Electromigration techniques as a modern tool to control the work of sewage treatment plant

In the present work, the possibility of using isotachophoresis (ITP) as an alternative method for the continuous control of sewage treatment plant efficiency is presented. The performed experiments focused on the nitrification process products as well as the determination of heavy metal concentration in raw sewage. Total concentration of nitrates and heavy metals is analysed in the sewage samples, ranging from 50 to 120mg/L and 0 to 1.9mg/L, respectively. The analytical error (below 10%), the analysis time (shorter then 50 minutes for heavy metals, and 12 minutes for nitrates) and the general analytical performance are better from those obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and ion selective electrode (ISE).     

Modelling of dust lifting process behind propagating shock wave

Dust dispersion from a layer is a complicated problem, which has not been completely solved yet, especially if an Eulerian–Eulerian approach has to be used to model the two-phase dusty flow. In previous investigation, a phenomenological model of the dust dispersion process from a layer was developed, but the evaluation of the model revealed some weaknesses. In the current paper, the model of the dust dispersion process was presented and three improvements of the model were studied: Saffman force, Magnus force and particles collisions. The implementation of Magnus and Saffman forces into the code did not improve the numerical results and it was shown that it had very little influence on the dust lifting process, in case the phenomenological model of the layer is used. Some explanations were proposed in the paper. Besides, an empirical model of particles collisions was also added to the code and its influence on the results was studied. It was shown that the particles collisions model improved the obtained results, but further modifications are to be studied in the future.     

The comparison study of compost and natural organic matter samples

Sewage sludge is a serious problem facing modern wastewater treatment plants. One of the methods to safely utilize the sludge is through composting and the agricultural use of the final product.In this study the compost samples from municipal sewage sludge are compared to the natural, rich in organic matter samples. Based on physicochemical properties of the material, the maturity indices are obtained to evaluate the quality of organic matter and estimate the similarities between the samples.The study shows that one-dimensional analysis like that based on maturity indices does not provide satisfactory answers concerning the nature of such complex materials. The data set of the analysis naturally possesses a multidimensional character so that the employment of advanced chemometric techniques like cluster analysis show a number of features which were hidden within the ‘data flood’.The major conclusion of this work is that the compost from sewage sludge is similar to peat in the significance of the properties of the organic matter. Moreover, the organic matter of agricultural soil, which is most stable and has been naturally matured over a long period of time, differs substantially from the other samples.     

Effects of Natura 2000 on nontarget bird and butterfly species based on citizen science data

The European Union's Natura 2000 (N2000) is among the largest international networks of protected areas. One of its aims is to secure the status of a predetermined set of (targeted) bird and butterfly species. However, nontarget species may also benefit from N2000. We evaluated how the terrestrial component of this network affects the abundance of nontargeted, more common bird and butterfly species based on data from long-term volunteer-based monitoring programs in 9602 sites for birds and 2001 sites for butterflies. In almost half of the 155 bird species assessed, and particularly among woodland specialists, abundance increased (slope estimates ranged from 0.101 [SD 0.042] to 3.51 [SD 1.30]) as the proportion of landscape covered by N2000 sites increased. This positive relationship existed for 27 of the 104 butterfly species (estimates ranged from 0.382 [SD 0.163] to 4.28 [SD 0.768]), although most butterflies were generalists. For most species, when land-cover covariates were accounted for these positive relationships were not evident, meaning land cover may be a determinant of positive effects of the N2000 network. The increase in abundance as N2000 coverage increased correlated with the specialization index for birds, but not for butterflies. Although the N2000 network supports high abundance of a large spectrum of species, the low number of specialist butterflies with a positive association with the N2000 network shows the need to improve the habitat quality of N2000 sites that could harbor open-land butterfly specialists. For a better understanding of the processes involved, we advocate for standardized collection of data at N2000 sites.