Prof. Michał Kowal (National Centre for Nuclear Research, NCBJ) talks about the complexities of theoretical work, long-lived and excited nuclear states, and the frontier of our knowledge about superheavy atomic nuclei.

The determination of the content of ecotoxic elements directly in flue gas is important for determining its actual emission from coal combustion. Moreover, in the BAT for large combustion plants conclusions adopted in 2017, apart from tightening of pollutants emission standards, i.e. SO 2, NO x and dusts, and setting emission limits, among others, for mercury, the monitoring of the actual emission of toxic elements has been established with the use of specific analytical methods. The review and comparison of available methods of analyzing the content of elements in flue gases in accordance with American and European standards has been presented in the article. Moreover, the factors influencing the quality of the obtained measurement results were identified.

Metal contents in the tundra soils (Gelic Regosols, Gelic Gleysols, Gelic Cambisols) of the maritime lowland of Kaffiöyra, in the western Spitsbergen seashore are presented in this publication. The average heave metal contents in samples collected from the depth layer 0—130 cm are follows: Fe 2.9%, Mn 392 ppm, Zn 75 ppm, Cu 23.4 ppm, Ni 24.1 ppm, Co 7.4 ppm, Pb 12.5 ppm, Cd 0.24 ppm. The surface soil layer 0 to 25 cm is poorer in Ca and Mg than the underlying layer 25 to 130 cm. The heave metal contents like Fe, Mn, Ni and Co, are also somewhat lower in the upper layer. The enrichment indices of Pb and Cd are equal in the surface soil layer 1.16 and 1.23 respectively. Correlation coefficients between each studied element and organic carbon, and, on the other hand, soil separates < 20 μm and < 2 μm are very low.

Twelve mineral elements and total ash were examined in regard to the possible use as the estimators of digestibility of natural food in Antarctic seals. Four of them: phosphorus, calcium, copper and zinc have proved to give most reliable results. The estimated total dry mass and organic matter digestibilities of fish food in Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddelli (Lesson)) averaged 82 and 91%, while the corresponding values for krill eaten by crabeaters (Lobodon carcinophagus (Hombron and Jaequinot)) and leopard seals (Hydrourga leptonyx (Blainville)) reached approximately 87 and 91%, respectively.

General meteorological conditions in the Admiralty Bay in 1978 did not deviate from those of many years. The data for 1978 were used to analyse the co-occurrence of four most perceptible meteorological parameters: temperature, air humidity, wind speed and precipitation. In summer these elements occurred simultaneously only in 1 — 2 intervals of values, in winter their occurrence within individual intervals was less numerous, but covered more of them.

The presented article describes the method for determining one of the trace elements occurring in coalbismuth. The subjects of the analysis were coal type 34, 35 and their fly ashes derived from Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa. The main reason for the research was the extensive use of bismuth in many industry sectors. Additionally, bismuth is on the list of deficit elements, therefore the possibility of obtaining an alternative for its recycling source of it is needed, is required. The research was carried out using atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal atomization in a graphite cuvette. The samples were incinerated at 800°C and microwave mineralization in a high-pressure closed system was performed until the spectrometric analysis was achieved. In order to achieve mineralization, a mixture of HF and HNO3 acids was used to turn the samples into acidic solutions. The preparation of the samples was based on available literature data and own observations. In the experiment, the effects of the additive modifier was modified by changing the temperature in further steps: drying, incineration, cooling, atomization and burning were described. In addition, the palladium modifier was used in order to limit secondary reactions and enable the evaporation of matrix components. The measurement conditions which are presented in this article allow for a linear calibration curve to be established. However, this is not clear and the definitive method for determining the bismuth in coal is carried out through the use of ET-AAS.

The use of biomass in the energy industry is the consequence of ongoing efforts to replace Energy from fossil fuels with energy from renewable sources. However, due to the diversity of the biomass, its use as a solid fuel generates waste with diverse and unstable chemical composition. Waste from biomass combustion is a raw material with a very diverse composition, even in the case of using only one type of biomass. The content of individual elements in fly ash from the combustion of biomass ranges from zero to tens of percent. This makes it difficult to determine the optimal recovery methods. The ashes from the combustion of biomass are most commonly used in the production of building materials and agriculture. This article presents the elemental composition of the most commonly used biomass fuels. The results of the analysis of elemental composition of fly ashes from the combustion of forest and agricultural biomass in fluidized bed boilers used in the commercial power industry were presented. These ashes are characterized by a high content of calcium (12.3–19.4%), silicon (1.2–8.3%), potassium (0.05–1.46%), chlorine (1.1–6.1%), and iron (0.8–6.5%). The discussed ashes contained no sodium. Aluminum was found only in one of the five ashes. Manganese, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, sulfur, bismuth, titanium and zirconium were found in all of the examined ashes. The analysis of elemental composition may allow for a preliminary assessment of the recovery potential of a given ash.

