<abstract xml:lang="en"><title style='display:none'>Determination of Kinetics in Gas-Liquid Reaction Systems. An Overview</title>The aim of this paper is to present a brief review of the determination methods of reaction kinetics in gas-liquid systems with a special emphasis on CO2 absorption in aqueous alkanolamine solutions. Both homogenous and heterogeneous experimental techniques are described with the corresponding theoretical background needed for the interpretation of the results. The case of CO2 reaction in aqueous solutions of methyldiethanolamine is discussed as an illustrative example. It was demonstrated that various measurement techniques and methods of analyzing the experimental data can result in different expressions for the kinetic rate constants.</abstract>

Determination of Kinetics in Gas-Liquid Reaction Systems. An Overview

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Photocatalysis process belongs to an advanced oxidation technology for the removal of persistent organic compounds and microorganisms from water. It is the technology with a great potential, a low-cost, environmental friendly and sustainable treatment technology to align with the “zero” waste scheme in the water/wastewater industry. At present, the main technical barriers that impede its full commercialization remained on the post-recovery of the catalyst particles after water treatment. This paper reviews the background of the process and photooxidation mechanisms of the organic pollutants and microorganisms. The review of the latest progresses of engineered-photocatalysts, photo-reactor systems, and the kinetics and modeling associated with the photocatalytic and photodisinfection water and wastewater treatment process, has been presented. A number of potential and commercial photocatalytic reactor configurations are discussed, in particular the photocatalytic membrane reactors. The effects of key photo-reactor operation parameters and water quality on the photoprocess performances in terms of the mineralization and disinfection are assessed.</abstract>

Photocatalysis in the treatment and disinfection of water. Part I. Theoretical backgrounds / Fotokataliza w oczyszczaniu i dezynfekcji wody część i. podstawy teoretyczne

<abstract xml:lang="en"><title style='display:none'>Review of Mathematical Models of Water Quality</title>Water is one of the main elements of the environment which determine the existence of life on the Earth, affect the climate and limit the development of civilization. Water resources management requires constant monitoring in terms of its qualitative-quantitative values. Proper assessment of the degree of water pollution is the basis for conservation and rational utilization of water resources. Water quality in lakes and dams is undergoing continuous degradation caused by natural processes resulting from eutrophication and due to anthropogenic reasons. One of the tools that are used to solve problems of surface water pollution is modelling of changes which take place in lake waters and associated water quality changes. In the last thirty years a rapid development of mathematical modelling of water resources quality has been observed. A number of computer models have been designed which are successfully applied in practice in many countries, including Poland. This paper presents an overview of mathematical models for assessment of water quality in dam reservoirs. Description of the WASP program which will be used for modelling water quality in the Sulejow Reservoir was the focal point.</abstract>

Review of Mathematical Models of Water Quality

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The relevant literature was reviewed to identify phthalate sources in the environment and problems resulting from phthalate contamination of soil and water. Phthalate properties responsible for their toxicity for living organisms were identified, and the effects of phthalates on humans and animals were described. Special emphasis was placed on the effects of exposure to phthalates on human health. Phthalates are readily released into the environment and create a risk of exposure for humans and other living organisms. They are characterized by reproductive toxicity in humans and animals, they can cause infertility and reproductive problems in males. Phthalates are more toxic in young children, which are much more susceptible to phthalate exposure, including fetal life. Phthalates are used in numerous industries, and they are very difficult to eliminate from our daily surroundings.</abstract>

Environmental contamination with phthalates and its impact on living organisms

<abstract xml:lang="en"><title style='display:none'>Quality Evaluation of Biogas and Selected Methods of its Analysis</title>There were presented technological and ecological aspects of biogas quality evaluation and introduced an overview of the limits of its selected parameters. There were characterized analytical methods for determining the basic composition of biogas, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, condensation, dust, oils, siloxanes, and aggregated content of sulfur, chlorine and fluorine. The result of comparative analysis and literature studies are proposes of the most adequate to the studies of biogas - analytical methodologies.</abstract>

Quality Evaluation of Biogas and Selected Methods of its Analysis

<abstract xml:lang="en"><title style='display:none'>Study of the Biodegrability of Degradable/Biodegradable Plastic Material in a Controlled Composting Environment</title>The objective of this study was to determine the degrability/biodegradability of disposable plastic bags available on the market that are labeled as degradable/biodegradable and those certified as compost. The investigated materials were obtained from chain stores in the Czech Republic and Poland. Seven kinds of bags (commercially available) were used in this study. One of them was a disposable bag made of HDPE and mixed with totally degradable plastic additive (TDPA additive). Another was a disposable made of polyethylene with the addition of pro-oxidant additive (d2w additive). One was labeled as 100% degradable within various periods of time, from three months up to three years, and four were certified as compostable. The test was carried out in a controlled composting environment. The biodisintegration degree of the obtained pieces was evaluated following a modified version of ČSN EN 14806 Norm "Packaging - Preliminary evaluation of the disintegration of the packaging materials under simulated composting conditions in a laboratory scale test" and a modified version of ČSN EN ISO 20200 "Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under simulated composting conditions in laboratory-scale test" (ISO 20200:2004). The emphasis was put on determination whether the bags are degradable/biodegradable or not.</abstract>

