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This paper compares the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) in the EU, focusing on their application in the transport, cooling and heating sectors and electricity production. It examines the current situation in the EU and assesses to what extent their laws and policies have contributed to the transition to renewable energy sources. This study focuses on several forms of renewable energy, including solar, wind, hydro energy, and biomass energy. The analysis is based on several variables, including production, consumption, and environmental impact. The findings of the analysis highlight the contrasts and similarities between the two nations and illuminate the best strategies for advancing sustainable energy development. This study also analyzes the main renewable energy strategies and policies to understand which factors support or hinder the transition to sustainable and clean energy. The analysis underscores the importance of optimizing energy efficiency and achieving long-term savings using RESs. Additionally, this study emphasises the role of RESs in enhancing energy security and promoting economic growth through technological innovation. This study also highlights the potential of RESs to reduce emissions in industry, transport, and agriculture, thereby contributing to environmental sustainability. The results show that the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) in the European Union has increased in the analyzed period. The results of this study can be useful to government agencies, businesses, academia, and the public interested in supporting the development of sustainable energy in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines sustainability in tourism, with a particular focus on enhancing destination management through comprehensive visitor monitoring. Precise data on visitor volumes constitute an essential prerequisite for the sustainable planning and management of tourism-related services and infrastructure. This research investigates the correlation between destination attendance and the utilization of visitor centers, employing regression analysis and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test to quantify these relationships. The study specifically addresses the distribution of domestic and international visitors in the city of Prague and their engagement with municipal information centers, enabling the identification of key visitor behavior patterns. The results offer a robust foundation for forecasting future trends in international visitor flows, which is critical for strategic planning and the sustainable development of tourism destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the present worldwide economic development, there is an increasing need to follow the financial health of companies in individual sectors to avoid possible decline and bankruptcy. The goal of this contribution is to find out the influence of the pandemic on the economic situation in the mining industry as the primary sector, in connection with the construction industry as the secondary sector. The research is carried out through economic and financial indicators, which mostly influence the potential crisis of companies. The results show that the mining industry and construction sectors managed to avoid the heavy decline and bankruptcy of certain organizations in the industries. Such results can be used for forecasting and modeling the socio-economic development of regions and countries. The growth of the analyzed industries could contribute to the sustainable development in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of energy poverty (EP), when energy becomes unaffordable for some population groups, is not only a problem for developing countries, but this phenomenon is appearing more and more often in European countries. In Europe, it is estimated that 50 to 125 million people are living in energy poverty. We hear more and more about energy poverty in connection with the current energy crisis and rising energy prices, but also because of insufficient renewable use. Due to increasing energy prices, we are increasingly hearing about the deepening energy poverty in Slovakia. This study aims to evaluate the development of energy poverty in Slovakia compared to other EU countries. The situation is studied from the view of the number of heating and cooling days, the percentage of the population that cannot maintain adequate heat at home, the percentage of the population that lacks heat, and the percentage of residents without enough heat. During the research, we used distribution analysis, trend analysis, analysis of variance, and one-way analysis. The main results show that the heating degree days (HDD) index recorded a decrease, the cooling degree days (CDD) index recorded an increase, and energy poverty is most obvious in a low-income group of inhabitants, having shortage of heat, when renewable energy sources (RES) use contributes to the mitigation of energy poverty. Solving the unfavorable situation of energy poverty is possible by increasing the share of renewables used in the gross final energy consumption for heating and cooling, primarily in residential buildings. The results provide information for policymakers regarding the triple bottom line approach (people, planet, and profit). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circular economy and efficient use of resources gained importance in the context of sustainable development. The paper aims to evaluate the development of landfilling in Slovakia. The next goal is to assess the trend in compared with the EU's situation. The presented research presents a continuation of previous research in the area of waste recycling in Slovakia, pointing to the waste and landfilling, which is deserving of analysis from a long-term perspective. The research is carried out via data collection at the EU level by recording continuously published values. The paper's results are processed in statistical software. Considering regional development, landfilling in Slovakia is followed up according to the geographical units of the entire country. The results shown here show that a higher recycling capacity is required and Slovakia should decrease its level of landfill. Such results can be used in the waste treatment area, protection of the living environment and sustainable development of regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, due to the worldwide crisis, there