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The noise in the workplace is a health problem of workers. It is estimated that a third of European workers are exposed to noisy working conditions more than a quarter of their working time. Hearing loss caused by noise is still one of the most common occupational disease in Europe, accounting for about one third of all occupational diseases. In order to identify employees and workplaces that are exposed to noise levels should to perform measurements of noise periodically. The methods for determining working condi...

Even if EU traditional agriculture is based on a considerable part on livestock enterprises activities, and many products are sustaining the traditional activities, livestock production is the largest source of greenhouse gases, high water usage, driver of deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land use, European Union (EU) is the biggest food importer and the second food exporter, spend around 40% of its budget on Common Agricultural Policy in detriment of other sectors. This paper work aims to emphasize the impact...

Two large intrusive massifs of different ages on the Fennoscandian Shield are exemplified to analyze the distribution pattern of megafractures. Megafractures are rectilinear tectonic dislocations varying in length from hundreds of metres to several kilometres. Megafracturing was analyzed on rapakivi granites from the Neoproterozoic Salmi multi-phase massif. Another goal of the project was to study the Paleoproterozoic Ropruchei gabbrodolerite sill. Topographic maps and satellite images were used for analysis of me...

The aim of this study was to investigate the process of accumulation of some toxic metals in Salvia Officinalis cultivated in-situ and also in controlled laboratory experiment. In situ experiment was located in a highly polluted area, situated in the proximity of abandoned gold mine and a waste dump. In the study were collected and analyzed four different samples of Salvia Officinalis, grown on polluted soil situated in different geographic directions around a waste dump. The analytical investigation indicated tha...

The results of methane and total hydrogen sulphide detection in bottom sediments of small rivers as well as fresh and slightly saline water bodies of the Eastern Donbass are presented. The content of CH4 in sediments of water bodies of Eastern Donbass varies between 0.04-26.8 ?g/g wet mass (w.m.), ?H2S content varies from to less 0.005 than 4.02 mg/g w.m. The maximum concentrations of methane were recorded in the bottom sediments of the Glubokaya River (Station No. 7), while the maximum of the content ?H2S is conf...

Water filling of remaining gaps of lignite open-pits are used frequently worldwide, is economically acceptable, having long-term benefits, regardless of the use of pit lakes. Choosing this type of use leads to appearance of a water surface, which may increase, for example, the ecological, productive, cultural value of both the landscapes and terrains. However, not every remaining gap can be flooded for extremely diverse reasons (slope stability issues, climate, regional development strategy, etc.). The paper propo...

Although the majority of the EU countries explore controlled waste management landfill sites for alternative electrical and thermal energy resources it has been found that some of these infrastructures exhibit several instability situations and environmental problems due to lack of landfill maintenance or inadequate waste separation, which may result in post closure inefficient biogas exploration or in reduction of potential landfill mining [1; 2]. In Portugal, there are presently several landfills in exploitation...

The article considers the theoretical aspects and practical methodology of cost-effective eco-directed structural design. Nowadays the problem of ecological safety of the construction process is significant all over the world. Most efficient ways to solve the problem are dealt with keeping the environmental requirements at all phases of construction and best possible conservation of the whole ecosystem. All kinds of environmental harm, caused by construction process, generally could be converted to certain amount ...

Pig breeding is a profitable activity for small and large farms, being currently influenced in an increasing extent, by the international competition in this area. As a result, pig breeders must keep pace with changing technologies and production techniques to maintain the competitiveness of their farms. Also, it is necessary to take into account the new European regulations, particularly those relating to the environmental protection, the comfort of animal and food safety. The objective of this paper represents t...

The microseismic monitoring is a method of monitoring of fracture propagation during hydraulic fracturing process. Hydraulic fracturing is a method of reservoir stimulation used especially for unconventional gas recovery. A matrix of several thousand geophones is placed on the surface of earth to record every little tremor of ground induced by fracturing process. Afterwards, the signal is analysed and the place of tremor occurrence is calculated. The detection of microseismic event is not trivial especially in noi...

