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The concept and a new method for the shielded development of bottom gas hydrates have been proposed, the technological phases and constructive elements of their implementation have been substantiated. The research provides for the realization of the idea suggesting the simultaneous dissociation of the vast areas of a gas hydrate deposit, management of the targeted process of the penetration of methane recovered from gas hydrates into water space and its accumulation under the extensive gas-collecting shield wherefrom it is removed by bottom pipe transportation facilities. To do hydraulic fracturing, a well is drilled into the plane of the junction of the surface of a gas hydrate deposit and the rocks of a roof, the open system of fissures in the rocks of a roof is made through which produced gas is released to a gas-collecting blanket in a water.

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.

The mathematical model of heat flow and transfer in roof rocks of underground gas gasifier during coal gasification is developed and tested. In terms of geological conditions in the Olkhovo-Nizhnee site (industrial region in Donbass), in Mathcad environment, convective and conductive components of heat flow from reaction channel to upper-lying aquifer are determined. The change in the heat flow from the reaction channel and in the ground water temperature is estimated depending on impermeable layer thickness and water well yield. It is found that after underground coal gasification, water-bearing sandstones accumulate more than 60% of heat migrating from gasifier to enclosing rock mass. It is shown that withdrawal and use of water heated during underground coal gasification will enhance efficiency of the process by 18–25% subject to thickness of partition layer.

The main challenge in the field of water distribution systems (WDS) is (re)designing the network in order to achieve savings. In many water systems, there are pumping stations designed for much larger flows than what would be observed under normal operating conditions. On the other hand, reducing the diameter of the water pipes has become the main saving method. Designers very often forget to design the network so that it can be used for fire protection purposes. The computer modelling of water networks supports the decision-making process by identifying the optimal compromise between cost and performance (e.g., flow, velocity, pressure). Computer models help in the selection of optimal values of hydraulic pumps, preparation of the pump control method and selection of energy-optimized pumping systems, ensuring the efficiency and pressure of the WDS during normal operation and in fire conditions. The article presents the results of optimization of the pump station in terms of efficiency and pressure in the system, and optimization of pump energy consumption. Computer simulations of the water supply system, measurements of pressure and flow, hydrant flow tests, and model calibration were used in the research.

In this paper, we investigate the influence of airport operation on property prices. In this research, we apply spatial hedonic regression and a difference-in-differences approach to address the introduction of new land use restrictions on property prices. We use data on housing transactions from two housing submarkets around regional airports in Poland. The results suggest that the introduction of land use restrictions impacts property prices. In general, as expected, more rigid restrictions translate into higher discounts in property prices. This research contributes to the limited knowledge on the impact of the introduction of land use restrictions on property prices, as most previous papers have focused solely on the impact of noise. These findings must be treated with caution, as some estimates were not statistically significant, mainly due to limited sample size. The research has important policy implications. Growing airports in Poland face tensions between economic and environmental sustainability. Currently, airports in Poland are obliged to limit their environmental impact by creating limited use areas related to the aircraft related noise while being responsible for property value loss related to these restrictions. As a consequence, most regional airports face significant compensations to property owners.

In order to understand the climate effects of a bioenergy system, a comparison between the bioenergy system and a reference system is required. The reference system describes the situation that occurs in the absence of the bioenergy system with respect to the use of land, energy, and materials. The importance of reference systems is discussed in the literature but guidance on choosing suitable reference systems for assessing climate effects of bioenergy is limited. The reference system should align with the purpose of the study. Transparency of reference system assumptions is essential for proper interpretation of bioenergy assessments. This paper presents guidance for selecting suitable reference systems. Particular attention is given to choosing the land reference. If the goal is to study the climate effects of bioenergy as a part of total anthropogenic activity the reference system should illustrate what is expected in the absence of human activities. In such a case the suitable land reference is natural regeneration, and energy or material reference systems are not relevant. If the goal is to assess the effect of a change in bioenergy use, the reference system should incorporate human activities. In this case suitable reference systems describe the most likely alternative uses of the land, energy and materials in the absence of the change in bioenergy use. The definition of the reference system is furthermore subject to the temporal scope of the study. In practice, selecting and characterizing reference systems will involve various choices and uncertainties which should be considered carefully. It can be instructive to consider how alternative reference systems influence the results and conclusions drawn from bioenergy assessments.

Oil palm becomes an increasingly important source of vegetable oil for its production exceeds soybean, sunflower, and rapeseed. The growth of the oil palm industry causes degradation to the environment, especially when the expansion of plantations goes uncontrolled. Remote sensing is a useful tool to monitor the development of oil palm plantations. In order to promote the use of remote sensing in the oil palm industry to support their drive for sustainability, this paper provides an understanding toward the use of remote sensing and its applications to oil palm plantation monitoring. In addition, the existing knowledge gaps are identified and recommendations for further research are given.

The objective of the work reported here was to determine whether the ratio of COD/Nox has an impact on poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) metabolism in activated sludge. Furthermore, it was tested if the ratio influenced the percentage use of organic compounds present in wastewater, for endogenous respiration, oxidation, accumulation and denitrification. Gas flow rate in SBR reactor was controlled by thermal mass flow controller (TMFC). Constant amount of air entering sequencing batch reactor was automatically adjusted to stable set-point 2mg O2 L(-1). It means that DO concentration in the reactor could change with oxygen uptake. During the filling period and part of the reaction time DO was nearly zero. Feast period of the external substrate availability and famine period of little amount or no external carbon availability were determined. At 23 h of the reaction time, and COD/Nox ratio 8, denitrification took place only during feast period. What was interesting, poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate degradation was observed in the feast period as well. However, at 11h of the reaction time and COD/Nox ratio 37, denitrification occurred in feast and famine period. In the feast period PHB was accumulated and in the famine period was used as the endogenous carbon source. COD consumption to reduce 1mg N-nitrate was ranging from 1.15 to 6.26 depending on carbon source and increased when exogenous and endogenous carbon were used by activated sludge. The increase in PHB content from 0.25 to 0.43 Cmol/Cmol resulted in a double increase in the amount of nitrogen removed due to denitrification was observed.