is a necessity to predict and make a prognosis for the future development of the companies from the view of their financial health. Mainly mining organizations in Slovakia face a problem with creditworthiness when a number of companies declared bankruptcy. The paper has the ambition to predict development in chosen Slovakian mining organization through the most used bankruptcy and bonity models, which brings results, serving for comparing with companies in time and sector. The results were evaluated according to the individual areas of financial position that influenced the development the most. Such results are profitable for the sustainable development of mining organizations together with providing the energetic independence of the countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With societal development and population increase, the amount of waste and energy consumption is also increasing. The use of waste for energy production is gradually establishing in the international and national legal norms and political programs of most developed countries around the world. Many experts are beginning to be inclined to hold the opinion that it will be necessary to include energy-recoverable waste as a renewable energy source. Slovakia is a country that understands the importance of producing energy from waste without harming the environment. The current paper focuses on the potential of Slovakia compared to other countries in the area of energy recovery from waste. With the use of regression analysis, the growth trend of municipal waste in Slovakia was defined. The results show that the Slovakian trend goes against the EU goals. On the one hand, this represents a very serious problem for the environment, but it also indicates the significant potential of secondary raw materials and energy in the case of energy recovery from waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constant growth in resource consumption is putting pressure on the environment. Most resources are non-renewable and, therefore, need to be managed sustainably. For this reason, increased attention is also being paid to their efficient use within the European Union. The European Union is addressing these aspects to maintain longterm competitiveness and ensure sustainable development in line with all the associated environmental impacts. One of the paths currently on offer is a gradual transition from a linear to a circular economy. A CE monitoring system based on a group of indicators has been introduced within the EU. In this paper, we analyse one of the key areas of the circular economy, material recovery of waste, focusing on municipal waste and its position in the EU and Slovak economy. Measure of circular waste reuse, Measure of municipal waste recycling, CW production per inhabitant, Measure of waste landfilling. By analysing the development of the indicators over the last 10 years, we have tried to realistically assess the achievability of the EU recycling and landfilling targets. The situation in Europe in this area is not optimistic since some EU countries will have a problem fulfilling the EU goals in waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the thesis was to analyze the customer processes in the company. With the help of PEST analysis we found out in which external environment the given company operates. We then analyzed the sales activities of our customers. The main outcome of this work was the elaboration of a SWOT analysis, which showed us the strengths and weaknesses of the company and also the opportunities and threats that come from its external environment. The result of the analyzes was a proposal in the form of a review of its status and recommendations for its further development in the sector under review, which could be adapted to its changes.

The paper deals with the results of research on the influence of material and operating parameters on the performance characteristics and efficiency of photovoltaic panels. The disadvantage of PV panels is that their performance depends on a number of factors such as the intensity of the sun's radiation, the outside air temperature, the surface temperature of the photovoltaic panel, its pollution, shielding, etc. In the paper is analyzed the model photovoltaic power plant, from which data were obtained during the monitored period and subsequently the progress of individually measured parameters was evaluated.

The EU presently orientates its policy to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy. In this paper, we evaluate the current situation and the developments in greenhouse gas emissions, and we will evaluate carbon resource usage in chosen EU countries from the viewpoint of greenhouse gas emission per capita, energy production in the EU, energy dependence of EU countries, and final energy consumption. We will analyze and evaluate the data available from the Eurostat database through regression and cluster analysis using JMP 15 statistical software. The results show significant differences in the individual countries, and they can be used for determination of the energy policy in the individual states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water presents one of the earth resources as a component of environmental change, demanding the research of water use. A nusmber of authors analyzed water use from different perspectives, in different regions, not including the water efficiency index and water productivity in the whole of the EU. The presented contribution is orientated to the evaluation of water resources through the development of efficiency and productivity indexes in EU member states. The research is made by a single analysis of the index in time development, followed by countries' comparison according to the available data and software support, accessing the sustainability features in water supply that are the three-fold-goals of economic feasibility, social responsibility, and environmental integrity, linked to the purpose of the water use. The results of the contribution show the countries with a positive indexes trend, and countries with a negative indexes trend. Such results can be used for improving measurements to increase water productivity, as well as to make measurements to decrease water use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with methods of decision process in the frame of firm´s financial management. We applied chosen methods in concrete firm as one of the way of achieving other perspective and prosperity.