Study of the Biodegrability of Degradable/Biodegradable Plastic Material in a Controlled Composting Environment

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In this study, removal of textile dyes from artificially contaminated water was investigated using sorbent synthesised from cardboard waste. Aerogel - lightweight adsorbent - a material with a low density and large surface area. Aerogels obtained from cellulose, chitosan, lignin or pectin have good adsorption properties for removing organic pollutants from wastewater. The aim of this study was to determine the adsorption efficiency of naphthol green B, congo red, methylene blue and rhodamine B from artificially contaminated water using sorbent synthesised from cardboard waste. The mass of the cellulose aerogel (5 mas. %) adsorbents, that were used in the experiments varied from 1.6 g to 2.74 g. The optimal adsorption conditions were determined as pH = 6.0, concentration of dyes - 10 mg L−1 and 18.0 °C −19.0 °C temperature. Under the optimal conditions, the maximum removal efficiency of naphthol green B using aerogel was 16.45 %; congo red - 98.44 %; methylene blue −79.28 %; and rhodamine B - 52.44 %.
</abstract>

Removal of Textile Dyes From Water Using Cellulose Aerogel

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Water accounts for 70 % - 90 % of the total mass of food waste, and the contents of organic matter, oil, and salt in the waste are high. These conditions are highly suitable for the growth and reproduction of bacteria and other microorganisms. Therefore, anaerobic digestion is a common approach to treat food waste. Despite its long history, the research on anaerobic digestion has gradually developed with the progress in science and technology. This study aimed to explore the influence of temperature fluctuation on the anaerobic digestion characteristics of food waste by performing batch experiments; also, the characteristics were analysed from a microscopic perspective. The anaerobic digestion process was subjected to the interactions between various microorganisms and enzymes. The experimental results indicated that the activity of bacteria belonging to the phyla such as Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi was relatively high at a constant temperature. In contrast, the activity of the bacteria belonging to the phyla such as Bacteroidota and Acidobacteriota was relatively high at regulated temperatures. The activity of cellulase and lipase increased whereas that of protease decreased at a constant temperature. Regardless of the fluctuation mode of temperature, the activity of amylase did not obviously alter. These microorganisms with different responses to temperature fluctuation had unique functions in the anaerobic digestion process, and they participated in different anaerobic digestion stages. Therefore, based on the attribute of kitchen waste, an appropriate temperature mode can be selected to make anaerobic digestion more efficient.
</abstract>

Effects of Temperature Fluctuation on the Anaerobic Digestion Characteristics and Evolution of Microorganisms of Kitchen Waste

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
With the expanding need for renewable and sustainable energy resources, the demand for biomass derived bio-oil particularly microalgae or macroalgae based bio-oil is growing. In this regard, understanding the characteristics of bio-oil as a function of several influencing operational parameters is essential. In this study modelling and simulation technique based on Aspen HYSYS was applied to investigate the characteristics of macroalgae <italic>Ulva prolifera</italic> derived bio-oil from Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) process as a function of the influencing parameters like temperature, kinematic viscosity, and weight percent of the bio-oil assay, cut yield behaviour, and standard liquid density. Modelling and simulation help to optimise the process parameters and design the process layout for large-scale production. According to the simulation results the cut yield of off gases, light naphtha, heavy naphtha, light distillate, heavy distillate, gas oil and residues are shown at specific final boiling point (FBP) temperatures of 70 °C, 70 °C - 110 °C, 110 °C - 221.1 °C, 221.1 °C - 304.4 °C, 304.4 °C - 371.1 °C, 371.1 °C - 537.8 °C and 537.7 °C respectively. Whereas, above a temperature of 300 °C, the weight percentage of aromatic components increased steadily. The increase in percentage composition of the aromatic components is due to the reduction of the paraffinic components. The density of the liquid bio-oil was steadily increasing until a temperature of 200 °C.
</abstract>

Modelling and Simulation Studies on the Characteristic Behaviour of Macroalgae Derived Bio-Oil