The authors present a numerical study of a start-up of a boiler with a thick-walled element subjected to thermomechanical loading. The significance of calculations of real heat transfer coefficients has been demonstrated. Fluid dynamics, mechanical transient thermal and static structural calculations have been conducted in both separate and coupled modes. Strain-stress analyses prove that the effect of the heat transfer coefficient changing in time and place in comparison with a constant one as recommended by standards is the key factor of fatigue calculations.

Magnetic properties of silicon iron electrical steel are determined by using standardized measurement setups and distinct excitation parameters. Characteristic values for magnetic loss and magnetization are used to select the most appropriate material for its application. This approach is not sufficient, because of the complex material behavior inside electrical machines, which can result in possible discrepancies between estimated and actual machine behavior. The materials’ anisotropy can be one of the problems why simulation and measurement are not in good accordance.With the help of a rotational single sheet tester, the magnetic material can be tested under application relevant field distribution. Thereby, additional effects of hysteresis and anisotropy can be characterized for detailed modelling and simulation.

In the 19th and in the first half of the 20th century numerous parks were built all over Europe, which, though different in many aspects, still show certain similarities in space structure and composition. The question is, whether late modern public parks, built in the second half on the 20th century follow the classical design and composition „rules”? How did the extremely functionalist design approach of the era after WW2 influence park design? The answer is the result of a detailed analysis on space structure and composition principles of the parks built in these times. In this research I analyzed according to specific criteria the Jubileum Park in Budapest, one of the most prominent work of the late modern period in Hungary. The 12 ha Jubileum Park (built in 1965) is located in the heart of Budapest, on the top of Gellért Hill, next to river Danube. Laying high above the city on an exposed hillside, the park offers a broad view of the whole city. The structure of the park is basically determined by the extreme topography, and one of the great value of the park is the natural looking grading, which determines the space structure and fits to the natural terrain very nicely, and the walkway system, which fits to the contour lines and explores the whole site. Fitting to the windy and exposed hilltop position, in space division the terrain in the most appealing, the plantation is only secondary. From formal point an interesting feature is the dominance of two dimensional elements with characteristic shape, like flowerbeds or ornamental pools and the curves of the walkway system. Though the main function of the park is to underline the fantastic visual potential with providing viewpoints, there are some playgrounds as well. For the visitor of today the specialty of the park celebrating the 50th anniversary this year, is, that – disregarding some minor changes – there were no alterations since it exists. As a first step I analyzed the space structure of the park, putting an extra emphasis on the existence or lack of any axis, on the accentuation of the park entrances, on the space organization inside the park and on the existence/lack of hierarchy. Important aspect of analysis was the connection of the park to connecting urban fabric and green surfaces nearby. The next step was to compare the results with other parks built in former times, but having similar natural setting. The goal of the research is to determine, how much the spatial composition of Jubileum Park is different from the spatial composition of classical parks. The results might help to realize, what kind of spatial composition and space structure is typical of late modern parks. It would be important to preserve these space structural specialties of the Jubileum Park during a more and more urgent renovation.

In the ironmaking, sizes of raw materials such as iron ores and coke must be adjusted for subsequent process in the blast furnace. The depletion of high grade iron ore in recent years necessitates a technology that can utilize low-grade fine iron ores. Thus, steelmakers have been studying the sinter-briquette complex firing process that employs a method of charging the sinter feed together with briquettes made of fine iron ore. In this process, larger briquettes increase the briquette productivity per unit time but decrease the green strength of briquettes and they can break during transportation and charging. Thus, the briquette shape is very important.

Therefore, in this study, we simulate a twin roll briquetting process using the DEM analysis and compared the compressive force distributions in the briquette for different aspect ratios. This study is a new attempt, because research cases by numerical methods on the same or similar systems are very rare. Consequently, the optimal aspect ratio is 0.5 at briquette height 20 mm, 2.0 at 30 mm, and 1.5 at 40 mm. Also, the average compressive force increased in proportion with the pocket height at the same aspect ratio. Therefore, to increase the pocket depth for high productivity, the pocket height must also be increased for obtaining high strength briquettes.

Distribution of the following elements: Na, K, Ca and Mg, and heavy metals: Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb and Cd was analysed in the Gelic Cambisols profile from Kaffiöyra, Spitsbergen. The leaching of Ca, Fe, Mn, Co and Cu, and in a less degree Mg and Ni downward the profiles occurs in the studied soil due to pedogenic processes. The surface soil horizon is strongly enriched in Na and K of marine origin and Pb and Cd from anthropogenic pollution of the distant atmospheric transports.