The Disappearance of Coal Seams Recorded in Associated Gangue Rocks in the SW Part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland

Coal seams in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin vanish within the Carboniferous Upper Silesian Sandstone Series and below an unconformity marking the Carboniferous top surface. Changes in the geochemical, mineralogical, petrological and palynological characteristics of gangue rocks associated with the vanished seams record what happened. The observed changes could have been caused by (1) coal-seam paleofire, (2) peat combustion, (3) igneous intrusion, (4) metasomatism and/or (5) weathering. Multifaceted research on samples collected at the Jas-Mos mining area, a part of the operating Jastrz˛ebie-Bzie Coal Mine that are representative of different geological settings in the northern and southern parts of the mining area, point to intra-deposit paleofire as the most plausible reason for the disappearance. Biomarkers enabled recognition of differences in heating duration and oxygen access. Coal seams in the south burned quickly with abundant oxygen supply. Seams in the north pyrolyzed for an extended time under conditions of limited oxygen. Though other methods used proved less sensitive, all confirmed low (100–150 C) paleotemperature heating. Overall, the reason for the local disappearance of the coal seams, making their exploitation difficult and unprofitable, can be assigned to a variety of different processes in a complex overlapping history of variable weathering, heating due to local endogenic fires and, probably, earlier peat combustion

Molecular and stable isotope composition of pollutants emitted during thermal processes within the Rymer coal waste dump (Upper Silesia, Poland)

Twenty-seven gases and sixteen rock wastes from the thermal active Rymer coal waste dump were collected. The composition and origin of gaseous, liquid, and solid pollutants emitted during the self-heating process and the development of these processes with time were established. Gases were subjected to determination of molecular and stable isotope (d13C and d2H) composition. Rock-Eval pyrolysis and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) were applied for evaluation of the quantity and molecular composition of pyrolysates released during the heating of rocks in temperatures from 100 to 650 C. The main products of Py-GC-MS are released between 350 and 650 C, namely alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, and aromatic alcohols. These components were also recorded in Py-GC-MS products of samples collected from the dump surface. Besides the high-molecular-weight organic compounds, in emitted gases CO2, CO, gaseous hydrocarbons, and S-compounds were recorded. The stable isotope data indicated that methane was generated mainly during the low-temperature thermogenic process, but a share of the microbial-originated gas was visible. The source of the CO2 was the oxidation of organic matter. The gaseous S-compounds were products of high-temperature decomposition of sulphides and organic S-compounds. The hydrocarbon and CO contents of the emitted gases proved to be good indicators for tracking of the self-heating processes

Trends in ExPEC serogroups in the UK and their significance

We thank the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy for kindly providing E. coli bloodstream isolates from the BSAC Bacteraemia Resistance Surveillance Programme (2011), and all the staff at PHE’s Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit for their guidance and patience during the serogrouping process. This work was performed as part of a PhD study funded by PHE

Development of a petrographic technique to assess the spontaneous combustion susceptibility of Indian coals

Petrographic studies are commonly used categorise the potential utilisation of coals. Eleven coal samples from the jharia coalfield (JCF), india, were studied using petrographic techniques to investigate maceral content, reflectance, and textural characteristics. Multiple test samples of each coal were slowly oxidised under controlled laboratory conditions from an ambient temperature of 30°c to 300°c to investigate the morphology of oxidised coals. The petrographic characterisation of the coals before and after oxidation showed important changes in both morphology and vitrinite reflectance. The oxidation of the coal particles produced three predominant textural changes: particles with homogeneous change of reflectance (HCv), particles with oxidation rims (ORv), and particles with no changes were observed (Uv) respectively. These textural characteristics were used to indicate how particles had interacted with oxygen at low temperatures during the early stages of oxidation. The morphological classification developed provides an alternative method to confirm the susceptibility of a coal to spontaneous combustion. Conventional thermal parameters such as crossing point temperature (CPT) were unable to identify the coals prone to spontaneous combustion. However, certain petrographic parameters could be combined with CPT values to provide a much more accurate measure for susceptibility to spontaneous combustion

The mineralogy and petrology of I-type cosmic spherules: Implications for their sources, origins and identification in sedimentary rocks

