W latach 2000-2002 badano niektóre naturalne i antropogenne właściwości wód powierzchniowych Kampinoskiego Parku Narodowego. Uzyskane wartości średnie omówiono w porównaniu do odpowiednich norm. Analizy większości próbek wykazały, że odpowiadają one I klasie czystości. Benzo(a)pirenu nie wykryto. Jednak w dwóch przypadkach zaobserwowano wysokie stężenie żelaza i manganu. Próbki pobrane w listopadzie zawierały więcej manganu. W jednym przypadku oznaczono wysokie stężenie azotanów. Większość próbek pobranych w Aleksandrowie odpowiadała li klasie czystości ze względu na zawartość fosforanów.

The objective of the study was to characterise the quality of surface waters in order to de-termine their vulnerability to pollution by nitrogen compounds from agricultural activity, as well as to specify the areas with increased exposure, where nitrogen runoff from agricultural sources has to be reduced. It was necessary to determine surface waters liable to pollution by these compounds due to the fact that agricultural production should be carried out in the way which limits and prevents water pollution by nitrogen compounds of agricultural origin. The study addressed the following is-sues: the concentration of nitrogen compounds in the surface waters of the Middle Odra Basin, and the extent of eutrophication in flowing inland waters (with nitrogen as the main nutrient). The results have been plotted in figures and gathered in tables.

Biochar was prepared from corn ( Zea mays) stalks and impregnated with sulfuric acid. The biomass was impregnated for 24 h with a 50% solution of H2SO4 with impregnation ratios 1:2 (B 1:2) and 1:3 p/v (B 1:3); then, it was carbonized in a muffle furnace at 520°C for 30 min with a 10°C per min ramp. The adsorption capacity to remove anions (nitrate, sulfate, and phosphate) in an aqueous solution was evaluated by varying the temperature. The adsorption mechanism was studied by determining the thermodynamic parameters: Gibbs free energy (ΔGº), enthalpy (ΔHº) and entropy (ΔSº) standard. The biochars were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis and were found to exhibit a heterogeneous surface and porous nature, with C, O, S, and Si. The experiments in the batch system showed the best performance of B 1: 2 in the removal of the three anions occurred at 303 K, while B 1: 3 had the best performance at 298 K. From the thermodynamic parameters, it was found that the removal processes are endothermic, their mechanism is by chemisorption. It is concluded that synthesized biochar is an excellent alternative to removing nutrient anions present in the solution.

The use of ammonium nitrate due to its high nitrogen content (> 26%) has made it the most utilized fertilizer in agricultural areas. However, being easily accessible with this feature encouraged its use for different purposes. Ammonium nitrate is usually produced with large tonnage (> 50 ton/h) and high cost (> $20 million) production processes. Therefore, any changes that can be made in the process must be applied in the process so that the result can be achieved easily without increasing the cost in any way. In this study, it is aimed to reduce the explosion sensitivity of ammonium nitrate used for explosive purposes in terrorist attacks. Thus, it was aimed to solve the problem by adding various chemicals to the ammonium nitrate production process so that it can only be used for agricultural purposes. For this purpose, the production process was examined by adding carboxymethyl cellulose and polyethylene glycol to the ammonium nitrate production process and the accuracy of the results was tested by instrumental analysis methods.

This paper presents the results of a study on the level of nitrate leaching from the 0–30 cm layer of grassland (GL) soil in the Lublin Voivodship during the winters of 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. The amounts of leached nitrates were determined using the Burns model. For the calculations based on this model – directly and indirectly, the results determination of residual nitrate nitrogen, texture and organic matter in GL soils, obtained within the framework of agricultural monitoring of soils by the National Chemical and Agricultural Station (KSChR), and results of system meteorological measurements conducted by the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute (IMGW-PIB) were used.
The analysed soil samples were taken from 39 permanent control and measurement grassland sites. The research discovered in particular that:
– the average leaching of nitrate nitrogen from GL mineral soil in the three analysed periods was 16.2 and 5.1 kg N∙ha–1 from organic soil;
– on average, in autumn during the entire study period, 55.3% of NO3-N leached from the 0–30 cm layer of GL mineral soil, and 27.3% from organic soil;
– among different agronomic categories of mineral soil, the highest leaching of NO3-N was recorded from medium soil (17.4 kg N∙ha–1) and the lowest from heavy soil (11.5 kg N∙ha–1);
– individually determined values of NO3-N leaching from soil varied significantly from 0 to 68.5 kg N∙ha–1 for mineral soil and from 0.1 to 23.65 kg N∙ha–1 for organic soil.

