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Nuclear power can replace fossil fuels and will have a decisive impact on the change in the approach to conventional energy. However, nuclear (or radioactive) wastes are produced by the operation of the nuclear reactors should be safely and properly disposed of. This paper assesses the uranium resources and the global state of nuclear power plants and determines the energy mixes in different countries using the most nuclear energy. Furthermore, this paper analysed the nuclear waste management and disposal and the depletion of abiotic resources, and the primary energy sources of a basic production process using electricity mix and nuclear electricity for a basic production (PET bottle manufacturing) process. The life cycle assessment was completed by applying the GaBi 8.0 (version 10.6) software and the CML method. In this study, we limit our discussion to high-level nuclear waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) waste. We do not consider waste generated from uranium mining and milling, which is usually disposed of in near-surface impoundments close to the mine or the mill. The investigation of waste management methods is limited to European countries. This research work is relevant because determining abiotic resources is important in a life cycle assessment and current literature available on LCA analysis for nuclear powers remains under-developed. These results can guide and compare manufacturing processes involving a nuclear electricity and electricity grid mix input. The results of this research can be used to develop production processes using nuclear energy with lower abiotic depletion impacts. This research work facilitates the industry in making predictions for a production-scale plant using an LCA of production processes with nuclear energy consumption.

This article discusses the problems of exhaust gas emissions in the context of the possibility of their reduction through the use of fuels with hydrogen as an additive or hydrotreatment. These fuels, thanks to their properties, may be a suitable response to more and more demanding restrictions on exhaust emissions. The use of such fuels in reactivity controlled dual fuel engines (RCCI) is currently the most effective way of using them in internal combustion (IC) engines. Low-temperature combustion in this type of engine allows the use of all modern fuels intended for combustion engines with high thermal efficiency. Thermal efficiency higher than in classic engines allows for additional reduction of CO2 emissions. In this work, the research on this subject was compiled, and conclusions were drawn as to further possibilities of popularizing the use of these fuels in a wide spectrum of applications and the prospect of using them on a mass scale.

In a number of African countries, the trophy hunting of large felids is an important revenue generator for landholders, governments and in some cases communities. The hunting of large felids is especially profitable but they are sensitive to harvest, as the killing of prime-aged, dominant males can lead to infanticide and lowered reproductive success. In an attempt to limit the negative impacts of trophy hunting on large felids, the scientific community has proposed a number of interventions, including age restrictions on the animals that may be hunted. Such interventions are theoretically complementary to trophy hunting, as hunters typically seek large trophies, and older animals are normally larger than younger ones in large felids. If trophy size results in an increase in trophy price, then interventions that improve average trophy size could confer elevated earnings. This is particularly true if such interventions increased the number of failed hunts such that the same tag can be sold more than once. However, if trophy size is not one of the most important factors determining the desirability of a hunt (which we judge by the price paid for a trophy hunt package), it may be more difficult to implement such schemes. It is therefore important to evaluate potential determinants of trophy hunt package price; and we examine that here for leopards (Panthera pardus) in Africa, at both the country and outfitter level. We show that Tanzania and Botswana have the most expensive package prices while South Africa has the cheapest packages. At the country level, we found no statistical relationships between package price and leopard trophy size (either through advertised website or Safari Club International (SCI) leopard trophy size), country GDP, relative hunt success, or quota size. Contrastingly, the number of charismatic species offered within a package and an index of outfitter reputation (as measured by total SCI trophy records) were positively associated with package price. Interestingly, SCI leopard trophy size was inversely correlated with package price. Our results suggest that hunters do not value leopard trophy size above other factors, which could hinder the implementation of more sustainable, age-based leopard hunting regulations.

Abstract The article presents design problems of tourist infrastructure in protected landscape and nature areas in Poland. They concern discrete regulation of the intensity and course of leisure and tourist traffic towards and within protected areas. Such regulation can only be carried out on the basis of the structure of accessibility of areas covered by protection and spatial development plans, shaped in accordance with environmental conditions. The quality of access to protected areas is also significantly influenced by the architecture of tourist infrastructure objects presented in the article. It concerns selected objects of small wooden architecture designed in areas with special landscape and natural requirements, which have been implemented in Poland in recent years. These objects are small elements, e.g. signposts, information and educational boards, benches, tables, waste bins, rest shelters, objects at entrances to protected areas (gates), ticket offices, as well as impressive engineering structures built in difficult terrain conditions, e.g. terraces, platforms and observation towers. These issues will be presented on the basis of many years of research and design works concerning protected areas in Lower Silesia (arch. Bogusław Wojtyszyn) and original designs (arch. Alicja Maciejko and arch. Mirosław Strzelecki) realised on the tourist routes of the Stolowe Mountains National Park in Poland, shaping tourism and recreation accessibility for all users including disabled people in protected landscape and nature areas.