I-type cosmic spherules are micrometeorites that formed by melting during atmospheric entry and consist mainly of iron oxides and FeNi metal. I-types are important because they can readily be recovered from sedimentary rocks allowing study of solar system events over geological time. We report the results of a study of the mineralogy and petrology of 88 I-type cosmic spherules recovered from Antarctica in order to evaluate how they formed and evolved during atmospheric entry, to constrain the nature of their precursors and to establish rigorous criteria by which they may be conclusively identified within sediments and sedimentary rocks. Two textural types of I-type cosmic spherule are recognised: (1) metal bead-bearing (MET) spherules dominated by Ni-poor (100 and suggest that metal from H-group ordinary, CM, CR and iron meteorites may form the majority of particles. Oxidation during entry heating increases in the series MET 80 wt% Ni comprising a particle mass fraction of <0.2. Non-equilibrium effects in the exchange of Ni between wüstite and metal, and magnetite and wüstite are suggested as proxies for the rate of oxidation and cooling rate respectively. Variations in magnetite and wüstite crystal sizes are also suggested to relate to cooling rate allowing relative entry angle of particles to be evaluated. The formation of secondary metal in the form of sub-micron Ni-rich or Pt-group nuggets and as symplectite with magnetite was also identified and suggested to occur largely due to the exsolution of metallic alloys during decomposition of non-stoichiometric wüstite. Weathering is restricted to replacement of metal by iron hydroxides. The following criteria are recommended for the conclusive identification of I-type spherules within sediments and sedimentary rocks: (i) spherical particle morphologies, (ii) dendritic crystal morphologies, (iii) the presence of wüstite and magnetite, (iv) Ni-bearing wüstite and magnetite, and (v) the presence of relict FeNi metal

Chlorite of hydrothermal origin formed in the Strzelin and Borów granites (Fore-Sudetic Block, Poland)

Chlorite, a product of very low- to low-grade metamorphism, is frequently used as a geothermometer because of the fact that its structure and chemical composition can reflect the physical and chemical conditions of its formation. In the hydrothermally altered Strzelin and Borów granites (the Fore-Sudetic Block, Poland) chlorite is ubiquitous. It is found in two forms: spherulitic and post-biotite, and was formed in different ways in different parts of the Strzelin and Borów granites: as result of (1) replacement of biotite or (2) crystallisation from fluid. The chlorite formed in the Borów granite shows a higher Fe content than that in the Strzelin granite, a feature related to the content of Mg and Fe in the host rock. Temperatures of chlorite formation are the lowest for unaltered granite and then gradually increase for slightly, moderately and strongly altered granite and are the highest in hydrothermal veins. This means that the temperature of the hydrothermal fluid was higher than that of the altered granitic bodies. Moreover, the spherulitic chlorite formed at a higher temperature than did the post-biotite chlorite, and is usually smaller because biotite replacement lasted longer than did the crystallisation of spherulitic chlorite directly from hydrothermal fluid. Such pattern are likely to occur in other granitic bodies

The cause and progress of the endogenous coal fire in the remediated landfill in the city of Katowice

Slopes of the abandoned municipal waste landfill in the city of Katowice remediated in 1998 have been thermally active since 2007. The thermal activity was caused by spontaneous coal combustion within the sub-surface (0.5–1.5 m below ground level) layer of coal mine waste used for engineering the landfill. Exploitation of biogas from the landfill prior to thermal events may have enhanced exothermic oxidation of coal waste. The smoldering is the prevalent and persistent form of coal combustion in the landfill and is responsible for high emissions of CO (up to 3%), CO2 (>18%), methane and a suite of gaseous hydrocarbons. Attempts to extinguish coal fire did not prevent the advance of smoldering front at a rate of tens of metres per year

Potencjalne możliwości wykorzystania stałych biopaliw z roślin niespożywczych

The Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of energy from renewable sources (RES), sets mandatory national targets so as to be able to achieve a 20% share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption in the Community in 2020, the aim of the Polish is to achieve by 2020 a 15% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption. Thus, use of fossil fuels for energy production should you gradually reduced in favor of renewable energy sources. Usually, however, the change in the method of heating or design of installations using renewable energy sources to incur significant capital costs. In addition, the economic balance during the operation also sometimes detrimental to the modern great human and environmental technologies. Therefore, you should look for low-cost renewable fuels that may be used in particular in those households where there is no possibility of the use of gas or heat delivered from sources of power plants. This paper describes the possibility of using untreated plant biofuels. After the species were taken into account: Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) and mugwort wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.). These plants are considered weeds have many advantages enabling wider use for energy purposes.Dyrektywa 2009/28/WE w sprawie promowania stosowania energii ze źródeł odnawialnych (OZE) ustanawia obowiązkowe krajowe cele, tak aby możliwe było osiągnięcie 20% udziału energii ze źródeł odnawialnych w końcowym zużyciu energii brutto we Wspólnocie w 2020 roku. Celem dla Polski jest osiągnięcie w 2020 roku 15% udziału energii z OZE w końcowym zużyciu energii brutto. Zatem wykorzystanie paliw kopalnych do wytwarzania energii powinno być stopniowo ograniczane na rzecz odnawialnych źródeł energii. Zwykle jednak przy zmianie sposobu ogrzewania lub projektowaniu instalacji wykorzystujących źródła odnawialne należy ponieść znaczne koszty inwestycyjne. Ponadto rachunek ekonomiczny w czasie eksploatacji także bywa niekorzystny dla nowoczesnych, korzystnych dla ludzi i środowiska technologii. W związku z tym należy szukać tanich paliw odnawialnych, które będą mogły być wykorzystywane w szczególności w tych gospodarstwach domowych, gdzie nie ma możliwości wykorzystania paliw gazowych lub energii cieplnej dostarczanej ze źródeł energetyki zawodowej. W niniejszej pracy przeanalizowano możliwości wykorzystania biopaliw roślinnych nieprzetworzonych. Pod uwagę wzięto rośliny z rodzaju: nawłoć (Solidago sp.) oraz bylica (Artemisia sp.). Rośliny te, uważane za chwasty, posiadają wiele zalet umożliwiających szersze ich wykorzystanie do celów energetycznych

