The article presents the results of the research on the water samples taken from the Krakow water

distribution system and their pollution by haloacetic acids: monochloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, bromochloroacetic acid and dibromoacetic acid. The water samples were

taken from the extremities of the distribution systems (Raba and Bielany) in the city of Krakow. Both analyzed

plants use the chlorination as the water treatment process, however, water for Raba and Bielany comes from

different surface waters and differs in quality and organic matter concentration. These plants also apply different

water treatment processes and their distribution systems have a different size. The objective of this study was

to measure the haloacetic acids levels in these two water distribution systems, asses the correlation between the

total trihalomethanes and the sum of six haloacetic acids, determine if trihalomethanes can be a good indicator

to predict haloacetic acids concentration in water distribution systems.

The paper presents the results of experiments on the influence of the organic matter’s characteristics on the formation potential of water chlorination by-products – representatives of the following groups:

trihalomethanes, haloacetonitriles, haloketones, chloral hydrate and chloropicrin. The products of water fractionation (the hydrophobic and hydrophilic acids, hydrophobic and hydrophilic bases, and hydrophobic and

hydrophilic neutral fractions) were chlorinated with sodium hypochlorite. Its dose was adjusted to obtain a

residual free chlorine concentration between 3 and 5 mg/dm3

after 24 h. After this time, the water chlorination

by-products were analyzed with gas chromatography. The results’ analysis has defined the fractions, which have

the highest potential to form particular groups of volatile organic water chlorination by-products.

Results of laboratory scale research have been presented on the effects of an oxidizing reactor on ozone consumption and by-producs composition and separation of simultaneous NOx and SO2 removal from a carrier gas by ozonation method and absorption in an alkaline solution. The additional Dreschel washer added before two washers containing 100 ml of 0.1 molar NaOH solution played the role of an oxidation reactor. Its effect was investigated using an empty (dry or wetted) or filled with packing elements washer. The measured by-products in a scrubber and in the oxidizing reactor were SO32-, SO42-, NO2- and NO3- ions, respectively. It has been shown that use of oxidizing reactor improves NOx removal efficiency reducing ozone consumption. Wetting of the oxidation reactor with water enables a preliminary separation of sulphur and nitrogen species between the oxidizing reactor and an alkaline absorber. Application of packing elements in the oxidizing reactor allows to retain 90% of nitrogen compounds in it. Some results were confirmed by tests in pilot scale.

This paper provides analyses of the accuracy and convergence time of the PPP method using GPS systems and different IGS products. The official IGS products: Final, Rapid and Ultra Rapid as well as MGEX products calculated by the CODE analysis centres were used. In addition, calculations with weighting function of the observations were carried out, depending on the elevation angle. The best results were obtained for CODE products, with a 5-minute interval precision ephemeris and precise corrections to satellite clocks with a 30-second interval. For these calculations the accuracy of position determination was at the level of 3 cm with a convergence time of 44 min. Final and Rapid products, which were orbit with a 15-minute interval and clock with a 5 minute interval, gave very similar results. The same level of accuracy was obtained for calculations with CODE products, for which both precise ephemeris and precise corrections to satellite clocks with the interval of 5 minutes. For these calculations, the accuracy was 4 cm with the convergence time of 70 min. The worst accuracy was obtained for calculations with Ultra-rapid products, with an interval of 15 minutes. For these calculations, the accuracy was 10 cm with a convergence time of 120 min. The use of the weighting function improved the accuracy of position determination in each case, except for calculations with Ultra-rapid products. The use of this function slightly increased the convergence time, in addition to the CODE calculation, which was reduced to 9 min.

