The circular economy entails the principles of rational waste management to the best advantage. Waste management in the Russian Federation is currently in a reform process, thus it is crucial to choose now the most efficient way for its development. Besides, in addition to general government strategic aims in such a vast country such as Russia, it is very important to take into consideration specific aspects typical of its territories, which will allow determining regional areas of activities. The article analyzes current municipal solid waste management in the Russian Federation. The case study is of one of the regions (Sverdlovskaya Oblast) characterized by some typical and specific problems which illustrate the results of the first stage of reforming. The authors analyzed the existing and planned mechanisms of state regulation in the waste management sector at regional and federal levels, and scrutinized changes in legislation. The development level of the circular economy in the region was determined on the basis of the index method. The life cycle analysis (LCA)-based evaluation approach made it possible to evaluate the economic efficiency of the production and economic activities at different stages of municipal solid waste (waste paper) recycling with due regard to externalities. The research showed that despite the current substantial economic potential of the secondary resources’ (waste paper) reuse, there was a low level of development of the circular economy index. Regional factors hindering and fostering the circular economy development were identified. Recommendations for improving the quality of governance of the municipal solid waste management were formulated.
Abstract.Nowadays, the level of development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Russia lags behind that of the states with advanced economy. Problems with connection to the power supply attributed to prohibitive costs and time-consuming procedures can be distinguished among many other reasons. The aim of this paper is to consider feasibility of applying alternative energy sources to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises through the study of the Sverdlovsk Region. While analyzing local energy sources of the region with due regard to its geographic and climatic peculiarities, we have identified the most promising sources of energy that require state support for their efficient use. Estimation of economic efficiency of the implemented project of alternative energy supply at a small enterprise proves feasibility of using a stand-alone solar panel based energy supply system.
The electrical conductivity, density and surface tension of molten salts containing zirconium fluoride Abstract. The temperature dependencies of specific electric conductivity, density and surface tension of molten LiF-KF-ZrF 4 mixtures in a wide concentration range were investigated using relative capillary method and method of maximum pressure in a gas bubble. The obtained values of molar electric conductivity, molar volumes and excess thermodynamic functions of melt surface layer have noticeable deviations from those calculated for ideal mixtures. This phenomenon can be explained by some specific interaction between the components of studied ternary mixtures. Mixing the components in such melts is accompanied by a noticeable interaction with predominant formation of stable zirconium fluoride complex ions. The values of deviations depend on the ionic composition of the salt mixtures.
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