The constant rise in the consumption of resources puts the environment under pressure. Most resources are non-renewable in nature, which is why they must be utilized with great care. For this reason, the European Union devotes increasingly more attention to their efficient use. It deals with these aspects, making an effort to maintain the long-term competitiveness and to secure sustainable development in line with all of the related environmental impacts. In this context, several goals have been set out, to which the individual EU member states are bound. A method for monitoring resource efficiency was developed, consisting of indicators, the aim of which is to assess the efficiency of the use of soil, water, energy, with the most fundamental one being resource productivity. The results of the efficiency of use of the individual resources in the member states greatly differ, even without further investigating the links and correlations between the indicators. Research on the interrelationships of the individual indicators in terms of mutual influence has not yet been completed. The aim of our study was to define the correlation between the main indicator, resource productivity, and the other indicators at the level of the EU and its member states. For this purpose, we prepared a database with data which, for the sake of uniformity, were obtained from the publicly available Eurostat database. Subsequently, the data were analyzed and evaluated using the statistical software JMP 15 by a regression and correlation analysis. By using the multiple regression analysis, we created a model describing the significance of the impact of the observed variables on the resulting resource productivity of the EU member states. Generally, there is a positive correlation between the resource productivity and the Eco-Innovation index, as well as the utilization rate of recycled materials. For the sake of comparison, we developed a regression model at the level of the V4 countries, with the aim of evaluating the impact of the historical background of the countries on their contemporary ability to reach the goals set out by the environmental policy. The V4 countries are lagging far behind in meeting all of the environmental policy objectives, not only in tracking the main indicator (resource productivity) on which the multiple regression analysis is based. It was interesting to find that the multiple regression model at the V4 level does not include the indicators defined by the EU level model, the key ones, in this case, being water productivity, energy dependence, energy productivity, and environmental tax. This finding may also, after further analyses, be the key for other countries joining the EU in the future, in defining the weaknesses of the newly acceding states in terms of the EU's move towards a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing environmental problems with a global impact on the quality of the environment require increasing attention from all countries and the urgent adoption and implementation of established measures to protect the environment. The presented contribution points to the necessity of financial resources in the process of improving the environment. It aims to analyze public expenditures and investments spent on the environment in the European Union and the Slovak Republic, and to identify the main environmental areas to which funds flow. The aim is to assess the effectiveness of the funds spent in relation to selected indicators focused on waste management. After the analysis of the state and development of public expenditures and investments and the analysis of the methods of municipal waste management, the contribution results in the search for dependence between public expenditures and the materially and energetically recovered amount of municipal waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The whole world's economy lies in the heavy industry, which is not very saving to the living environment or the people. European Union wants to become an ecologic continent that demands concrete measurements for the single states. In this connection also, climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying, and some trends are now irreversible, at least during the present time frame, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. So that, people of the European Union and the world are facing a challenge because there must be a change in each and every one of us. One of the most important measures is to reduce emissions and the amount of waste we produce as humankind, to protect biodiversity and to allow a wide variety of organisms to develop and thrive. The main goal is to find out what the European Union's goals have been in relation to climate change, and at the same time to find out what goals the European Union has set itself in the coming years and how it wants to meet those goals. The main approach of the research was the analysis of the statistical data of greenhouse gas emissions, increasing renewable energy use and better energy efficiency. The analysis of individual Member States is another important part of the work because, thanks to the analysis, we can find out how these countries have met their set goals or, conversely, have not. We can also see how countries are moving closer to achieving long-term goals. According to the results, we concluded that the EU as a whole was able to meet the plan much earlier. We also found which country of the Visegrád Group, for now on V4 fulfilled the plan and which did not. The contribution results could thus contribute to the energy strategy in the EU and chosen states. The results could contribute to the "Earth sanation" from the view of energetic industry sanation, through agriculture, to individual industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Due