Liquid hydrocarbons from coal beds – risk factor for the underground work environment - Case study

Liquid hydrocarbons from the coal bed and surrounding rocks, besides the stored gases, methane, carbon dioxide, carbon oxide, generate the increase of the risk factor from the occupational health and safety point of view. If for reducing the gas concentrations level and the methane emissions in order to increase the safety in exploitation exist well-known solutions and methods, the oxidation or self-oxidation of the hydrocarbons from the coal bed generate a series of compounds, reaction products over maximum admitted concentrations which give birth to a toxic atmosphere and which is hazardous for workers, at the same time inducing an error in noting the occurrence of a spontaneous combustion phenomena, a major risk for the workers and for the mineral resource. This paper represents a case study performed in one underground mine unit from Jiu Valley and presents the analysis for underground environment factors monitoring and for solutions for diminishing the OHS risk factors

Experimental determination of the lower explosion limit for two gasoline samples

The explosive atmosphere may be caused by flammable gases / vapours or combustible dust. If the amount of the substance, mixed with air, is sufficient, then a source of ignition is needed to cause an explosion. Liquids (for example petrol and other fuels) and solvents from industrial products emit flammable vapours which, when mixed with air, can ignite or explode. At normal temperatures, flammable liquids can emit enough vapours to form combustible mixtures with air, heat, and often thick, black, and toxic clouds of smoke. The behaviour of a fuel-oxidant mixture is characterized by certain explosions parameters, including explosion limits, which characterize the range of concentrations in which combustion propagates at very high speeds. For this work were performed experimental determination of the lower explosion limit for two commercial gasoline samples

Determination of the chemical composition of waste dust from process operations – case study

The main environmental wastes generated by the automotive industry include lubricants and coolants for cars; water and solvent cleaning systems; paint; scrap metal and plastics. It is important to establish the source of the waste release to establish appropriate organizational measures to ensure the correct environmental approach and safety issues. In the present work, several tests have been carried out to identify the source of release for a specific dust waste that appears in the process of car's interior finishing. XRF, ICP-OES, and FTIR analyses were performed for this purpose

New potato varieties obtained at National Institute of Research and Development for potato and sugar beet Braşov

Potato is a plant with great ecological plasticity, nutritious, tasty and inexpensive, which is the staple food of many peoples. Potato use efficiently use the modern technologies and provides the greatest amount of food per unit of area. In terms of energy is of great importance for human consumption in a variety of ways of preparation and industrialization. National Institute of Research and Development for Potato and Sugar Beet Brasov is working constantly to create new potato varieties adapted to changing climatic conditions, with high yield, suitable for the processing industry, to satisfy the both quantitative and qualitative needs of consumers. Regarding the genetic complex structure of potato (2n = 4 x = 48 chromosomes) and the segregation of the desired character in the offspring produced by sexual hybridisation, creating new varieties of potato requires a long period (10-12 years) and a large volume of activity (chance for registration of a new variety is 1 to over 100.000 seedlings). The key objective was to select varieties immune to wart disease, with high resistance to other diseases (mainly potato late blight), with good agronomic and cooking qualities. As the result of breeding work three new varieties were produced: Azaria, Darilena and Asinaria. The varieties are conceived for autumn-winter consumption, being suitable for most culinary preparations, from salad, pommes frites to mash potatoes. The potato varieties were breed using the hybrid cross method followed by individual clonal selection, according to the classical scheme of potato breeding. The best potato clone was selected from many others. The resistance to wart disease was tested at Pojorâta Station (Suceava) and the resistance to late blight and viruses were determinated in the fields and laboratories of NIRDPSB Brasov. Also to NIRDPSB Brasov it has been determined the culinary quality of potato tubers by assesing their behavior to boiling. The yield capacity in different environmental conditions and also the ecological plasticity of the varieties were tested in State Institute for Variety Testing and Registration network

The need for geospatial thinking in education : a manual for implementing geospatial thinking competencies in the curriculum

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