Biomethane in Poland—Current Status, Potential, Perspective and Development

Technologie biogazu i biometanu w Polsce. Potencjał biometanu w Polsce. Analiza SWOT. Analiza PEST.Every year the interest in biofuels, including biomethane, grows in Poland. Biomethane, obtained from biogas, is widely used in the Polish economy; the most important two applications are as gas injected into the gas grid and as automotive fuel. The aim of this work is to determine the potential for the development of the biomethane sector in Poland. The following article presents the technological stages of biomethane extraction and purification. The investment process for biogas/biomethane installation is presented in the form of a Gannt chart; this process is extremely long in Poland, with a duration of three years. In the coming months, the Polish Oil Mining and Gas Extraction will begin to invest in biomethane, which will be connected to the gas grid, while the Polish oil refiner and petrol retailer, Orlen, will invest in biomethane to be used as automotive fuel. This article includes a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) analysis of the biogas/biomethane sector in Poland. The main barriers to the development of the biogas/biomethane sector in Poland are high investment costs, long lead times and a strong conventional energy lobby. The most important advantages of biogas/biomethane technology in Poland include environmental aspects, high biomethane potential and well-developed agriculture. The development of biogas/biomethane technology in Poland will slowly reduce environmental pollution, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and allow for partial independence from the importing of natural gas

The prognostic value of stress tests in chronic heart failure

Chronic heart failure is a debilitating condition with a poor prognosis despite advances in medical and invasive treatment modalities. Attempts have been made to improve risk stratification in order to single out very-high-risk patients who could benefit from invasive and costly therapies. Unfortunately clinical, echocardiographic, radiological or biochemical measurements performed at rest provide significant diagnostic information but fail to stratify the risk sufficiently. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing alone or in combination with stress echocardiography and biomarkers may offer a more profound insight into the progress of the disease and patient prognosis and aid in the choice of the most appropriate therapy. Peak oxygen consumption (pVO2) is the most powerful prognostic parameter obtained during cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Ventilation slopes, especially the slope of ventilation to CO2 production (VE/VCO2), can have additional prognostic value or be used as a surrogate risk predictor where exercise is sub-maximal. Other cardiopulmonary parameters seem to have, at best, an auxiliary role in risk assessment. In patients with grey zone pVO2 values the presence of contractile reserve on stress or dobutamine echocardiography can be prognostically favourable. Other echocardiographic findings, such as functional mitral regurgitation, pulmonary hypertension and right ventricle dysfunction, also yield prognostic information. Combining biomarker measurements with pVO2 obtained during the cardiopulmonary exercise test may further improve risk assessment in heart failure patients. Two markers, B type natriuretic peptides and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), both with established prognostic value in heart failure and cardiovascular diseases in general, are the best candidates for combined assessment with cardiopulmonary test results. Further studies are needed to confirm this notion. (Cardiol J 2007; 14: 340-346

Proecological aspects of citric acid technology

Citric acid (CA) is one of the most important commercial products. The food industry is the largest consumer of the acid, using almost of 70% of the total production, followed by about 12% by the pharmaceutical industry and 18% for other applications. CA is manufactured commercially by the fermentation of carbohydrates, mainly saccharose and molasses, by Aspergillus niger using surface, submerged and solid-state fermentation medium. The currently used process causes environmental problems such as production of highly impure post-fermentation waste including dirty CaSO4. The aim of the article was to present alternative production methods for CA, which are more environmental-friendly. Fermentation using the yeast of Yarrowia lipolytica is currently undergoing intensive research as an alternative to the classic technology of CA. Extraction by organic solvents is also a promising method of CA production from aqueous solutions. Solvent extraction process is used to eliminate calcium hydroxide and sulphuric acid in the precipitation process. Due to the development of membrane techniques, membranes have been widely used in many branches of industry, including CA technology. CA release and condensation can be obtained by means of electrodialysis, ultrafiltration or/and nanofiltration as well as using liquid membranes. The electrodialysis with a bipolar membrane is another promising method of obtaining CA. Its main strengths are the simplification of technological cycles, waste elimination and creating high-quality products. Selected membrane systems are shown; the BP-A-C system was characterized by the lowest energy consumption (membranes: bipolar, anion exchange and cation exchange). New methods of management of waste biomas from CA production technology towards biogas production are described. Biogas and the biomethane derived from it are widely used: for the production of electricity and heat (cogeneration), as network gas (a substitute for natural gas) and as fuel in vehicles

15 Years of the Polish agricultural biogas plants: their history, current status, biogas potential and perspectives

Biogazownie rolnicze w Polsce

Management of By-Product Created by Lye-Sodium Brine Purification Method Using Carbonization

The article presents carbonization as a method of waste management from the brine sodium-lime method. It was compared with the previously obtained results for the lye-sodium one. Within it, the fltration and washing times were contrasted for treated and non-carbonised samples. For this aim potentiometric titration analysis was used to determine the precipitation's basic components and by-product brine. Scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectrum and diffractographic analysis were used for morphology analysis what allowed to determine the tested samples' composition. It was found that despite significant differences in the time of washing and filtration, the time of these processes is shortened after the suspension has been exposed to carbon dioxide. In both cases the composition allows the waste brine to be recycled to the purifcation processes and the mixture of calcium and magnesium compounds become alternative raw material. It turned out that in both methods it is possible to utilize the suspension formed

