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The volatility of raw material prices and the rising prices of CO2 emission allowances when using fossil fuels to produce electricity and heat are still relevant problems for owners of generating units. The decision-making tools are used in the fuel purchase process. However, these tools should also consider environmental issues. The article’s main objective is a quantitative analysis of the potential for reducing costs associated with supplying and using hard coal in public power plants as a result of considering the costs of environmental protection and CO2 emission allowances in the process of planning this fuel supply. A mathematical model was developed to optimize the supply of hard coal for the power industry. The tool and elaborated research scenarios made it possible to calculate and analyze the impact of considering the costs of emissions of harmful substances into the environment and CO2 emission allowances on the planning of coal supplies and the reduction of costs related to acquiring and using coal by public power plants. The calculation results were presented on the example of the Polish power sector. The model’s results confirm that the appropriate selection of coals, taking into account the quality parameters determining the amount of emissions of harmful substances, reduces the amount of these emissions and the total costs of acquiring and using coal in electricity production. However, depending on the considered scenario, the scale of this impact varies. The results of the optimization of coal supplies to power plants and their proper interpretation may constitute an important contribution to making management decisions in energy companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned underwater vehicles which use biomimetic mechanisms are becoming increasingly useful in the realisation of tasks requiring silent and efficient propulsion. Complex fish kinematics are simplified to some extent and implemented in such vehicles. One of the essential fish behaviours is their ability to adjust their buoyancy using a swim bladder. This paper covers the issues concerning the implementation of artificial swim bladders as well as depth regulators in two underwater vehicles: biomimetic and hybrid. The control of vehicle depth through buoyancy change was examined in the computer simulation and in the experiment. Two types of artificial swim bladder were tested – a rigid cylinder with a piston and an elastic container with a water pump.

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For much of the last two decades, the Central and East European (CEE) economies have experienced a deep structural reform, moving away from a socialist economic system towards a market economy. The political situation of the second half of the 20th century had a significant impact on the economic development and competitiveness of these transition countries, when compared with their Western European counterparts. A vast number of studies have been conducted to analyze the structural changes required for resource-dependent economies to achieve long-term development and to understand the synergies between commodities and diversification. Yet, the dynamics of resource extraction and the resource dependence of regions that have experienced periods of sustained levels of growth have largely been overlooked, especially the Central and Eastern European region. In this context, this article presents an analysis of the level of resource dependence of six countries which joined the European Union between 2004 and 2007. Using data spanning from the year 2000 to 2017, we calculate the Extractives Dependence Index (EDI) of six former Soviet satellite nations and one former Soviet state. Our results indicate that the commodity structure of trade in the six countries which joined the European Union has changed considerably. These countries have reduced their economic dependence on extractive resources by developing their high value-added and technology-intensive sectors. Our findings also reveal that Poland experienced the highest decrease in EDI scores among the six CEE countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a mathematical model of the heat and mass transfer processes for a rotary-spray honey dehydrator with a heat pump and a closed air circuit. An analytical calculation model, based on the energy balance equations of the dehydrator and heat pump, was used to model the transient dehydration process of honey in a dehydrator. The presented article includes a different approach to modelling both the dryer and the heat pump assisting the drying process. The novel quality of this study lies in the use of original equations to determine the heat and mass transfer coefficients between honey and air and using an actual model of a cooling unit to model the honey dehydration process. The experimentally verified calculation algorithm enables an analysis of the effects of air flow rate, mixer rotation speed, and cooling unit power on the efficiency of the drying process. The dehydrator calculation model was used to minimize the drying time by selecting the optimal evaporative temperature values of the cooling unit. For fixed mixer speed and air flow rates, optimal values of evaporation temperatures allow for 8–13% reduction in honey drying time and an increase in the specific moisture extraction rate (SMER) by 4–32%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]