to globalization, all industrial sectors are mutually connected, which means that the sectors are part of the global economy, influenced by a similar trend. Mining relates to various industrial sectors. The base of mineral raw materials provides in the certain regions the value that is possible to evaluate with optimal use complexly, and by this way profit for the owner, state and mining company, as well as single region is created. The goal of the presented contribution is to search for a posi using in industries and its trend from the view of growth rate, in connection to the growth of other industries with the aim to provide long-term prosperity and contribution of industries to the national economy. Research had been done through growth rate of sales and revenues and one-way analysis of sales trend in analyzed period 2009-2018. The research is supported by initial decline analysis, orientated to the evaluation of positive and negatives of raw material using generally. According to the internal analysis, there are selected sectors directly connected to the mining industry. results show there is the stable or improving character of the mining industry, which is very similar to industrial production, having influence with other industrial sectors. There is a recorded trend in the growth of individual industries, which vari results of the contribution are useful in providing long prosperity and contribution of industries to the national economy, providing sustainable economic growth. The contribution is limited to the evaluation of industries growth from the view of sales and revenues, and future research can be extended to the evaluation from the view of market share, etc. Future research can also be extended to other macro-economic indicators, influencing the competitiveness of the mining industry and its sustainable tendency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper is focused on data evaluation about the full recycling of waste by special statistical software and by using the principles of logistics. The paper goes further than the paper entitled “Environmental assessment of waste recycling based on principles of logistics and computer simulation design,” which outputs a number of data that need to be reviewed and evaluated separately. Data, representing 15 types of waste for 5 years, enter the analysis. There were the types of waste that make up the most important part of the total waste production by means of descriptive statistics. Thanks to this, they were identified as the most important (from the production point of view) plastic granules with an average of 755.05 t/month, glass with an average of 672.233 t/month and paper with the average of 645.25 t/month. The persistence of particular waste type generation was examined by the variation coefficient in order to reduce the risk of supply of these secondary raw materials in the downstream supply chain. Selected waste elements can be considered relatively stable with a variation coefficient in the range 2.4-4.1%; the least stable type is electronic dust with a coefficient of variation of up to almost 23%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented paper deals with attenuation of seismic waves, which depends on the degree of disintegration of the rock environment in which seismic waves are propagated due to the explosion of explosive charges during blasting operations. Measurements of the impact of seismic waves were conducted to determine the best possible way to absorb these waves. The aim of the article is to identify the existence of a critical distance and the determination of the critical point from which the propagation of the velocity is not dependent on the type of deposit and the environment in which the seismic wave propagates. Statistical methods were used for these findings. The result is the determination of the distance of 80 m in which the speed on the individual deposits varied. From this limit on, there was no significant difference in the speed of propagation on the individual deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is dealing with the issue of limestone in V4 countries, in the countries, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. The limestone is intensely mined because it has a multilateral use: it serves as gravel, building stone, peculiarly coloured varieties are used as a decorative stone; the largest quantity is consumed in the production of cement and lime. In the metallurgy, limestone (high percentile) is an important slag-forming additive; in confectionery is the source of necessary CO2. At the beginning of the article, are analysed the general properties, formation and composition of limestone. It is followed by mining and preparation and processing of limestone. In the part of the article dealing with production, are parts focused on the production of V4 countries, but also part dealing with the production of concrete products and their use in the industrial sectors. Data collected about export and import of the limestone led to the acquisition of business analyses and the creation of maps for better visualisation of acquired knowledge. In the article are processed data of limestone, its production in V4 countries and export and import, which were statistically processed and evaluated by the test Wilcoxon /Kruskal-Walis. As can be seen from the collected data and its processing, the business has a local character. The biggest producer is Poland, followed by the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Biggest exporter of the limestone is Poland; the biggest importer is the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining operations are spread all over the world. In Slovakia, it lasts many centuries, and it is still developing. The mining industry is in constant