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
A sound circulation system is an important carrier for the development of the retail industry, and the promotion of green circulation efficiency (GCE) plays an important role in driving the market scale expansion of network retail (NR). This study uses the development status of China’s NR and circulation industries as basis to estimate the total carbon emissions (CE) of the circulation industry by using the system dynamics method. Moreover, this research measures China’s GCE by combining data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Malmquist index to construct a coupling analysis model to empirically investigate the dynamic coupling relationship between the NR scale and green circulation efficiency. Results indicate that China’s GCE is generally increasing, but growth rate fluctuates significantly. Additionally, the improvement of the quality and efficiency of China’s circulation industry has not yet formed a steady green path. China’s NR market scale continues to expand, but NR at this stage is still mainly concentrated in the eastern region. The efficiency of green circulation and scale of the NR market show a good coupling trend, but there is still a significant gap between the central and western regions. Accordingly, this study proposes that the construction of a green circulation system should be strengthened, and that the development of a green and efficient circulation industry should be taken as the engine of the NR scale expansion.
</abstract>

Dynamic Coupling Analysis Between Scale of Network Retail Market and Green Circulation Efficiency

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Dye water contamination was the main challenge that pressured textile industries tremendously. The present investigation aims to employ solid waste from fisheries industries to remove toxic dye contaminants in an aqueous solution. Shrimp shell waste (SSW) was fishery waste with good potential for adsorbing dyes, one of which is methylene blue. This research studied methylene blue’s adsorption capacity using shrimp shell waste as a biosorbent. By studying several parameters, it was found that the adsorption capacity was 48.834 mg g−1 at pH = 10, with an optimum concentration of 550 mg L−1, a contact time of 105 min, and a heating temperature of the biosorbent 120 °C - the results of XRF characterisation shown the differences in the chemical composition percentage before and after adsorption process. The results suggested that SSW can be employed as and low-cost adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue dye from water effectively.
</abstract>

Utilisation of Shrimp Shell as a Low-Cost Biosorbent for the Adsorption of Methylene Blue Dyes

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Copper oxide nanostructures have garnered significant attention in nanotechnology for their diverse applications. This study presents a green synthesis approach using an aqueous <italic>Aegle marmelos</italic> leaf extract-based medium to produce copper oxide (Cu4O3) nanoparticles. Optimisation was achieved through a simplified Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, investigating critical parameters such as temperature, surfactants (AOT and Tween 80), and additives (ascorbic acid and chitosan). Under optimised conditions (AOT: 0.0012 mM, ascorbic acid: 10 mM, chitosan: 1 %, temperature: 80 °C), near-spherical nanoparticles of ~200 nm were obtained. Comprehensive characterisation through UV-Vis, DLS, electron microscopy, XRD, and FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the nanoparticles’ properties, while antibacterial assays showed promising results against <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> bacteria.
</abstract>

Optimising Biosynthesis of Antimicrobial Copper Nanoparticles Using Aqueous <italic>Aegle marmelos</italic> Leaf Extract-Based Medium

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Nanoagrochemicals, such as nanopesticides, nanofertilizers or plant growth stimulating nanosystems, were primarily designed to increase solubility, enhance bioavailability, targeted delivery, controlled release and/or protection against degradation resulting in the reduced amount of applied active ingredients and finally in a decrease of dose-dependent toxicity/burden. This paper is a comprehensive up-to-date review related to the preparation and the biological activity of nanoformulations enabling gradual release of active ingredient into weeds and the body of pests and controlled release of nutrients to plants. The attention is also devoted to the decrease of direct environmental burden and economic benefits due to application of nanoformulations, where less amount of active ingredient is needed to achieve the same biological effect in comparison with bulk. The application of nanotechnology in the areas such as food packaging, food security, encapsulation of nutrients and development of new functional products is analysed. The use of nanoparticles in biosensors for detection of pathogens and contaminants as well as in DNA and gene delivery is discussed as well. Benefits and health risks of nanoagrochemicals are highlighted, and special attention is given to nanoecotoxicology and guidelines and regulatory documents related to the use of nanoformulations in agriculture and food industry.</abstract>

Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic, phone +420541562926

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia

Application Of Nanotechnology In Agriculture And Food Industry, Its Prospects And Risks

Eco-Technology and Eco-Innovation for Green Sustainable Growth

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The essence of low-carbon logistics is to make logistics capacity grow moderately to meet the requirements of social and economic developments and the goals of energy conservation and carbon reduction through logistics planning and policies, logistics rationalization and standardization, logistics informationization, low-carbon logistics technologies, etc. This study evaluates the performances of human resources in low-carbon logistics enterprises from three assessment facets: work ability, work performance, and work attitude. It adopts the AHP method to reasonably determine an indicator system of performance evaluation and its weight to avoid certain human-caused bias. According to the results herein, the low-carbon work attitude of the case company in recent years has produced good performance, but its low-carbon work performance and low-carbon work ability are both poor. The case company should practically implement and strengthen these indicators so as to enhance human resource performance in low-carbon logistics enterprises. This study establishes a human resources performance evaluation system for low-carbon logistics enterprises to measure the low-carbon working ability, work performance, and working attitude of their general staff. In this way, enterprises may understand their development status, improve development plans, and formulate the best human resources management and development decisions, thus positively guiding their future development.</abstract>