Analyses of the ground waters in respect of presence of residues of plant protection products, i.e. active substances as well as environmental metabolites thereof are performed in the Institute of Plant Protection since the end of 80ties of the past Century. Based on the results obtained in 1993–1994 for 40 wells located in administrative territories of former Poznań, Toruń and Bydgoszcz voivodeships, in the vicinity of intensive agricultural production areas (orchards, farms), wells where significant amounts of residues of triazines group and dealkylated metabolites thereof had been found previously were qualified to further studies. There were 6 wells in which triazine residues were determined most often. Additionally, based on hydrogeological maps, directions of underflows in the areas of well’s locations were determined as well. The aim of the above was to find the additional places for sampling waters distant from pollution sources and estimation of the level of residues of target compounds depending on distance from the basic wells. Seven triazine compounds including basic active substances (atrazine, simazine) and their metabolites [desethyl atrazine, desisopropyl atrazine, desethyldesisopropyl atrazine, hydroxyatrazine and hydroxysimazine] were selected for the presented studies. Residues were analyzed using methodologies designed in the Institute, i.e. solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by determination by chromatographic techniques HPLC-PDA, GC-NPD and GC-MS. Generally, during 11 years of investigations (1993–2003) samplings were performed 52 times and 323 samples of groundwater including that from additional wells were analyzed. Most often residues of atrazine and deethylatrazine in wells located in environs of Poznań were detected.

The article concerns fly ashes generated from the combustion of hard coal and deposited on landfills. Investigation results describing fly ash taken from a combustion waste landfill are presented in the article. The investigation results indicate a possibility for combusting the coal reclaimed by separation from the fly ash and utilizing the remaining fly ash fractions.

The activities of the organisation concentrate mainly on meeting customers’ requirements. For this purpose, various activities are being conducted for customer satisfaction surveys. In this context, it is important to predict the quality of the product and the changes in the cost of the purchase product. The purpose of this study is to propose a method for predicting the quality level of a product and change the cost of the product considering current customers’ requirements for a combination of product feature states and pro-quality changes. The method includes the calculation of the quality level of the product using the punctationformalised method, where the level depends on a combination of values of states (parameters) attributes of the product, that is, current and modified. The method was tested as an example of a household vacuum cleaner for which 20 attributes were determined. According to the Pareto rule (20/80), the four product attributes important for customers were selected. Thereafter, for important attributes, possible combinations of the values of these attributes were determined. In addition, an algorithm for determining the possible combinations of product attribute states in the MATLAB program was developed. Additionally, the change in the current cost of the product considering the change in the quality level was estimated. The product cost changes were determined based on the actual cost of the product and the current product quality level. The method allows the determination of all combinations of values of state attributes of the product, such that it is possible to take appropriate improvement actions both in terms of quality and cost. The results from the method allow the prediction of product satisfaction for customers and they are favourable in terms of production cost. Therefore, it is possible to design the product in advance and support the producer in preparatory activities.

The work contains a description of a developed experimental and theoretical method of modeling of solid waste combustion in a device equipped with a moving grate and capability to optimize the work of waste incineration plant. Implementation of this issue was based on results of experimental studies made on a laboratory scale boiler. This was possible by defining and testing indicators of quantitative assessment of combustion such as: reaction front rate, ignition rate, the rate of combusted mass loss and the heat release rate. These indicators as measurable "criteria indicators" allow transfer of parameters from a laboratory-scale unit, working in the transient regime into an industrial full scale grate device working continuously in stable determined conditions. This allows for wide optimization possibilities in the operation of a waste incineration plant, in particular the combustion chamber, equipped with a moving grate system.

Finite fossil fuel resources, as well as the instability of renewable energy production, make the sustainable management of energy production and consumption some of the key challenges of the 21st century. It also involves threats to the state of the natural environment, among others due to the negative impact of energy on the climate. In such a situation, one of the methods of improving the efficiency of energy management – both on the micro (dispersed energy) and macro (power system) scale, may be innovative technological solutions that enable energy storage. Their effective implementation will allow it to be collected during periods of overproduction and to be used in situations of scarcity. These challenges cannot be overestimated - modern science has a challenge to solve various types of problems related to storage, including the technology used or the control/ /management of energy storage. Heat storage technologies, on which research works are carried out regarding both storage based on a medium such as water, as well as storage using thermochemical transformations or phase-change materials. They give a wide range of applications and improve the efficiency of energy systems on both the macro and micro scale. Of course, the technological properties and economic parameters have an impact on the application of the chosen technology. The article presents a comparison of storage parameters or heat storage methods based on different materials with specification of their work parameters or operating costs.

