in a specific furnace, one should perform experiments to determine the adequate settings (stand-by/operation time ratio, fuel mass streams, air stream) to obtain the optimal, lowest possible emission for a certain boiler heat output
The problem of harmful casting resins has been present in foundries for many years. Manufacturers are introducing new products that contain in their composition environmentally and eco-friendly ingredients. Unfortunately, not all types of technology can be used, sometimes environmental benefits are disproportionate to the quality of castings and their price. In the foundry industry, the most popular binders are based on organic compounds (often carcinogenic) and other harmful substances. Due to strict legal regulations regarding environmental protection, as well as care for the foundry's workers' comfort - their occurrence should be reduce to a minimum. These compounds often behave also depending on the conditions of use (temperature, atmosphere). The application of various methods of thermal analysis and spectroscopic methods allows to verify the mechanism of resin decomposition process in relation to conditions in the form in both inert and oxidizing atmosphere. For analysis the resins from cold-box technology, were used TG–DTG–DSC, Py-GC/MS methods and specified the course of changes occurring in combination of different atmosphere.
Non-invasive damage monitoring of concrete structures by means of Acoustic Emission (AE) requires multitransducers, multi-channel acquisition, high sampling frequency and long observation time. Owing to its propagation in concrete, the signal from AE reduces its amplitude during the propagation, and, consequently, some events can be lost due to lower signal intensity than the trigger level set on one sensor only. The innovative proposal discussed in the paper consists in the introduction of a Flat Amplifier and Trigger generator block (FAT) in order to generate a logical trigger when the AE is detected by any transducer. Experimental tests confirm the effectiveness of the FAT to acquire all the AE events and to increase the evaluation accuracy of damage indexes.
The paper deals with the preparation and measurement of an experimental polymer graphite cathode that
seems to be a promising and cheap source of electrons utilizing cold field-emission in high- and ultra-high
vacuum. Polymer graphite seems to be a proper material as it contains a large amount of hybridized carbon
with a low degree of surface oxidation and silicon monoxide (SiO). Within the frame of this work, a special
experimental method of tip preparation has been designed and tuned. This method is based on ion milling
inside a dual-beam electron microscope enabling to obtain ultra-sharp tips of a diameter smaller than 100 nm
with a predefined opening angle. The charge transport within experimental samples is evaluated based on
results provided by the noise spectroscopy of the total emission current in the time and frequency domains.
Szargut proposed the algorithm for determination of the influence of irreversibility of components of thermal process on the emission of CO2 [6]. In the presented paper, basing on Szargut's proposal, the example of analysis of influence of operational parameters of coal fired power plant on the local increase of CO2 emission is presented. The influence of operational parameters on the local exergy losses appearing in components of investigated power plant are simulating making use of the semi-empirical model of power plant.
The paper presents a concept of producing energy on the basis of modern alternative fuels to be burnt in low- and medium-power stokerfired boilers. The thermal energy contained in water vapour and hot water will be utilized in producing, in combination, of electrical energy, and for heating of cubature objects. Modern alternative fuels in the form of briquettes and pellets will be produced from hard coals and municipal waste other than hazardous. There have been presented the properties of alternative fuels obtained, and the concept of their utilization in the process of energy production in cogeneration.
In this paper, the semi-empirical model, formulated in the earlier paper [1], was used to control engine exhaust emission under steady-state conditions. The presented optimization method enables us to find the values of engine control parameters that lead to minimization of nitrogen oxide emission. Moreover, the presented method ensures proper engine operating parameters such as mean indicated pressure, thermal efficiency and maximum pressure in the cylinder. Results of numerical calculations are compared with experiment data. An acceptable accuracy was achieved.
The article has presented the assumptions underlying the organization of emissions trading of greenhouse gases with a particular emphasis on CO2 emission allowances. Through the analysis of the literature, international activities were undertaken aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, starting from the First World Climate Conference organized in 1979. The origins and guidelines of the Kyoto Protocol were also given considerable attention. In addition to the description of the key assumptions of the Protocol and its main components, the characteristics of international trade in Kyoto units were also included. The mechanisms involved in international trade and the types of units traded in a detailed manner are described. In the next part of the article, emission trading systems operating in the world are characterized. In the second part of the paper special attention was paid to the conditionings of the European market, i.e. European Emissions Trading System – EU ETS. Historical events were presented that gave rise to the creation of the EU ETS. In the next steps, the types of units that are tradable were described. Furthermore, the trade commodity exchanges on which trade is conducted, the key factors determining the price of individual allowances are also indicated. In the last part of the article, relatively recent issues – the IED Directive and the BAT conclusions have been pointed out. Referring to the applicable regulations, the impact of their implementation on the situation of entities obliged to limit greenhouse gas emissions was analyzed. In the final phase, an attempt was made to assess the impact of IED and BAT to electricity prices.