As a rule, nitrates are present in all natural water bodies. Their increased concentrations are connected with the discharge of insufficiently treated wastewater from industrial and communal enterprises, agricultural and livestock complexes. Recent scientific publications concerning treatment methods for nitrates removal from natural water and wastewater were analyzed in order to create effective and low-waste technology for obtaining high quality water. It has been established that the ion exchange method is quite effective for removing nitrates from water. In the paper, the processes of ion exchange removal of nitrates from water on low-axis anionite in DOWEX Marathon WBA in Сl- form were investigated. During the sorption of nitrates with a concentration of 186, 205, 223 and 2200 mg/dm3, it was established that the full exchangeable dynamic capacity was 1.075, 1.103, and 1.195, 1.698 g-eq/dm3, respectively. To regenerate anionite, solutions of ammonia as well as potassium chloride, ammonium chloride and potassium carbonate were used in this work. The choice of potassium and ammonium compounds is due to the prospect of further use of regeneration solutions for the production of liquid fertilizers.

The removal of nitrates from aqueous solutions is cumbersome because of their high solubility in water. The use of zero-valent iron (ZVI) for the reduction of nitrates is the chemical process and it is an alternative method to the biological ones. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the eff ectiveness of nitrates removal from water solution by using the ZVI process. The process was coupled with the removal of COD, phosphates and turbidity by using by-products of nitrates reduction. Batch tests were performed to evaluate the eff ectiveness of ZVI in the removal of nitrates from aqueous solutions. The eff ectiveness of nitrates removal was analyzed after 5, 10, 20, 30 and 60 min. and compared to the initial concentration of pollutants. Simultaneously analysis of ammonium nitrogen and nitrites was controlled to identify products of nitrates reduction under various pH. The removal of COD, phosphates and turbidity was also performed in batch tests. The eff ectiveness of the emoval by using three types of chemicals was compared – PIX, FeSO4, and waste Fe2+/Fe3+ from the ZVI process. The results obtained in the study indicate that ZVI can be eff ectively used in the treatment of water polluted with nitrates and the by-products of the process could be further applied in the removal of COD, phosphates and turbidity. Based on the results the method should be advised as a promising alternative to the technologies used nowadays under technical scale as a technology that fits with a circular economy.

The ground source of drinking water for the village of Skalice nad Svitavou is located 35 km North of Brno (Czech Republic). An evaluation of developments in selected indicators of water quality in this groundwater source in the period 2013–2017 was the essence of this work. The data was provided by Vodárenská akciová společnost, a.s., i.e. the operator. At the same time, annual monitoring of water quality in the Úmoří stream, which flows through the catchment area and can affect the quality of groundwater, was carried out. Water samples were collected in 2017–2018 from 6 profiles on the Úmoří stream and its two tributaries. Raw water from the groundwater source does not meet the requirements for drinking water in some indicators and needs to be treated. Monitoring of surface water shows that the most problematic indicator is total phosphorus, the concentration of which exceeded limit values on all sampling profiles. The highest values were found in the tributaries, where total phosphorus concentrations exceeded 10 mg∙dm–3. There are 12 municipalities in the area of interest, only two of which have their own sewage treatment plant. It is clear from the results that wastewater in some municipalities is discharged directly into the recipient and is the cause of above-limit concentrations of both phosphorus and nitrogen. Intensively used agricultural land is another major source of pollution. Based on an analysis of sources of pollution, corrective measures have been proposed to improve the quality of surface and groundwater in the area.

The article deals with the technological principles regarding the final drying process of the porous ammonium nitrate (PAN) granules in multistage gravitational shelf dryers. The data on the dryer’s optimal technological operating modes are obtained. PAN samples are studied; the regularity of the porous structure change in the granule depending on the dryer’s hydrodynamic and thermodynamic conditions is established. Experimental data obtained during the research will be used to create a methodology for the engineering calculation of gravitational shelf dryers. Moreover, the data on the optimal operating conditions of the drying machines at the final drying stage will be used to improve the technology to form porous granules from agricultural ammonium nitrate.

A method to improve the quality of purifi ed water, reduce the cost of reagents for the regeneration of resin and create low-waste processes have been developed. This paper presents the results of ion exchange separation of sulfates and nitrates using AV-17-8 anion exchange resin in NO3 form. The effi ciency of anion separation on the highly basic anion exchange resin AV-17-8 depends on the magnitude and ratio of their concentrations in water. Separation on the AV-17-8 anion exchange resin has been shown to be eff ective at concentrations of sulfates up to 800 mg/dm3 and nitrates up to 100 mg/dm3. Conditions for regeneration of 10% NaNO3 anion exchange resin were determined. Reagent precipitation of sulfates from the used regeneration solution in the form of calcium sulfate was carried out. Calcium sulfate precipitate can be used in the manufacturing of building materials. The regeneration solution is suitable for reuse. The developed results will allow to introduce low-waste desalination technology of highly mineralized waters.