In the era of the fight against global warming and in light of the search for energy with the least possible impact on the environment, interest in hydrogen has become a natural direction of development. Striving for a zero-emission Europe by 2050, the EU promotes low-emission and ultimately emission-free hydrogen for the widest possible use in the economy. Poland has developed a strategic document specifying the necessary activities for the use of hydrogen in the economy, which should at the same time maintain its competitiveness. Poland is currently the third producer of hydrogen in the European Union, which enables strategic thinking about maintaining Poland as a leading player on the hydrogen market in the long term. Currently, hydrogen in Poland is produced by (usually large) state-owned enterprises for their own needs with only a small margin of its resale. This is conventional hydrogen that is mainly obtained from natural gas. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about the hydrogen market, which must develop so that this raw material can be widely used in many branches of the modern economy. However, this requires taking a number of legislative, research and development and investment activities, as well as directing the national energy transformation to renewable energy sources, which may ultimately reduce the costs of pure hydrogen production. A number of actions have been taken, but the delay in legislative actions is slowing down the creation of the hydrogen market and is limiting the interest of private businesses in engaging in transformation activities.

The article is to present the application of genetic algorithm in production scheduling in a production company. In the research work the assumptions of the methodology were described and the operation of the proposed genetic algorithm was presented in details. Genetic algorithms are useful in complex large scale combinatorial optimisation tasks and in the engineering tasks with numerous limitations in the production engineering. Moreover, they are more reliable than the existing direct search algorithms. The research is focused on the effectivity improvement and on the methodology of scheduling of a manufacturing cell work. The genetic algorithm used in the work appeared to be robust and fast in finding accurate solutions. It was shown by experiment that using this method enables obtaining schedules suitable for a model. It

We propose a Bayesian approach to estimating productive capital stocks and depreciation rates within the production function framework, using annual data on output, employment and investment only. Productive capital stock is a concept related to the input of capital services to production, in contrast to the more common net capital stock estimates, representing market value of fixed assets. We formulate a full Bayesian model and employ it in a series of illustrative empirical examples. We find that parameters of our model, from which the time-path of capital is derived, are weakly identified with the data at hand. Nevertheless, estimation is feasible with the use of prior information on the production function parameters and the characteristics of productivity growth. We show how precision of the estimates can be improved by augmenting the model with an equation for the rate of return.

The article presents a methodology for analysing historical gas production data and determining the gas reserves and the petrophysical parameters of a reservoir-aquifer system. These parameters are obtained from a fitting algorithm using production data sets. A forecast of the future field gas production can be created on the calibrated mathematical model basis. The developed method is based on the material balance assumptions and the widely used Fetkovich and van Everdingen-Hurst equations for calculating water influx. To conduct the calculations and analyse production data, the computer application was developed using Python programming language. A user-friendly graphical interface makes the proposed application convenient and intuitive to use. The software was calibrated based on the literature data from the gas field of known parameters and then validated using five case studies of the actual gas fields in the Polish Carpathian Foredeep. From the tests, very high compatibility between the computed and the real field values were obtained. An additional comparison with the commercial program MatBal confirmed the proper functioning of the application.

The growth of the global population, urbanization as well as economic and industrial development, affect the continuously increasing demand for mineral aggregates. The current assessed global production of mineral aggregates amounts to 50 billion Mg/year, which statistically approximates 6.5 Mg per an inhabitant of the globe. In terms of consumption volume, water is the only raw material ahead of aggregates. Despite such a great scale, in many countries and regions the extraction and production of aggregates belong to the least regulated sector of human activity. This refers particularly to the countries of A sia, A frica, and North A merica, where both the resources and the extraction of aggregates, particularly of sand and gravels, are either not monitored and registered. It significantly increases the negative impact on the natural environment, due to the destruction of riverbeds and oxbows, coastal erosion, drying up cultivation areas, etc. In the reports, local terminology of aggregates often functions, which makes it difficult to compare them and prepare appropriate balances. In order to regulate the unfavorable situation, one of the main conclusions of the Report (UNEP 2019) is the need of implementing a common requirement to plan and monitor the process of extraction of natural resources. The paper presents the possibility of forecasting the extraction and producing aggregates based on the consumption of cement, i.e. the basic building material. A lthough the analyzed coefficient of mineral aggregate production per unit of cement consumption (production) varies, its advantage is the fact that the production of cement is identified and taken into account in balances of industrial production of the majority of countries, whereas such identification for mineral aggregate production are still lacking.

