Intense economic, social and environmental changes are creating new challenges for both consumers and businesses. Today’s consumer is becoming increasingly conscious of the importance of living in harmony with both ethical standards and the environment. Access to global resources, including utilities such as water, sewage collection, electricity or gas, is so ubiquitous that modern man cannot imagine functioning without them. The aim of this article is to show how the statistical Polish consumer has, or wants to have, an impact on improving the quality of the natural environment by using available resources and technological solutions. The novelty here is the use of the structural equation model (SEM) to build a model of pro-environmental behaviors in relation to the motivating and limiting factors for undertaking such behaviors in Poland. The hypothesis that the statistical Polish consumer undertakes pro-environmental behaviors because of their positive impact on the natural environment was accepted in the study. Due to the complexity of research aspects, a mixed research procedure was applied, in which a literature review was combined with a survey and statistical analysis. For the purpose of the survey, the author’s questionnaire, “Pro-ecological behavior in Poland”, was created. The results of the study confirmed the adopted hypothesis and allowed conclusions to be formulated in which the research questions were answered and factors motivating and limiting pro-ecological activities in Poland were indicated. The factors presented and the model developed can be a signpost for the government of Poland and other European Union countries towards maintaining the current and introducing new reliefs, incentives and education on pro-environmental activities.
Security of supply of water, which meets the quality parameters specified in applicable standards, is now the basis for the functioning of most societies. In addition to climatic, biological, chemical, and physical hazards, it is worth paying attention to consumers’ subjective perception of the quality of tap water supplied in the area of Poland. The article discusses various activities related to water resources management and analyses the results of an evaluation of selected quality parameters of tap water in Poland. A novelty on a European scale here is an examination of the evaluation of these parameters based on potential seasonal differences (spring, summer, autumn, winter). For the first time in the world literature, PROFIT analysis was used to evaluate selected parameters of tap water quality. The aim of the article was to present a model for the evaluation of the parameters of tap water supplied in different seasons of the year in Poland. Due to the complexity of the research aspects, a mixed-methods research procedure was used in which a literature review was combined with a survey and statistical analysis. For the purpose of the survey, an original survey questionnaire called “Survey of customer opinions on selected parameters of tap water supplied in Poland” was developed especially for this study. The conducted research confirmed the adopted hypothesis that the results of evaluation of selected tap water parameters vary depending on the period (spring, summer, autumn, winter) in Poland. The model developed by means of PROFIT analysis makes it possible to highlight to water suppliers the specific quality parameters in particular seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter), which may improve the quality of water supplied in Poland and thus, in the long-term perspective, increase the level of satisfaction of water recipients and confidence in drinking tap water in Poland.
This study addresses the issues of water management safety management in the context of shaping the appropriate level of municipal services in Poland, related to quality standards and the availability of water resources for enterprises and the local community. The literature review presents examples of activities concerning the evaluation of the quality and availability of groundwater and their suitability for domestic and commercial use in the world. The key parameters of water intended for human consumption, which affect its quality, have been selected based on the literature and the Polish standards set out in the regulation. On this basis, appropriate parameters for case-study research were selected. In the following, the analytical methods and tools used to assess water quality were characterized. In the case study example, the analysis of water parameters from selected three different intakes in 2015-2017 (Tęczowa, Stodoły and GPW Rybnik-Północ) was performed and the functioning and role of the internal Water and Sewage Laboratory in the safety management of water economy in the water and sewerage company has been presented.
This paper aims to analyze the economic feasibility of generating a novel, innovative biofuel—bioenergy—obtained from deposit bio-components by means of a pilot installation of sewage sludge bio-conversion. Fuel produced from sewage sludge biomass bears the potential of being considered a renewable energy source. In the present study, 23 bioconversion cycles were conducted taking into consideration the different contents, types of high carbohydrate additives, moisture content of the mixture as well as the shape of the bed elements. The biofuel was produced using post fermentation sewage sludge for industrial energy and heat generation. Based on the presented research it was concluded that the composite biofuel can be co-combusted with hard coal with the optimal percentage share within the range of 20–30% w/w. Sewage sludge stabilized by means of anaerobic digestion carried out in closed fermentation chambers is the final product. The average values of the CO2, CO, NO, NOx and SO2 concentrations in flue gas from co-combustion of a bioconversion product (20% w/w) and coal were 5.43%, 1903 ppm, 300 ppm, 303 ppm and 179 ppm, respectively. In total, within a period of 4.5 years of the plant operation, 1853 Mg of fuel was produced and successfully co-combusted with coal in a power plant. The research demonstrated that in the waste water treatment sector there exists energy potential in terms of calorific value which translates into tangible benefits both in the context of energy generation as well as environmental protection. Over 700,000 Mg of bio-sewage sludge is generated annually in Poland. According to findings of the study presented in the paper, the proposed solution could give 970,000 Mg of dry mass of biomass qualified as energy biomass replacing fossil fuels.
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