The purpose of this research was to determine the groundwater intrinsic vulnerability to pollution of shallow groundwater in Wielkopolska Province, Poland and to assess the risk of pollution by nitrates. Wielkopolska is known as an area where the problem of water pollution by nitrates has existed for a long time due to intensive agriculture. DRASTIC method and its optimized version as well as four other risk evaluation methods were selected to assess the risk pollution with nitrates. The results of either method did not correlate with nitrate concentrations recorded inthe total of 1679 groundwater monitoring points. Therefore a new method of groundwater pollution risk assessment (NV-L) was proposed. The new method is based on optimized results of the DRASTIC system and the L parameter which considers not only land use types, but also the amount of nitrogen loading leached from soil as a result of fertilizer consumption, and from wet deposition. The final results of NV-L method showed that the largest part of the study area is covered by a very low class of pollution risk (30.6%). The high and very high classes occupy 11.6% of the area, mostly in the areas designated until 2012 as the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. Validation of the results of all methods showed that the other methods than NV-L cannot be used as a basis for reliable assessment of the risk of groundwater pollution by nitrates, as they do not take into account the nitrogen load leached from the soil profile.

jakość wód podziemnych. W badaniach zastosowano trzy gatunki roślin, jako możliwe kierunki stosowania osadów ściekowych: trawa - rekultywacja gleb zdegradowanych, kukurydza - produkcja pasz, wierzba- wykorzystanie energetyczne biomasy. Jako kontrolę zastosowano lizymetry pozbawione roślinności. Przyjęto nastepujące dawki osadów ściekowych: O. IO, 50. 110,225 i 450 Mg s.m./ha. Statystycznie istotna. liniowa zależność pomiędzy dawką osadów a wielkością przewodności elektrolitycznej właściwej (EC), ChZT oraz azotanów wskazuje na potencjalne zagrożenie zanieczyszczenia wód podziemnych przy przyrodniczym wykorzystaniu osadów ściekowych, szczególnie w przypadku wysokich dawek osadów przekraczających 50 Mg s.m./ha. Zależności te oraz ryzyko zanieczyszczenia wód podziemnych obserwowano przez trzy lata doświadczenia dla wskaźników zanieczyszczenia EC i ChZT. W przypadku azotanów, zagrożenie ich migracji stwierdzono jedynie w pierwszym roku badań. Dodatkowo stężenia metali ciężkich oraz obecność patogenów w wodach gruntowych była na niskim poziomic. Stwierdzono, że zastosowane rośliny nie zmniejszyły negatywnego wpływu osadów ściekowych na jakość wód podziemnych.

In order to maintain and improve water quality, man has an increasing need to understand the relations among basin land use and in stream water quality. Being concerned about quality and quantity status of European waters European Union has adopted Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EU). The process of pressure and impact analyses and water status assessment is termed, in short, as “first characterisation” of water bodies. In accordance to WFD programmes of measures have to be developed by 2009. In WFD programmes existing measures for water protection directed by other EU directives such are Nitrate, Urban Waste Water, Dangerous Substances and IPPC will be further developed and new added. In the paper, we describe the first characterisation of the Slovene waters and show cross compliance of the Nitrate and Water Framework Directives in Slovenia

In the present work, the dried biomass of soil isolated fungus Eurotium cristatum was used for synthesizing silver na-noparticles (AgNPs). The synthesized AgNPs were spherical in shape with average diameter of 16.56 nm and displayed maximum absorbance at 418. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) study indicated the presence and binding of proteins with myco-produced silver nanoparticles. The optimum conditions for AgNPs biosynthesis were found to be at temperature of 40°C, pH of 8.0, substrate concentration of 500 ppm and fungal biomass wt. of 0.8 g. The AgNPs showed antibacterial ac-tivity against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli and Shigella flexneri. AgNPs was built-in thin film nanocomposite (TFNC) membrane and the impacts of nanomaterial composition on membrane properties and de-salination process were studied. The AgNPs produced membrane TFNC had better filtration performances than pure thin film composite membrane TFC. The TFNC membrane had enhanced water flux (32.0 vs. 16.5 dm3∙m–2∙h–1) and advanced NaCl rejection (91.7 vs. 89%) compared to the TFC membrane. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of the irrigation with desalinated water on yield and productivity of essential oil of the sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and lavender (Lavandula multifida L.). The irrigation with desalinated water reduced significantly the soil reaction, soil electri-cal conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio and exchangeable sodium percent in rhizospheric soil, it also enhanced the growth and oil yield of both plants compared with those irrigated with salt water.

In this research different methods for measuring water quality indices were conducted to investigate the performance of the newly designed, constructed and operated 9-Nissan water treatment plant, Iraq. Data gathering and implementation took place throughout winter and summer. Water samples were taken periodically, according to the standard method, the re-search was carried out by collecting different random samples for eight months (Jun. 2015–Jan. 2016) and measuring (tur-bidity, total hardness, pH, total dissolved solids, suspended solids, Cl–, Mg2+, Fe2+,NO3–, NH3+) for each sample. Five dif-ferent approaches and methodologies of calculating the water index were applied. The results revealed that the Water Qual-ity Indices varied from 70.55 to 88.24, when applying Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCMEWQI) and British Columbia water quality index (BCWQI) geometric weighted mean respectively. All the results, from the five approaches indicated good water quality, multiple regression analyses were conducted for turbidity, total hardness and suspended solids, they found that these parameters are strongly related to each other and to other pa-rameters.