In modified Tube reactor, where the average concentration of solids amounts to 0.1- 0.2 t/m3, i.e. the conditions for residence time are long enough for the thermal combustion of biomass waste and coal and extensive gas mixing with 60-70% excess air so enhancing biomass combustion and heat transfers to the boilers. It is necessary to create conditions of internal circulation without the transported coal and waste in modified Tube and boiler, 90-95% combustion yield were observed at the end of combustion. Total hea...

It has been statistically proven that tuffogenic sediments, especially tonsteins, have a negative impact on the incidence of pneumoconiosis (silicosis) among miners in French coal basin. Therefore, the rocks attract the interest of geologists not only due to their origin and possibility of use for correlation purposes, but also as a source of dust hazard in mines. The present publication presents mineralogical tests of inhalable grain size dust formed during the exploitation of a coal seam with a tonstein overgrow...

This article discusses a comprehensive study of the sand samples, which were selected on the Arabian seashores (Kovalam, Kollam, Kerala, India), and produced ilmenite, zircon, garnet and monazite concentrates (Chavara field, Kerala, India). As a result of versatile research, realized in the laboratories of KFU, which represented mineral and radionuclide composition of the studied samples, marginally represented La, Yb, Hf. Discovered free of impurities zircon, as well as zircon of the hafnium species. The studies ...

Bitumen deposits in Permian sediments in the Volga-Ural region are interesting as sources of unconventional oil. The reservoir rocks in the bituminous deposits are sand and sandstone of varying degrees of strength. For the prognosis of productive areas, it is important to study the peculiarities of the composition of bitumen-containing rocks and the mechanisms of localization of oil matter in them. These processes are closely related to the conditions of formation of the surrounding rocks. We examined samples of b...

The demand for natural resources and the associated need for drilling works will continue to grow. This is mainly due to turbulence in the markets for trade and transmission of raw materials by pipelines between countries. In addition, the aim is to become independent from external supplies. Growing demand for natural resources (petroleum, natural gas, shale gas, etc.) will increase the volume of drilling works. They interfere directly with the environment at their place of performance. Through the use of new tech...

In this article the air infiltration through the envelope of a naturally ventilated building, located in Bra?ov (Romania) is studied. The paper presents the study of the factors which influence the air infiltration пїЅ wind effect and stack effect пїЅ and the modeling of air change rate (ACH) inside the building, by Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) modeling. It has been found that ?T can be a good predictor of ACH because of its high physically correlation with this. Another conclusion of the study is that althoug...

Year by year, the growth of the share of heavy oils in the total volume is steadily increasing. For development of highly effective methods for its processing, approaches to modelling their properties should be elaborated. This thesis is dedicated to deriving and substantiating a formula for calculation of the velocity field in the round pipe volume as adjusted for rheological features of the flow of heavy oil suspensions. The suggested approach is based upon rheodynamics equations reflecting the flow of a rheolog...

Forecasting of viscosity value in blending of oil products is an important production task, settlement thereof influence the selection of its pumping mode and a number of other technological aspects. Quite high-precision models have been offered for the objects similar in viscosity, but at significantly different value of viscosity for the mixture components there is a great error. Graphic diagrams of interaction of petroleum-bitumen suspension-kerosene mixture viscosity at various ratios of its components and var...

This article is considering anthropogenic and natural pollution, which leads to a change in global temperature. The article also talks about the Greenhouse effect and global climate change. The average global temperatures can fluctuate within years and even decades, for different natural reasons. The article analyses how the world pollution leads to a change in the global average temperature. The aim is to create a model that will show us the relations between the changes in global average temperature with the pol...

The transit gas pipeline in Slovakia was built in 1970s. The gas pipeline runs from Ukraine through the southern part of the entire Slovak Republic to Czech Republic. The transit pipeline is made of 5 lines with diameter of 1,220 m and 1,420 m. Terrain obstacles such as rivers and water courses are mastered by 16 pipeline bridgings. Currently the lifespan of many structural parts is expiring. According to the long-term partnership EUSTREAM (pipeline administrator) and Department of Steel and Timber structures, Fac...