Comparison of Metals Content in Peatlands with Different Anthropo pressure in Welski Landscape Park (Poland)

Analiza metali ciężkich na torfowiskach

The assessment of solar photovoltaic in Poland: the photovoltaics potential, perspectives and development

The following article explains the current condition of the photovoltaics sector both in Poland and worldwide. Recently, a rapid development of solar energy has been observed in Poland and is estimated that the country now has about 700,000 photovoltaics prosumers. In October 2021, the total photovoltaics power in Poland amounted to nearly 5.7 GW. The calculated technical potential of photovoltaics in Poland is 153.484 PJ (42.634 TWh). This would cover 26.04% of Poland’s electricity needs. The main aim of the article is to assess the level of development of the photovoltaic market in Poland, the genesis of its creation, description of the current situation and determination of the development opportunities. As part of the aim, programs supporting the development of solar energy in Poland have been described and the SWOT analysis has also been performed. The strengths of photovoltaics include high social acceptance and low costs of photovoltaics system operation, while opportunities include rapidly increasing technological efficiency and decreasing cost of solar systems. On the other hand, weaknesses include the high costs of photovoltaics systems and the disparities in the amount of solar energy reaching the market during the year, whereas climate change and the coronavirus pandemic are threats. In 2020, PV became an investment hit in the energy sector and an economic driver in Poland. In the difficult time of two lockdowns caused by the global pandemic, domestic PV made a significant contribution to the maintenance of investment processes in the amount of PLN 9.5 billion and provided Poland with 35 thousand jobs. In 2020, 1.5% of the country’s electricity came from PV sources. In 2021, it will be 3.5%, and by 2025, solar energy will provide approx. 10% of Poland’s electricity. It is worth examining the development of photovoltaics from a broad and long-term perspective. The spectacular development of photovoltaics in Poland is due to hitting the right time window and reducing technology costs, but most of all, it is based on the cooperation of stakeholders and trust in the regulatory environment

The assessment of renewable energy in Poland on the background of the world renewable energy sector

The issues of the article are associated with the development of the renewable energy source (RES) sector in the world and in Poland. The subject is undoubtedly connected with the problem of the energy transformation taking place in most countries nowadays. Energy transformation processes are mainly associated with an increase in the share of energy production from RES and increased awareness of energy use by end consumers. This means that the systematic development of the RES sector is a necessary condition for linking the effective course of energy transition processes with simultaneous socio-economic development. The main objective of this study is to present the status of the RES sector in Poland against the background of worldwide development tendencies. The implementation of the objective made it possible to indicate key trends in the production and use of energy from individual RES and to assess to what extent Poland follows global trends. Poland is one of the European countries where hard coal and lignite constitute the main source of energy. On the other hand Poland, as a Member State of the EU, is obliged to implement the energy strategy within the framework of the European Green Deal, where all Member States are to become climate neutral

Assessment of the Current Potential of Hydropower for Water Damming in Poland in the Context of Energy Transformation

This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydropower in the East European Region: Challenges and OpportunitiesThe present paper indicates that hydropower, including small hydropower plants (SHPs), may play a very important role in Poland’s energy transformation in the near future. The development of SHPs may also increase water resources in the steppe Poland. Additionally, the aim of the present research is to conduct the PEST analysis of SHPs in Poland, taking into account the SHP potential. For the first time, maps showing the power and location of potential SHPs on the existing dams in Poland are presented. SHPs should be an important element of energy transition in Poland, especially on a local scale—it is stable energy production. Our analysis shows that there are 16,185 such dams in Poland, while the total capacity of potential hydropower plants in Poland would be 523.6 MW, and the total number of new jobs is estimated at 524. It was calculated that the annual avoided carbon dioxide emissions will amount to 4.4 million tons, which will reduce Poland’s emissions by 1.4%. The construction of SHPs can bring significant environmental and economic benefits. As far as the PEST analysis is concerned, the political environment of SHPs in Poland can be described as unfavorable (2.86 points). The economical nature of PEST analysis (3.86 points) should be considered as friendly for the development of SHPs. The social nature of PEST analysis can be considered as neutral (3.36 points). The technological nature of the PEST analysis can be considered as neutral (3.21 points)

The Facebook-media relationship status: it's complicated

The report includes a survey of 37 leading news executives from Europe and the United States on their relationship with Facebook. The International News Media Association report focuses on eight key areas: What Facebook does and how it works; The market position of all Facebook platforms, including Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp; Major usage trends and patterns worldwide; Facebook’s News Feed algorithms; Academic research on people’s use of social platforms and the effects that social platforms have on them; Facebook’s complicated relationship with the news industry, punctuated by a survey of news publishers about this relationship; How media companies use Facebook, including acquisition of customers and advertising opportunities; and Possible strategies for media companies moving forward