development on every continent. The reason is increasing demand for raw materials. The acquisition of mineral raw materials is the most important part of the mining industry, which produces raw materials worth hundreds of millions of euros per year in Slovakia alone. It, directly and indirectly, acts on many indicators of the states as well as the regions. It promotes employment, has an impact on wages and increases the value of the gross domestic product. Despite many positive aspects, there is widespread concern from the general public or parliamentarians about the negative effects of mining activities in. The contribution is oriented on the analysis of the influence of mining industry in Slovakia considering socio-economic indexes. The analysis shows a complex view about the development of mining in Slovakia, made by the correlation and regression analysis, which helped to find out dependence between regions in Slovakia. With the help of these analyses, we concluded the influence of mining operations in Slovakia and the regions. The goal of the contribution is to evaluate the influence of mining activity on the development of socio-economic indexes of individual regions in Slovakia. Due to the comparing of the dependence of individual indexes at the level of Slovakia and the countries we will use correlation analysis. The results at the level of Slovakia will show us the highest dependence between GDP, average wage, employment and wages in mining. Results of the analysis could open new tasks and areas of searching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of tourism in Slovakia in recent years is chaotic, uncoordinated, fragmented and without strategic direction. This is the main reason for unstable performance in terms of statistical indicators on an economical level, at the regional level stagnation and uncertainty about the business environment. Lack of strategy, undeveloped marketing efforts are not always successful privatisation, and poor quality of services is mainly influenced by the current state of tourism. Košice region in the evaluation of the regions of Slovakia among the worst rated area in terms of revenue from tourism. At the same time, there is a large potential for geothermal energy is suitable for recreational purposes and Spa in this region. One of the ways to raise the level of the region and the whole of Slovakia, is the support and development activities focused on the potential use just mentioned. However, as we point out, it is an innovative idea. In the past (period before 1948), there were thermal and mineral, respectively climatic, spa in almost every town in eastern Slovakia. In this paper, we compare two neighbouring regions with similar potential, geothermal energy, but with the different success of its use in tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problems of the temporary structures are generally dealt with by the use of modular buildings. These actually meet the terms of low costs, as appose to the terms of convenience of use, or energy efficiency in operation. Using the latest technologies in the production of the modular buildings has improved the operation sufficiently; it is now possible to use them entirely for purposes associated with the use of the buildings. Office buildings, warehouses, and conference rooms have become common standard. In Slovakia, we can already see it as a normal part of cities and municipalities: social housing, schools, and kindergartens, which were all built using this technology. During the assessment phase of these buildings, energy efficiency is always the priority. This article is aimed at establishing the economic potential of modular buildings in the field of use of renewable energy sources. For the formulation of the problem and the definition of borders of studied parameters, we proposed a four-dimensional competency decision-making space. This determines the examination process that should identify areas in which it is appropriate to consider and assess the use of renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humanity is dependent on natural resources. Use and productivity of these resources plays an important role in energy savings and circular economy. The goal of this contribution is to evaluate productivity of resources in the frame of EU countries. Single analysis deals with data from the publicly available portal database and collected data were processed in the statistical software JMP. The trend of development and analysis of variability and linear dependence helped to create cluster analysis and comparison of the EU countries. The results from the view of average value of the indicator registered the growth, and from the view of variability the statistically important differences were verified for EU member states. Some pairs of indicators recorded positive, while some pairs recorded negative linear dependence. Cluster analysis shows two groups of countries—the first one with positive results, having the lowest tax burden in the case of energy taxes and environment, and the second one with negative results, having the highest tax burden of environmental and energy policy. The results are useful for a proper setting of energy and environmental goals that can increase the effectiveness of resource productivity in the countries studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste treatment consists of activities required to make sure that waste has the least practical impact on the environment. In Slovakia, more than 50% of waste is in storage. Waste development depends on the economic situation of the state. In Slovakia, there is economic intolerance of waste treatment due to the weaker economic situation of the inhabitants. The goal of this contribution is to study the development of waste production in Slovakia in