In paper the gas analyzers of new generation constructed on the basis of semiconductor sensors are considered. Application of the semiconductor gas-sensitive elements allows to solve the main objective of the modern gas analysis пїЅ detection of vapors and gases of the wide list with high stability, the necessary selectivity and sensitivity. The semiconductor sensors allow to find substances in air in a broad range: from trace concentration 10-6 - 10-5 mg/m3 to high 500 - 800 mg/m3, owing to their developed struct...

Sediments are usually regarded as the ultimate sink for heavy metals discharged into environment, and can be sensitive indicators for monitoring contaminants in aquatic environments. Therefore, the environmental problem of sediment pollution by heavy metals has received increasing attention in the last few decades in both developing and developed countries through the world. Environmental risk assessments, including sediment monitoring, are typical tools for supporting decision making in the regulatory context, an...

This study investigated the degree of heavy metal accumulation in fruits, leaf, shoots and associated potential health risks in agricultural areas of the Mitrovica city, northern Kosova. Total concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe) were determined in soil and fruits, leaf, shoots apple tree with rootstock MM106. Samples collected from agricultural areas (near Mitrovica city), have been analyzed for heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, As, Zn, ...

For the bridges under rehabilitation, especially for cable stay and suspended structures, situations that can lead to the increase of strain in the structure may occur during construction works. Because of that, monitoring the way the bridges behave during works becomes necessary. Monitoring them during rehabilitation under traffic is essential, because alarms are triggered when accidental actions take place or when certain strain values are exceeded. The bridge on DN39 over the Danube пїЅ Black See channel in Agi...

Heavy metal contamination of soils is a long-standing environmental problem in the world due to the increase of anthropogenic impact on landscapes. The proposed paper is the first step of an integrated ecological and geochemical investigation of soil cover of the Baikal region. Study object is the biggest island of the Lake Baikal named Olkhon, which is a part of the Baikal National Park, Russia. The study was performed by the key-site method. The method is based on the revealing an index plot, which characterizes...

In the placers of the south-eastern boundary of the Lyapin megaanticlinorium at the Subpolar Urals for the first time the relation of native gold with bismuth and telluride minerals was reliably established. The placer area is located within the Lower Proterozoic and Riphean metamorphic rocks. Directly in the placers Bi-tellurosulphides, tellurides and sulphosalts (tetradimite, joseite-B, joseite-A, tsumoite, hedleyite, cosalite), native bismuth, native silver, maldonite are determined together with gold in large ...

Proper estimation of geomechanical parameters of the shale gas reservoir has a crucial influence on the stimulation treatments designing and therefore on hydrocarbon production from unconventional reservoir. The brittleness is the most commonly used parameter for locating the geomechanical hotspots in the reservoir. This parameter can be estimated using elastic, dynamic rock properties such as Poisson Ratio and Young Modulus obtained from sonic logs. The seismic waves velocities recorded by the sonic logging tool ...

The paper presents three natural reserves in Romania: Dumbrava Vad nature reserve known as the Daffodil Meadow - Brasov County, is considered the largest reserve of this kind in Europe. Daffodil Meadow Negrileasa пїЅ Alba Country and Daffodil Meadow Negra?i - Arges County. For accomplishing the objectives of this paper were been created maps using Program ArcMap 10.1. The maps play a role to present the characteristics of the area in terms of geomorphology. The aim maps is to present this natural reserves in terms...

The present study aims an integrated risk analysis of existing or potential natural constituting a direct or indirect threat on the analyzed geographical area. These regularly processes cause lately extreme and significant disturbances in the primary and significant damage system components in various fields of economic and social life. With an inventory of all these dangerous phenomena may be proposed at local government levels, a series of joint measures on mitigation and combating the effects induced by natural...

One of the main objectives in real-time assessment of seismic hazard is the development of algorithms for rapid estimation of the seismic source parameters (fault planes solutions). The objective of this work is to test and implement new methodologies in the National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) for near real time estimation of fault planes solutions taking the advantage of the spatial density of the Seismic Network in seismically active zones ( 120 seismic stations used in real time) and the full range of t...