Biomass is one of the most important sources of renewable energy in the energy industry. It is assumed that by 2050 the global energy deposit could be covered in 33–50% of biomass combustion. As with conventional fuels, the combustion of biomass produces combustion by-products, such as fly ash. Therefore, along with the growing interest in the use of biomass as a source of energy, the production of ash as a combustion by-product increases every year. It is estimated that approximately 476 million tons of ashes per year can be produced from biomass combustion. For example, the calorific value of dry wood mass tends to be between 18.5 MJ × kg−1 and 19.5 MJ × kg−1, while the ash content resulting from thermal treatment of wood is from 0.4 to 3.9% of dry fuel mass. However, biomass ash is a waste that is particularly difficult to characterize due to the large variability of the chemical composition depending on the biomass and combustion technology. In addition, this waste is, on the one hand, a valuable fertilizer component, as it contains significant amounts of nutrients, e.g., calcium (Ca), potassium (K) and microelements, but on the other hand, it may contain toxic compounds harmful to the environment, including heavy metals and substances formed as a result of combustion, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). PAHs and VOCs are formed mainly in the processes of incomplete combustion of coal and wood in low-power boilers, with unstable operating conditions. However, it is important to remember that before the fly ash is used in various industries (e.g., zeolite synthesis, recovery of rare earth metals or plastic production) as an additive to building materials or fertilizers for cultivation, a number of analyses are to be conducted so that the by-products of combustion could be used to allow the by-product of combustion to be used. It is important to conduct tests for the content of heavy metals, chlorides, sulphates, microelements and macroelements, grain and phase composition and organic compounds. If such ash is characterized by low pollution levels, it should be used in agriculture and reclamation of degraded land and not directed to landfills where it loses its valuable properties. The purpose of this review is to present the properties of ashes generated as a result of biomass combustion in Poland and the world, to discuss factors influencing changes in its composition and to present the possibilities of their reuse in the environment and in various branches of industry.

© 2021 Elsevier LtdDespite extensive research to address the impact of environmental reforms under the Paris Climate Agreement, current literature has failed to provide sufficient insights into Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries. To this end, the current study attempts to address the impact of the economic complexity on environmental quality in the presence of renewable energy consumption, financial development, urbanization and energy innovation in RCEP countries from 1990 to 2019. Our empirical estimates confirm a significant association between environmental quality, economic complexity index, renewable energy consumption, financial development, urbanization and energy innovation in the short-run and long run. Based on extensive econometric analysis (CS-ARDL, AMG, PMG, FMOLS, and DOLS), we conclude that economic complexity, renewable energy, and energy innovation effectively mitigate environmental degradation. At the same time, financial development and urbanization have an adverse impact on the environment. These findings have extensive policy implications for policymakers and environmental stakeholders, who are aiming to achieve sustainable energy policy and economic growth to meet the environmental commitments under Paris Climate Agreement.

Summary Several decades of research on invasive marine species have yielded a broad understanding of the nature of species invasion mechanisms and associated threats globally. However, this is not true of the Arctic, a region where ongoing climatic changes may promote species invasion. Here, we evaluated risks associated with non‐indigenous propagule loads discharged with ships' ballast water to the high‐Arctic archipelago, Svalbard, as a case study for the wider Arctic. We sampled and identified transferred propagules using traditional and DNA barcoding techniques. We then assessed the suitability of the Svalbard coast for non‐indigenous species under contemporary and future climate scenarios using ecophysiological models based on critical temperature and salinity reproductive thresholds. Ships discharging ballast water in Svalbard carried high densities of zooplankton (mean 1522 ± 335 SE individuals m−3), predominately comprised of indigenous species. Ballast water exchange did not prevent non‐indigenous species introduction. Non‐indigenous coastal species were present in all except one of 16 ballast water samples (mean 144 ± 67 SE individuals m−3), despite five of the eight ships exchanging ballast water en route. Of a total of 73 taxa, 36 species including 23 non‐indigenous species were identified. Of those 23, sufficient data permitted evaluation of the current and future colonization potential for eight widely known invaders. With the exception of one of these species, modelled suitability indicated that the coast of Svalbard is unsuitable presently; under the 2100 Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8·5 climate scenario, however, modelled suitability will favour colonization for six species. Synthesis and applications. We show that current ballast water management practices do not prevent non‐indigenous species from being transferred to the Arctic. Consequences of these shortcomings will be shipping‐route dependent, but will likely magnify over time: our models indicate future conditions will favour the colonization of non‐indigenous species Arctic‐wide. Invasion threats will be greatest where shipping transfers organisms across biogeographic realms, and for these shipping routes ballast water treatment technologies may be required to prevent impacts. Our results also highlight critical gaps in our understanding of ballast water management efficacy and prioritization. Thereby, our study provides an agenda for research and policy development.

Lithium-ion batteries are currently one of the most important mobile energy storage units for portable electronics such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. Their widespread application leads to the generation of large amounts of waste, so their recycling plays an important role in environmental policy. In this work, the process of leaching with sulfuric acid for the recovery of metals from spent Li-ion batteries in the presence of glutaric acid and hydrogen peroxide as reducing agents is presented. Experimental results indicate that glutaric-acid application improves the leaching performance compared to the use of just hydrogen peroxide under the same conditions. Obtained samples of leaching residues after mixed inorganic-organic leaching were characterized with Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction.