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• Carbonation of fly ashes with bulk CaO content from 10 to 15% was successful in dry and steam conditions, under low pressure and low temperature conditions. • Lowering of the original free lime content was achieved to an extent permitting their utilization in cement based materials. • Two pressure systems were compared: continuous flow and batch reactor. • The addition of water to the system plays an important role in the progress of the carbonation reactions. Limited utilization possibilities of high–calcium fly ashes (HCFA) are a serious issue not only in Europe, but also worldwide. The properties of such waste from coal-fired power plants could be conveniently treated in order to make their compositions compliant with national regulations and allow their use in a variety of industrial applications. This work reports on an investigation of mineral carbonation of HCFA from Greece, Poland and Spain with total CaO contents between 10 and 15 wt.%. Two types of experiments, batch and continuous flow, with and without the addition of water vapor, were performed. Best carbonation efficiency obtained was 47% of the bulk CaO content. The free lime content of the samples was found to be the controlling factor. After treatment, the amount of free lime was reduced to values suitable for their utilization as supplementary cementitious materials. The addition of water to the system played also an important role in the progress of the carbonation reactions. Our results strongly suggest that a carbonation treatment of HCFA could contribute to the circular economy of such waste materials and potentially increase their utilization in the construction industry, as well as make a significant contribution to lowering of the CO 2 emissions in coal-burning industrial facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the developing process of the Śmiłowo Eco-Park, located in the Noteć valley region (Poland), is a part of the biggest Polish agri-food consortium, from its initial small waste management company to its final structure as an eco-industrial park using industrial symbiosis methods. The industrial symbiosis applied in the Eco-park promotes a business model which covers the whole life cycle of the products starting from the plant growing by animal feed preparation, livestock breeding, meat preparations, meat-bone meal production from animal waste, and the use of pig slurry as a fertilizer. The Eco-park model is presented in the form of a system of connected stream flows of materials and energy covering the full lifecycle of products, from cereal cultivation, through the production of industrial feed, and poultry and pig breeding for the production of meat products. The solutions used include the prevention of environmental pollution through the modernization of existing processes, implementation of new technologies, reduction of waste and its reuse, recycling, and recovery of materials and energy, the substitution of raw materials with waste, and thermal treatment of waste and its use as biofuel. This case study allows for analyses of the organizational and technical key strategic activities which enable waste, including hazardous waste, to be transformed into valuable materials and energy. These activities have modified the system of material and energy flows through the value chain to realize the goal of allowing profitable management of waste according to circular economy methods and also indicates methods of supporting modifications of supply chains in terms of implementation of the industrial symbiosis business model according to its relationship with sustainable development, cleaner production, and circular economy models. EIP Śmiłowo annually utilizes 300,000 t meat waste, produces 110,000 t meat bone meal biofuel, uses 120,000 t of pig manure as fertilizers, produces 460,000 GJ bioenergy, eliminates 92,000 t CO 2 emissions.

Silver birch trees ( Betula pendula Roth) are a pioneering species in post-industrial habitats, and have been associated with an expansive breeding strategy and low habitat requirements. We conducted ecophysiological and dendroclimatological studies to check whether there are any features of which the modification enables birch trees to colonise extreme habitats successfully. We characterised the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus, the gas exchange, the content of pigments in leaves, and the growth (leaf thickness and tree-ring width) of birch trees on a post-coal mine heap, a post-smelter heap, and a reference site. Birch growth was limited mainly by temperature and water availability during summer, and the leaves of the birch growing on post-industrial heaps were significantly thicker than the reference leaves. Moreover, birch trees growing on heaps were characterised by a significantly higher content of flavonols and anthocyanins in leaves and higher non-photochemical quenching. In addition, birches growing on the post-coal mine heap accumulated a concentration of Mn in their leaves, which is highly toxic for most plant species. Increasing the thickness of leaves, and the content of flavonols and anthocyanins, as well as efficient non-photochemical quenching seem to be important features that improve the colonization of extreme habitats by birches.