Using a Novel Method to Evaluate the Performance of Human Resources in Green Logistics Enterprises

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Global concern on dyes-laden effluent has intensified over the years. Dyes are toxic, stable to light, and hardly oxidized and bio-degraded, hence causing severe physiological effects to living organisms. In water, dye hinders the light penetration for photosynthetic activity, consequently oxygen is deficient for respiration by aquatic creatures. Adsorption has been widely recognized as the effective removal strategy to abate dye wastewater. However, the quests to improve the adsorption efficiency are continuously sought through new adsorbents with special characters, while performing the removal process at optimum operating conditions. This short review aims to summarize the recent progress in adsorption studies of two commonly used industrial dyes, namely malachite green and congo red by various adsorbents. From the quoted studies, the oxidized mesoporous carbon yields a higher adsorption capacity of malachite green at 1265 mg/g, while Fe3O4@nSiO2@mSiO2 displays a greater capacity for congo red removal at 1429 mg/g. A superior adsorption relies not only on specific surface area but also the synergistic interactions of pore width and mesoporosity, surface chemistry, and operating conditions. The dyes properties and factors affecting the adsorption are also highlighted and discussed, with recommendations and future outlook.</abstract>

Adsorption of Malachite Green and Congo Red Dyes from Water: Recent Progress and Future Outlook

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Heterogeneous catalysis is one of the fastest developing branches of chemistry. Moreover, it is strongly connected to popular environment-related applications. Owing to the very fast changes in this field, for example, numerous discoveries in nanoscience and nanotechnologies, it is believed that an update of the literature on heterogeneous catalysis could be beneficial. This review not only covers the new developments of heterogeneous catalysis in environmental sciences but also touches its historical aspects. A short introduction to the mechanism of heterogeneous catalysis with a small section on advances in this field has also been elaborated. In the first part, recent innovations in the field of catalytic air, water, wastewater and soil treatment are presented, whereas in the second part, innovations in the use of heterogeneous catalysis for obtaining sustainable energy and chemicals are discussed. Catalytic processes are ubiquitous in all branches of chemistry and there are still many unsolved issues concerning them.</abstract>

Major Advances and Challenges in Heterogeneous Catalysis for Environmental Applications: A Review

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Metal nanoparticles (MNPs) belong mostly to the engineered type of nanoparticles and have not only unique physical and chemical properties but also different biological actions. In recent years, noble MNPs and their nano-sized agglomerates (collectively referred to as nanoparticles or particles in the subsequent sections) have been the subjects of much focused research due to their unique electronic, optical, mechanical, magnetic and chemical properties that can be significantly different from those of bulk materials. To enhance their use, it is important to understand the generation, transport, deposition, and interaction of such particles. Synthesis of MNPs is based on chemical or physical synthetic procedures and by use of biological material (“green synthesis” as an environmentally benign process) including bacteria, algae and vascular plants (mainly metallophytes). In biological methods for preparation of metal nanoparticles mainly leaf reductants occurring in leaf extracts are used. MNPs can be formed also directly in living plants by reduction of the metal ions absorbed as a soluble salt, indicating that plants are a suitable vehicle for production of MNPs. These methods used for preparation of MNPs are aimed to control their size and shape. Moreover, physicochemical properties of MNPs determine their interaction with living organisms. In general, inside the cells nanoparticles might directly provoke either alterations of membranes and other cell structures or activity of protective mechanisms. Indirect effects of MNPs depend on their physical and chemical properties and may include physical restraints, solubilization of toxic nanoparticle compounds or production of reactive oxygen species. Toxic impacts of MNPs on plants is connected with chemical toxicity based on their chemical composition (eg release of toxic metal ions) and with stress or stimuli caused by the surface, size and shape of these nanoparticles. Positive effects of MNPs were observed on the following plant features: seed germination, growth of plant seedlings, stimulation of oxygen evolution rate in chloroplasts, protection of chloroplasts from aging for long-time illumination, increase of the electron transfer and photophosphorylation, biomass accumulation, activity of Rubisco, increase of quantum yield of photosystem II, root elongation, increase of chlorophyll as well as nucleic acid level and increase in the shoot/root ratio. However, it should be stressed that MNPs impact on human and environmental health remains still unclear.</abstract>

Metal Nanoparticles and Plants / Nanocząstki Metaliczne I Rośliny

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