regard to economic indexes of households with the aim of improving waste management. The goal is achieved by searching for a relation between economic indexes and households by a correlation matrix and by verification of polynomial dependence. According to the results of the statistical importance, we found similarity of the regions in chosen indexes by using of cluster analysis. By this method a sustainable economy and healthy environment is guaranteed and waste is used to produce energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focused on the statistical evaluation of inputs to a biogas plant processing a mixture of kitchen waste and agricultural crops to ensure stable biogas production. The aim of the research was to identify the components of the input substrates that will ensure the maximum yield of CH4 and the substrates that increase the production of H2S. By a suitable combination of substrates, it is possible to optimize the production of biogas from the biogas plant. We analyzed a sample of 858 measurements, which were carried out in a selected biogas station for a period of 2.5 years. We were interested in differences in production of CH4, O2, and H2S outputs depending on the composition of inputs. From 17 inputs, 125 substrates were formed. The significance of the influence of individual substrates as categorical variables with the achieved numerical values was assessed by means of ANOVA analysis. Selected substrates were sorted based on CH4 and H2S production using graphical methods (bubble graphs) into four quadrants defining the desired and undesired values of the output variables. We identified a total of 20 suitable and 11 unsuitable substrates to produce quality biogas. Sorghum silage substrate was defined as a substrate that significantly increases the proportion of H2S in biogas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sales of electric cars and vehicles (EVs) have recently been showing a rapidly growing trend. In connection with rising electricity prices as well as social pressure on the environmental impacts of electromobility, there is also increasing interest of EV owners in the ecological source of electricity. The largest group of owners of EVs are residents of family houses, so, logically, they focus their attention on the possibility of using photovoltaic (PV) charging systems for EV charging. The design of the PV system for supporting EV charging is problematic due to several input parameters in the calculation of energy needs and due to the inconsistencies of electricity generation with normal electric vehicle (EV) charging time. While the PV system produces electricity during the day, family homeowners require charging EVs mainly at night. This requires batteries as part of a PV system. The optimal design of the PV of the battery system must take into account the real consumption of EV, the average daily distance traveled, the location, the weather bridging time, and, last but not least, the investor's financial situation. The timing mismatch of electricity needs and generation may result in the oversizing or sub-scaling of the PV system depending on the time period for which the investor claims full coverage. With an average daily EV consumption of 10 kWh/day, the overproduction of electricity may be at 8620 kWh per year if it is required to fully cover PV systems in January. Conversely, for the installation of PVs for full coverage in August, the year-round electricity deficit will be 1500 kWh per year. For the analyzed geographical conditions, i.e., Latitude 48.8, the optimum performance of PV system for one-day electricity storage is 3.585 kW. This corresponds to the full coverage of EV consumption in March, the price of the whole system varies from EUR 9000 to EUR 20,000 depending on the type of battery. In addition to the battery price, the required accumulation time for electricity to overcome adverse weather increases the required performance of a photovoltaic system (PVS), which again results in system overshooting and financial loss by not using the generated electricity. This cycle of interdependencies is usually very difficult to adjust optimally. In the contribution, we analyzed the mutual relationships of calculating the performance of a PVS according to the daily consumption of EV and required time of overcoming adverse weather. The input data for the analyses were normal average EV consumption and the number of daily km traveled from 10 to 100 km/day scaled to 10. The optimization process consisted of determining the necessary performance of the PVS and its production in the event of a requirement to ensure full energy demand in each month. In addition, different types of batteries that influence the investment price enter into optimization analyses. This depends on the energy density of a given battery, the depth of discharge, capacity, and type. The result of this research is a computational model for determining a new indicator—we called it the monthly deviation factor. This indicates the degree of oversizing or undersizing of the PV system in relation to the stated factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the European Union, basic strategy results from the need to provide intelligent, sustainable, and inclusive growth, along with respect to social and economic impacts of waste treatment. The paper focuses on municipal waste and its separation. Generally, within global waste management initiatives, the main goal is to minimize the negative effects of waste on the environment, as well as to increase and optimize the sources' efficiency in the waste economy. Research on municipal waste development and its separation was done in individual regions of Slovakia to find if socially weaker regions have worse waste treatment. The results were compared according