Organizational and methodological mechanisms for implementation of environmental auditing in the Russian Federation

Aim. The purpose of this article is the improvement of organizational, methodological and legal mechanisms for environmental auditing in the Russian Federation, taking into account the current regulatory framework and foreign experience in this area.Discussion. Economic growth is recognized by all as a positive and necessary phenomenon in social development. However, this process has a flip side ‐ every year, enterprises poison the air with toxic emissions, waste water damages water bodies and radioactive waste makes land unsuitable for cultivation. All this causes environmental degradation both in Russia and the broader world. The relevance of this study is that environmental auditing as a mechanism to increase the attractiveness of investment facilitates the solution of state problems of environmental safety and the strengthening of environmental law enforcement. While domestic experts currently recognize the need to develop this area of auditing, there is still no fully developed legal framework and methodology for its implementation within the Russian Federation. To a certain degree this restrains the development of organizational mechanisms for environmental auditing.Conclusion. The authors have comprehensively examined the current domestic and foreign experience in environmental auditing, its advantages and disadvantages. The environmental audit is also considered as an independent institution of governance, designed to reduce risks of business entities on the basis of compliance with environmental norms and international standards. According to the authors, an eco‐audit report should be considered as a legal document recognized as a component of conformity within eco‐auditing legal relations

Influence of Plasma Treatment Parameters on the Structural-Phase Composition, Hardness, Moisture-Resistance, and Raman-Enhancement Properties of Nitrogen-Containing Titanium Dioxide

The paper shows, for the first time, the prospects of treatment with a quasi-equilibrium low-temperature nitrogen plasma in an open atmosphere for the formation of super-hard, super-hydrophobic TiN/TiO2 composite coatings with pronounced Raman-enhancement properties. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Raman spectroscopy, as well as the analysis of hardness and moisture-resistance properties, are used as analytical research methods. During plasma treatment of titanium films on sapphire with a mass average temperature of 4–6 kK, an X-ray amorphous hydrophilic titanium oxide film with a low nitrogen content is formed. The nitrogen content in titanium oxide films increases with increasing treatment temperature up to 6–7 kK. In this case, an X-ray amorphous hydrophobic film is formed. With a further increase in temperature to 7–10 kK, a TiN/TiO2 composite structure based on polycrystalline rutile is formed with increased hydrophobicity and pronounced Raman enhancement properties due to the effective excitation of surface plasmon polaritons. The presence of the crystalline phase increases the dephasing time, which determines the quality of the resonance and the achievable amplification of the electromagnetic field near the TiN inclusions. All treated films on sapphire have a super-hardness above 25 GPa (Vickers hardness test) due to high grain size, the presence of nitrogen-containing inclusions concentrated along grain boundaries, and compressive stresses

Synthesis of Superhydrophobic Barium Hexaferrite Coatings with Low Magnetic Hardness

Using the multifunctional material barium hexaferrite as an example, the prospects for treatment at a quasi-equilibrium low temperature in an open atmosphere to form superhydrophobic magnetic coatings with pronounced crystalline and magnetic anisotropy have been demonstrated for the first time. The relationship between plasma treatment conditions, structural-phase composition, morphology, and superhydrophobic properties of (0001) films of barium hexaferrite BaFe12O19 on C-sapphire is studied. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), as well as magnetometry and moisture resistance analysis, were used as research methods. During plasma treatment with a mass-average temperature of 8–10 kK, intense evaporation and surface melting were observed, and texturing of the deposit along (0001) is found. When the treatment temperature was reduced to 4–5 kK, the evaporation of the material was minimized and magnetic and crystal anisotropy increased. However, the increase in the size of crystallites was accompanied by the transition of oxygen atoms from lattice nodes to interstitial positions. All samples exhibited low coercive fields below 500 Oe, associated with the frustration of the magnetic subsystem. Features of growth of materials with a wurtzite structure were used to form a superhydrophobic coating of barium hexaferrite. Plasma treatment regimes for obtaining self-cleaning coatings are proposed. The use of magnetically hard barium hexaferrite to radically change the properties of a coating is demonstrated herein as an example

THE INFLUENCE OF THE FILLER GRAIN COMPOSITION ON THE PROPERTIES OF THE HEAT-RESISTANT BASALTIC CONCRETE

Objectives. The optimal granulometric composition of filler compound ensures the production of concrete having improved  physical and mechanical characteristics, as well as minimal binder  consumption. The properties of heat-resistant concrete largely  depend on the type and the ratio of its components. Taking this into  account, the aim of the study is to determine the optimal grain composition of heat-resistant concrete.Methods. Methods for optimising the properties of heatresistant basaltic concrete with a composite binder and  mechanochemical activation of the filler grains were used during the  course of the research.A simplex-centroid experiment design is  applied for this purpose. The composite binder was subjected to  mechanochemical activation. Samples were made by vibration-pressing from a concrete mix with a cone draught of 2 cm.Results. The grain composition of heat-resistant concrete is proved  to be the most important variable factor, regulating which the  properties of concrete can be varied. The compositions of heat- resistant basaltic concrete with activated composite binder having a  maximum application temperature of 700 ºС are developed. The  influence of the grain composition of the basaltic filler on the  properties of basaltic concrete using mathematical experiment planning methods is determined. The regression equations for the ultimate tensile strength and bending stress of basaltic concrete are  obtained for heating temperature of 700ºC.Conclusion. The granulometric composition of heat-resistant basaltic concrete based on the activated binder is optimised for basic physical and technical properties. The optimal granulometric  design of the composition of heat-resistant concrete indicates that as the coarse fraction (particles greater than 0.63 mm) in the filler  composition increases, the ultimate tensile strength and bending  stress of heatresistant basaltic concrete is increased when heated to  a temperature of 700ºС. This is due to a more compact arrangement of sand grains

Analysis of processes leading to explosive phenomena on the surface of a liquid cathode at the time of the dc electric arc ignition

The paper considers various causes of explosions on the cathodes surface in the region of arc attachment in a direct current arc discharge. Estimates of the characteristic times of the development of instabilities during the passage of current through the liquid tip of the cathode are made. As a result, an assumption was put forward that, starting from the moment of formation of the stretched tip and up to the explosion, at different stages of the stretches development, various instabilities alternately play the main roles

Mechanism of mass expulsion from the surface of a pure tungsten cathode during dc arc initiation

In this work the destruction mechanism of a pure tungsten cathode during the initiation of direct current arc is studied. The experimental work shows that the cathode resides in liquid form during the initiation of the arc, and the process of its destruction happens by ejecting droplets from its surface with the following explosion. The average speed of the ejection and the temperature at the explosion points microseconds before the explosion were registered. A mathematical model is proposed explaining the reason behind the droplets formation

One more study of argon arc binding to pure tungsten cathode

Pyrometric and spectroscopic investigations of pure tungsten cathode in argon arc plasma discharge at atmospheric pressure are reported. The distribution of surface cathode temperature and the radial distribution of plasma temperature at different distance from the cathode tip were measured. We conducted a comparison between our work and other studies on arc discharges where cathodes from lanthanated (W-2% La2O3) and thoriated (W-2% ThO2) tungsten were used