Over the last decades, deep drilling technology expanded fast. Newly created progressive technologies improved quality of drilling work and speeded-up the drilling process. Currently, 75-80 % drilling methods used world-wide are traditional, while 20- 25 % are new techniques. Slovakia is a little behind this trend: our utilization ration shows 95-98 % traditional drilling methods, compared to only 2-5 % new ones. Together with development of new deep-well boring technologies, new types of drilling sets for deep dr...

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate of the Ni?de Fault zone, which passes through the city of Ni?de. The study area located in the south and eastern part of the Ni?de Province, and crops out different types of geological units from Paleozoic to Cenozoic in that vicinity. These units are, from old to young, metamorphic rocks, which is known as Ni?de Massif composed of GпїЅmпїЅ?ler, Kaleboynu, A??gedi?i formations, пїЅпїЅkap?l? granodiorite (Paleozoic to Mesozoic), K?z?lkaya Ignimbrite (Upper Miocene to...

The investigation of the fault tectonics in the Kovdor carbonatite intrusion (NW Russia) has resulted in the identification of a new brittle deformations type. It is formed due to the simultaneous turn of fissure planes at discrete angles around two orthogonal guiding lines (axes), where one is represented by a vertical massif symmetry axis (L1), and the other axis (L2) lies horizontally in the fracture plane. Nonetheless, the rotation along the both axes is codirectional, i.e., when moving counterclockwise around...

The work is devoted to the West Siberian sedimentary basin Bazhenov formation (or Bazhenov shale) пїЅ a unique oil-generating and oil-bearing geological formation. Bazhenov shale is an analog of the known shale oil deposits: Bakken, Eagle Ford and Monterrey (USA). Geological and geophysical exploration of bazhenites is an important problem today, which is connected with development of new methods and technologies of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs exploitation. The work is devoted to physical and chemical pr...

This paper presents the dynamic investigations on the response of important building from Craiova, the University of Craiova. This building was affected by the major seismic motion from March 1977, 1986 and 1990. The processing of the data obtained through this investigation gives important conclusions on the influence of the major seismic movements of a specific type of structure. The main degradation of the structure was observed using noninvasive testing. This building with high importance was tested using dyna...

The flourishing of the family Orthidae (class Rhynchonellata, order Orthida) was happening in the first half of the Ordovician, the stage known in the literature as the Great Ordovician Diversification. The problem of the establishment of the Biodiversity centers is one of the dominant problems of modern Evolution Biogeography. At the present time, there are not common criterions for the determination of biodiversity's center in spite of the unanimous acknowledgement of the existence of local speciation's regions....

Compact fuel processors based on steam reforming process using natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and biogas have been developed for over a decade in order to offer the fuel gas (hydrogen) into the combined heat and power (CHP) fuel cell systems for cogeneration of electricity and heat. Numerical modelling of a steam reforming reactor described by fully coupled mass, energy and flow equations was developed in this paper by using the Finite Element Method (FEM) based Comsol Multiphysics software version 5.2...

Innovative aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology has proved its ability to remove organic pollutants and nutrients from wastewater treatment at the same efficiency, but at a lower costs than conventional biological process. This technology has been successfully applied in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) configuration. An experimental model bioreactor was designed for adapting the AGS technology to continuous flow conditions. This paper presents numerical results for hydrodynamics and air dispersion into bioreact...

The dynamic development of material and chemical engineering as well as physical analytical methods allows the use of new materials for the production of drilling muds. This is especially important because drilling works are conducted in increasingly difficult geological and technological conditions. The present analyses concentrate on the development and elaboration of recipes of drilling fluids with organophilic nanomaterials. One of the most frequently applied nanomaterials referred to in patents registered by ...