Coal combustion products can be considered as commercial products or waste depending on the quality of the coal, the combustion process, and the country's legislation. The circular economy can create incentives for the implementation of new business models in large power plants in cooperation with coal mines and users of coal combustion products. This is particularly important in Poland, where coal still remains the main source of energy, employing over 80,000 workers. The objective of this study was to assess the readiness for change toward a circular economy and to identify challenges, barriers, and plans at seven large power plants. To do this, a final questionnaire was developed after checking environmental reporting, a CATI survey, and brainstorming between circular economy leaders from science, industry, and non-governmental organizations. The results indicate that even if the great economic and environmental potential of coal combustion products management are understood, all requirements connected with CO2 and air pollution have higher priorities. Policy shifts away from coal do not promote cooperation, but the higher acceptance of products from waste and more transparent data shows a large potential for changes toward a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last biomonitoring study in Poland on intoxication with fluoride compounds of deer was conducted almost two decades ago. Given the fact that fluoride level in air and water is not widely monitored in Poland, it is justified to undertake monitoring of F- levels in people and other long-lived mammals. This paper provides the assessment of the present level of fluoride accumulation in mineralized tissue of large herbivorous mammals. The aim of the present study was to determine fluoride concentration in teeth of deer inhabiting the areas of Poland which are industrially uncontaminated with fluoride compounds, to establish possible correlations between the analysed parameters, and to provide a comparison of the present results with those obtained in other studies. Mean concentration of fluoride in all analysed samples amounted to 231.0 F mg/kg, with the minimum value of 22.0 F mg/kg and the maximum of 935.0 F mg/kg. This results from the development of industry and a widespread use of fluoride-supplemented caries prevention products which contributes to an intense accumulation of these substances in vertebrates, predominantly in mineralized tissue., (Copyright© by the Polish Academy of Sciences.)

The following research describes the influence of a metallurgical ash dump on both the soil environment and the atmosphere. Soil samples were collected along a line positioned on an unprotected, hazardous ash dump and extended into the adjacent, arable land. Three soil depths were sampled at 0-20-, 20-40- and 40-60-cm depth intervals, and in each sample, pseudo-total concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Ti, Zn, Li, Sr and V were analyzed. Additionally, emissions of CH 4 and CO 2 were measured at each sampling site. All emission measurements were taken in the same day, and the duration of gas measurements in each place was six minutes. The results demonstrate elevated concentrations of Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn on dump surface and along its margins, where the maximum concentrations of these elements are, respectively, 82, 23, 1144 and 8349 mg kg -1 . Obtained results exceed several times both the natural background values and the values typical of local soils in the southern Poland. Moreover, natural background values for Fe, Mn, Ni, Li, Sr and V were exceeded, as well. Along the sampling line, no methane emission was detected, whereas the carbon dioxide flux varied from 7 to 42 g m -2  d -1 . The reconnaissance study of the ash dump revealed a high contamination level of soils with heavy metals, which, together with the changes of soil environment, may cause migration of pollutants into the adjacent areas and, consequently, may generate hazard to the environment and, particularly, to the living organisms. Hence, further studies are necessary in order to evaluate the soil quality and the leaching of heavy metals from the dump.

Industrial waste sites, although extremely difficult to revegetate, may be suitable for rare plants such as Orobanche lutea that are condemned to extinction due to their low ability to compete in their natural habitats. The presence of potentially toxic metals seems to facilitate the expansion of O. lutea (parasitizing Medicago falcata) and was found in hundreds of exemplars per m 2 in south Poland and potentially could spread to other localities, causing yield loss in agricultural plants. The main aim of this research was to characterize the interaction between the host, the parasitic plant and symbiotic microbes under different metal concentration in the substratum. The parasite was more common on more polluted soil and when the parasite was connected to the host, potentially toxic metals (Zn, Cd and Pb) were shared by both plants; thus, the content and concentration of these potentially toxic metals in the host were lower than those in plants without parasites. While the performance index (PI ABS ) of photosynthesis was lower in parasitized plants on control soil, on metal-rich industrial waste soil, PI ABS was higher in the parasitized plants than in cases where M. falcata grew alone. This result suggests a role of this parasite in toxicity attenuation, although the biomass of parasitized plants and those growing on polluted sites was lower than that in control sites. In the described case, mycorrhizal colonization and arbuscular richness in M. falcata were even more highly developed on polluted sites than in control ones. The data presented support the hypothesis that the expansion of O. lutea is most likely supported by the increased concentrations of Zn and Cd in areas connected with industrial waste. Although, on industrial wastes the host yield was decreased in the parasite presence, its photosynthetic capacity was even increased., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this work was to determine the uranium concentration ((234)U, (235)U and (238)U) and values of the activity ratio (234)U/(238)U in soil samples collected near phosphogypsum waste heap in Wiślinka (northern Poland). On the basis of the studies it was found that the values of the (234)U/(238)U activity ratio in the analyzed soils collected in the vicinity of phosphogypsum dump in Wiślinka are in most cases close to one and indicate the phosphogypsum origin of the analyzed nuclides. The obtained results of uranium concentrations are however much lower than in previous years before closing of the phosphogypsum stockpile. After this process and covering the phosphogypsum stockpile in Wiślinka with sewage sludge, phosphogypsum particles are successfully immobilized. In the light of the results the use of phosphate fertilizers seems to be a major problem. Prolonged and heavy rains can cause leaching accumulated uranium isotopes in the phosphogypsum stockpile, which will be washed into the Martwa Wisła and on the fields in the immediate vicinity of this storage., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)