The article presents the possibility of using the Cobb-Douglas production function for planning in a turbulent environment. A case study was carried out – the Cobb-Douglas function was used to examine the condition of the Polish hard coal mining industry and the progress which has been made after undertaking certain activities aimed at increasing the competitiveness of coal companies over recent years. Only the correct and confirmed identification of the causes of irregularities in the production process can allow for the introduction of effective remedies. The effectiveness of the solutions proposed by the author has been confirmed thanks to the simulation during which the impact of the proposed production strategy on the parameters of the CD function was examined. Three variants of production functions models were created and production productivity rates and marginal substitution rates were determined. The results enabled the verification of the progress of restructuring as well as identification of the origin of the observed problems and comparison of the current state with the results of analyses carried out in previous years. Scenarios of possible trend developments for the factors introduced into the function model in order to present remedial measures that could improve the process of hard coal extraction were created. The scenarios were created using the ARIMA class models. Which scenario is the most favourable was determined. A computer program, created by the author, for optimising the level and use of labor resources at the level of the entire coal company has been presented.

The main pathogen that deteriorates the quality of rose flowers during the postharvest stage belongs to the fungal genus Botrytis. The chemical products used to control the disease caused by this pathogen have been losing effectiveness due to the appearance of resistance. The present study describes the in vitro and in vivo fungicidal activity of Pelargonium graveolens essential oil and its chemical composition. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation, and the in vitro fungicidal activity was determined by agar diffusion assays, showing 100% of fungal growth inhibition at 250 ppm. In vivo assays were performed on Rosa grandiflora flowers treated with 250 ppm of P. graveolens essential oil, using distillate water as a positive control and the commercial fungicide carbendazim as a negative one. No significant differences were obtained between the treatment with the essential oil and the treatment with the commercial fungicide. The chemical profile of the essential oil was determined by GC-MS. The main compounds detected were geraniol (24.89%), citronellol (19.50%), linalool (10.92%) and γ-eudesmol (8.93%). These results encourage the possible use of P. graveolens essential oil for the control of B. cinerea in rose flowers.

The publication reflects the current situation concerning the possibilities of using augmented reality (AR) technology in the field of production technologies with the main intention of creating a tool to increase production efficiency. It is a set of individual steps that respond in a targeted manner to the possible need for assisted service intervention on a specific device. The publication chronologically describes the procedure required for the preparation and processing of a CAD model. For this preparatory process, the PTC software package is used which meets the requirements for each of the individual operations. The first step is the routine preparation of CAD models and assemblies. These are prepared based on real models located on the device, and their shape and dimensions correlate with the dimensions of the model on the device. The second phase is the creation and timing of the disassembly sequence. This will provide the model with complete vector data, which is then paired with the CAD models in AR. This phase is one of the most important. It determines the location of the model concerning its relative position on the device, provides information on the relocation of parts of the model after the sequence is started, and essentially serves as a template for the interactive part of the sequence. The last two phases are used to connect CAD models with vector data, determine their position for the position mark, and prepare the user interface displayed on the output device. The result of this procedure is a functional disassembly sequence, used for assisted service intervention of a worker in the spindle drive of the Emco Mill 55 device.

Traditionally the aggregate production plan helps in determining the inventory, production, and work-force, based on the demand forecasts without considering the productivity loss at a tactical level in supply chain planning. In this paper, we include the productivity loss into traditional aggregate production plan and the prescriptive analytics technique, linear programming, is used to solve this problem of practical interest in the domain of multifarious businesses and industries. In this study, we discussed two model variations of the aggregate production planning problem with and without productivity loss, i) fixed work-force, and ii) variable Work Force. The mathematical models were designated to be solved by using an open-source python pulp package in order to evaluate the impacts of the productivity loss on both the models. PuLP is an open-source modeling framework provided by the COIN-OR Foundation (Computational Infrastructure for Operations Research) for linear and integer Programing problems written in Python. The computational results indicate that the productivity loss has direct impact on the workforce hiring and firing.

