Contaminated Land by Wildfire Effect on Ultramafic Soil and Associated Human Health and Ecological Risk

The purpose of this study is the evaluation of fire effect on contaminated land and the assessment of the associated risk of human health and terrestrial ecological receptors. Ash and soil samples were gathered from burned and unburned areas (central Evia, Greece) which are adjacent with a Natura 2000 area. The geochemical dataset includes 20 sampling sites and 35 elements. The wildfire severity was investigated by applying a macroscopic approach and field observations. Statistical and spatial analysis were applied for delineating the distribution of elements in ash and soil. Elemental balance approach was performed for estimating net gain (+) or loss (−) to the ash. Element contents in sampling sites were compared to screening values proposed by the literature. Hundreds of hectares of burned land including wildland areas in central Evia are contaminated with (contents in mg Kg−1), Co (up to 43.5), Cr (up to 244), Mn (up to 1158), Ni (up to 463) associated with geogenic sources such as serpentinite peridotites and Ni-laterite deposits. Aluminum, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn contents recorded in the sampling sites are posing a potential risk to human health and ecological receptors.

Climate Neutral Waste Management Оptions

A methodology for the ecological assessment of technologies for municipal solid waste (MSW) processing and solid recovered fuel (SRF) production is proposed, including calculations of direct, indirect and prevented greenhouse gas emissions at all stages of waste management, taking into account the composition of the waste, the properties of the individual components of the MSW and the characteristics of used equipment. The elemental balance of fossil and biogenic carbon was calculated for MSW management system. It is concluded that MSW processing with recyclables recovery and SRF production can reduce greenhouse gases release from 5.8 to 67.6 % with respect to waste disposal at the MSW landfill.

Travesty of the Sacred in Postmodernist Westerns

The author analyzes the reasons, process and peculiarities of travesty of the sacred motives in the postmodernist western as the American national movie genre. As the country's national epic western bases upon the Puritan ethos as one of the fundamental moulding factors of American culture rooted in the mass daily consciousness, social psychology and mythology. For the revisionist western arisen after WW2 (that is Post-modern epoch) a certain reaccentuation of all its structural integrants is characteristic. Revision of the traditional western touches upon semantic, topical and mythological components as well as imagery which is becoming more and more sophisticated and polysemic. Basing on such pictures as Unforgiven (1992) by Clint Eastwood, True Grit (2010) by Ethan and Joel Cohen, The Hateful Eight (2015) by Quentin Tarantino, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) by Andrew Dominik, the author states the process of deconstruction of the harmonious disposition in the elemental balance proper for the classical western. The deconstruction takes place on all the layers of the movies: semantic, stylistic and axiological due to collision of different textual worlds in one and the same intertextual space. Anyhow, the author concludes, that the inevitable travesty of the sacred as the basic component does not reduce axiological value of the western. Axiological diversity of the filmic construction of the contemporary western provides the viewer with freedom for forming ones own attitude towards the film and motivates continual questioning of history.

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF BIOHYDROGEN PRODUCTION FROM IMPERATA CYLINDRICA USING STOICHIOMETRIC EQUILIBRIUM MODEL

This paper investigated the production of biohydrogen from Imperata cylindrica, using stoichiometric equilibrium model. The stoichiometric equilibrium model uses biomass ultimate analysis, thermodynamic equilibrium and elemental balance on biomass gasification reaction. The sensitivity analysis was studied over a wide range of operating conditions involving temperature (250 – 1500 °C), pressure (1 – 5 atm) and Steam to fuel ratio (0-5). The result shows biohydrogen and other biogas product were sensitive to temperature and steam-feed ratio, whereas effect of pressure is negligible. The operating condition for optimal biohydrogen production in moles (23%) was atmospheric pressure, temperature, 1500 °C and steam-feed ratio, 5. Biogas product mixtures are H2, 23%, CO, 17%, CO2, 12% CH4, 0% and H2O, 60%. Increase in steam-feed ratio (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) significantly increase the biohydrogen by 1381%, 90%, 46%, 31% and 24%. The stoichiometry equilibrium model could effectively be used in determining biohydrogen production and its sensitivity to temperature and steam

TECHNIQUE FOR DETECTING SYSTEMIC CONTRADICTIONS WHEN SOLVING APPLIED TASKS OF VEHICLE SAFETY

Application of the substantive provisions of dynamical systems theory in the study of elemental balance in the structure of the vehicle. Identified that the challenges posed by man and implemented technological means lead to the loss of equilibrium within the item "Habitat Wednesday" that affect the balance of life-support element "man" and loss of equilibrium condition causes the "technique". Situational assessment model created disturbing effects methodology provides a balance of systems with a high level of security