Awareness of factors affecting osteoporosis obtained from a survey on retired Polish subjects

Background. Osteoporosis is a growing problem facing modern society and currently poses one of the most serious health challenges. It is a progressive skeletal disease characterised by low bone mineral density whose development depends on multiple factors. These principally include increasing age, nutrition, physical activity, endocrine changes, lifestyles, general health condition and taken drugs. Objectives. To assess how much subjects (aged >50 years) are aware of the dangers in contracting osteoporosis along with the effects that lifestyle and dairy product consumption can have on this condition developing. Material and methods. A questionnaire, designed in-house, was used to survey a group of 150 randomly selected individuals aged above 50 years. This was performed in June 2012. Questions were on socio-demographics, milk and dairy product consumption, physical activity as well as assessing knowledge about osteoporosis that included issues such as its incidence, prevention and morbidity. Results. Osteoporosis was established in 60.7% subjects of whom 69.2% were women. Only 9.3% never consumed any dairy products. Physical activity of some kind was undertaken by 77.3% subjects. Within the last year, 38.0% reported having fractures of whom 46.0% had osteoporosis and 25% were healthy. Respondents were aware that consuming dairy products is beneficial to bone health and this awareness was higher among those with osteoporosis. Physical activity was also recognised to be important in preventing this condition. Conclusions. Subjects suffering from osteoporosis had twice as many more fractures than healthy subjects.Wprowadzenie. Osteoporoza jest coraz większym problemem współczesnego społeczeństwa. Jest to choroba szkieletu, która charakteryzuje się niską gęstością mineralną kości. Jest ona bardzo poważnym wyzwaniem w obecnych czasach, ponieważ na jej rozwój wpływa wiek a także odżywianie, aktywność fizyczna, zaburzenia hormonalne, styl życia, ogólna kondycja zdrowotna a także przyjmowane leki. Cel badań. Celem badań była ocena świadomości zagrożenia osteoporozą oraz wpływu stylu życia i spożywania przetworów mlecznych na jej występowanie u osób w wieku powyżej 50 roku życia. Materiał i metody. Badania zostały przeprowadzone na podstawie ankiety własnego autorstwa w czerwcu 2012 roku. Badaną grupą było 150 losowo wybranych osób w wieku od 50 lat wzwyż. Ankieta zawierała pytania dotyczące sytuacji socjo-demograficznej ankietowanych oraz wiedzy i zagadnień dotyczących osteoporozy, przyczyn jej występowania, zapobiegania, zachorowalności a także spożywania mleka i przetworów mlecznych oraz aktywności fizycznej. Wyniki. 60,7% badanych miało osteoporozę, a 69,2% chorych stanowiły kobiety. Tylko 9,3% badanych nie spożywała produktów mleczarskich. 77,3% respondentów stosowało jakiś rodzaj aktywności fizycznej. 38,0% deklarowało, że w ciągu ostatniego roku wystąpiło u nich złamanie, przy czym 46% wśród nich miało osteoporozę i 25% wśród zdrowych. Uczestniczący w badaniach byli świadomi, że spożywanie produktów mlecznych ma korzystny wpływ na kościec, jednak większą świadomość miały osoby z osteoporozą. Aktywność fizyczna była częstą praktyką wśród respondentów, wskazywana jako ważna część profilaktyki osteoporozy. Wnioski. Nadal niewystarczająca wiedza na temat osteoporozy u osób powyżej 50 roku życia i powinna być poszerzana, co mogłoby wpłynąć na zmniejszenie liczby złamań u takich osób, które są niemal dwukrotnie częstsze niż u osób zdrowych