The automotive industry is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty. Companies are facing the challenge of producing different systems simultaneously. Additionally, the global quantity of electric vehicles is also expected to increase significantly. This results in the following capability to remain competitive: Effective and efficient adaptions of production systems to model variations and volume increases. While flexible production is identified as the most promising concept, defining the actual flexibility level of included production resources is essential for its proper realization. A literature review on existing flexibility assessment approaches revealed their emphasis on high-level enablers and limited practical applicability in the automotive industry. In contrast, focusing the assessment on single workstations supports the selection of appropriate production resources. Therefore, a simple and structured standard procedure for a production resource flexibility assessment was developed. This theoretical construct was subsequently complemented with practical insights through its application on two real-life case studies within one automotive engineering company. Summarizing and discussing the findings in combination with a conclusion completed this paper.

Production development has for decades concentrated on incremental improvements by exploiting existing manufacturing knowledge to improve existing production systems or adapt them for new product developments. Building up an “ambidextrous innovation” ability, and more specifically in increasing focus on explorative production innovation, is important to balance production development efforts and obtain sustainable development of production. This paper aims to provide a conceptual framework for “ambidextrous production innovation” that conceptualizes and highlights phenomenon characteristics from exploitative and explorative perspectives. The conceptual framework describes “production innovation” as the process of either increasing or developing a new production capability, enabling opportunities for new product designs. This process can be either “product-driven” or “production-driven” depending on the primary objective of the development.

In this article we have described a multiproduct model of economical dynamics of Gale type, in which the changes in production technology (the dynamics of Gale type production spaces) depend upon the scale of targeted investments. Under such assumptions we have proved a so-called “weak” version of a multilane turnpike theorem in the Gale type economy with varying technology which converges to a certain limit technology. It states that in the long periods of time, regardless of the initial state of the economy, the optimal growth processes almost always lie close to the family of steady growth paths with maximum growth rate called the multilane turnpike.

Underground mining development is directly related to face drilling rig performance. Reducing operating costs and improving productivity are current and crucial topics for mining projects around the world within the development phase. Unlike past approaches, this article is based on variations of equipment availability and utilisation, and their impact on development plans success and costs decrease. To assess the influence of these parameters, daily field data were collected to identify major downtimes in normal cycles and apply adequate corrective measures to mitigate them. Additionally, this article presents the reader with a graphic illustration of the correlation between utilisation and development, including historical data. This paper was developed from October 2017 to March 2018. The result of this study seeks to identify when projects generate profits by comparing four situations with constant productivity, but variables such as the possession rate, maintenance fee, production and utilisation. Finally, it is demonstrated that success in mining projects, related to equipment, is proportional to the utilisation of the fleet, with the correct management of productivities.

The aim of the present study was to investigate inline lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) dynamic changes based on different cow factors – different number and stages of lactation, milk yield, and the status of reproduction in clinically healthy dairy cows.

In the Herd Navigator system, LDH activity levels (μmol/min per litre) were measured using dry-stick technology. A total of 378 cows were selected. According to their reproductive status, the cows were classified as belonging to the following groups: Fresh (1 – 44 days after calving); Open (45 – 65 days after calving); Inseminated (1 – 35 days after insemination); Pregnant (35 – 60 days after insemination and pregnant). According to their productivity, the cows were classified into the following groups: <15 kg/day, 15 – 25 kg/day, 25 – 35 kg/day and >35 kg/day. The cows were milked with a DeLaval milking robot (DeLaval Inc. Tumba Sweden) in combination with a Herd Navigator analyser (Lattec I/S. Hillerød Denmark).

In conclusion inline dynamic changes in the milk LDH concentration may increase together with the rise in the lactation period frequency. The highest LDH level determinated in the group of the fresh cows ranged from 5 to 10 DIM, while the highest LDH concentration level was found in the fresh cow milk. Thus, there was a positive relationship between the milk concentration of LDH and the milk yield.

Voice production — emission, raised interest of humans from almost the beginning of the humanity. First written information dates back to the Egyptian times 2500–3000 BC. Practically from early Greek period until XIX century studies of the larynx and the speech apparatus brought new and new facts, both regarding the structures, physiology and clinics. Such ancient researchers as Galen, Morgagni, Eustachii, Casserius created milestones for modern laryngology. Authors hoped to present some facts on the anatomical researches in the field of organs responsible for voice production from historical perspective.