Design of a structure together with monitoring the structural response to dynamic loads (seismic and hydrodynamic), fatigue aging, the possibility of successive degradation, resilience respective vulnerability are strongly influenced by the chosen calculus model, and a laborious probabilistic calculation. For particular case of offshore structures this implies the connection between the actions of the environment: wave histograms, wind action, foundation collapse, structure, technological activities and so on. Als...

The article presents the materials of long-term research conducted from 2004, in the mouth area of the Northern Dvina River. The program of researches included determination of concentrations of mercury in the water, covering about 150 km of the river length. We also analyzed such parameters of water as pH, Eh, oxygen content, salinity. A long observation period allowed us to trace the peculiarities of the changes of mercury content in water, which was the aim of the present work. Previously the authors determined...

The energy sector is an essential component in any nationпїЅs economy and well-being. The security and safety of any energy grid system is nowadays a strongpoint in mid and long term strategies when it comes to national development. Safety and security of energy supply is a multicomponent factor that includes: power generation systems, power transport and distribution systems and consumer management. The power generation units in Romania are very complex and they include different sources like coal, gas, nuclear, ...

The emergence and development of the internal combustion engine began in the 18-th century in England. But the first patent for a piston engine with compression ignition was achieved by Rudolf Diesel in year 1892 [1]. The engine use coal powder as fuel. The most used vegetable oil as a fuel and peanut oil. In the year 1859 in Pennsylvania was first released at the amount of crude oil that has been refined for kerosene and gasoline. Because a large quantity of by-products remained unused, Rudolf Diesel using a frac...

Countries that largely base their production of electricity and thermal on coal, are exposed to a significant burden of the environment, mainly through the emission of harmful substances into the environment, including the production of large quantities of solid waste: including fly ashes, slags, ash, slag mixes etc. However, the waste generated in combustion processes does not have to be a burden to the environment. Due to the changes in legal regulations they may become a by-product (i.e. Coal Combustion Product...

Costs in mining and extractive enterprises is a critical factor for competitiveness. The reason is enormously expensive equipment and technology associated with this type of business. It is therefore necessary to identify the so-called critical cost type, not only in enterprise but also in the entire industry of the country. Slovak Republic, calculated on an area, belong to one of the world's mining superpowers and take leading positions in mining of selected types of raw materials [6]. Mineral resources are the b...

Renewable energy is playing an important role in the development of any modern country. Numerous renewable energy sources are now harvested on a large scale with the main purpose to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and diminish the use of fossil fuels. European Union member states agreed to achieve important quotas of renewable energy in their consumption until 2020 in energy and in transportation. Romania has the legislation aligned with the EU directives, therefore the government has issued specific legislati...

Alkylphenols (APs) are toxic, xenobiotic substances classified as endocrine disruptors, which have a negative effect on the hormonal system of many organisms including humans. APs are among the ubiquitous environmental contaminants and are frequent contaminants in wastewater. Alkylphenols are starting materials for the production of many surfactants and antioxidant stabilizers used in commercial products like detergents, plastics and textiles. They are used in the synthesis of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) and ar...

The present paper uses microsimulation softs to identify the main problems regarding the speed humps location and proposes some improved solutions, with effects on traffic, pollution and safety. This paper also defines the notion of "speed hump", its main advantages, disadvantages and some implementation requests. The most accessible measures to increase road safety, both in economic and design terms, are the traffic calming measures, such as speed humps in different shapes and sizes, low-price solutions with sati...

Petroleum and petroleum products hydrocarbons are the most toxic environmental contaminants. Modern detailed analysis of crude oil is needed for assessment, trasological and forensic investigations. Method of gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is one of the most effective method for the component composition determination in complex mixtures. This paper describes an express developed methodology for determination of fractional and component composition of crude oil and its derivative products пїЅ di...

Sustainability concerns in Romania dates back over 30 years when they agreed on the need to respond to issues raised inexorable deterioration of the natural environment, prevention of worsening ecological imbalances and ensuring ecological balance on Earth. These concerns marks the moment when humanity implicit authority of the country have begun to recognize that environmental problems are inseparable from the welfare and economic processes in general wastewater treatment plant by growing plants is a natural, ine...