to the waste development per inhabitant and per household, as well as through rate indexes, which are connected to relationships between waste, social, and economic indexes. The results confirmed research results from other countries that show that the volume of municipal waste is increasing due to increased living standards of inhabitants. However, on the other hand, waste separation rates also increased—mainly based on the legislative support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented paper deals with the metal foams, which have a wide application potential ranging from power engineering, through catalysts to impact energy absorbers. The main aim of the paper is to propose an economical non-destructive method of determining the basic characteristics and dimensions using affordable devices. The basic principle of the proposed method lies in the image capture of metal foam and their subsequent analysis in image analysis software. An important element of the work is a comparison of results obtained by the proposed method with results obtained by high-resolution X-ray microtomography. The proposed method was evaluated in terms of measurement uncertainty and propagation of error in overall results. The use of the method is limited to the metal foams, characterized by an ordered structure, which are produced mainly by the electrophoretic deposition process. Based on the descriptive statistical analysis of results, it is possible to state, that the proposed method is in great agreement with accurate, but more expensive high-resolution X-ray microtomography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the use of photovoltaic (PV) cells and the increase in the number of photovoltaic power plants has led to a detailed examination of their operating parameters. In this article, we discuss material and operating parameter influences on the performance and efficiency of photovoltaic panels in a photovoltaic power plant. The plant consisted of 3600 pieces of polycrystalline PV panels from Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) Solar (type REC 230AE) with a maximum power of 230 Wp. Parameter measurements were made three years after the power plant was started. The measured and computed data were statistically processed using multidimensional statistical methods where the relationships between input and output variables were examined, which was subsequently quantified by regression analysis. Using the ANOVA, the variability of the measured efficiency of the panels and the performance for individual years was examined. Efficiency has been found to increase significantly over the years. The reason for this is the statistically proven prevailing operating time of the PV power plant in conditions with lower temperature than standard operating conditions (25 °C). Ageing was not confirmed in optimal conditions and calculated efficiency was constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constant consumption of resources exerts pressure on the environment. In this sense, waste management has obtained increasing attention from the view of a circular economy. The European Union deals with these mentioned aspects, trying maintain long-term competitiveness and to provide sustainable development in accordance with all related environmental aspects. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the production of communal waste in 36 EU countries. The main aim is to evaluate the success of countries' efforts to decrease waste production and increase recycling rates. The methodology used for the evaluation included data collected from the publicly available database Eurostat, consequent analyses and evaluation in the statistical software JMP 13 through regression, distribution, and cluster analysis, and the interpretation of the results. The results of the cluster analysis showed that despite clear EU waste management legislation, EU member states have significantly different waste management systems at the national level. However, generally, we could see positive correlation between the generation of waste and recycling rates. Although, Malta, Austria, Greece, and Norway recorded a decreasing level of waste recycling over the last several years, some countries (Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania) had significantly lower recycling rates accompanied by low landfill taxes. The evaluation of waste production and recycling can be used for government policy in the area of waste management, as well as for individual communities dealing with communal waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid fuels combustion is rather complicated because there is always environment pollution by emissions, mainly by particulate matter. The efforts of heat sources manufacturers and also operators should be increase the effectivity of the combustion process with minimizing of emissions production. Nowadays it is possible effectively burn the biomass fuels in modern heat sources. The combustion process of biomass is influenced by many aspects. This work deals about these aspect that influence the combustion efficiency and emissions production of small heat source. Automatic small hot-water boiler for wood pellets with 18 kW heat power was used for the experiments. The effect of the amount, temperature and relative humidity of combustion air, fuel moisture and fuel feeding on heat power and production of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides has been determined. The experiments results show that these tested aspects have high impact on combustion process and environment pollution. The most significant aspect was fuel moisture while wit rising moisture the heat power of boiler significantly decreased and production of emissions increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]