A GIS-based approach for evaluating the potential of biogas production from livestock manure and crops at a regional scale: A case study for the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship

In Poland, the promotion of the development of biogas plants was intensified under legal regulations. The potential expansion prompts the need for the assessment of a variety of environmental and geographical constraints as well as technical and economic factors, which ensure socio-economically and ecologically sound biogas development. In this paper, both spatial and non-spatial data were integrated to the GIS model to help determine the optimal sites for installing anaerobic digesters (AD). The focus was placed on animal manure (from cattle and pig populations), and co-substrates such as crop silage. Furthermore, the paper provides insight into the structure of cost and benefits in order to examine what incentive measures suffice to force biogas development and how much biogas feedstock could cost to make investments viable. The techno-economic assessment was carried out for combined heat and power generation and bio-methane injection into the gas grid. The methodology was applied to Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship.     

LIGHT HYDROCARBONS IN SOIL GAS ABOVE PROSPECTIVE OIL‐ AND GAS‐BEARING STRUCTURES: POMERANIAN SYNCLINORIUM,NW POLAND

The occurrence of methane and heavier homologues and unsaturated hydrocarbons was recorded in 226 soil gas samples recovered from a study area in the Pomeranian Synclinorium, NW Poland. Samples were collected at stations located along three survey lines (I–I', II–II’ and III–III') at a 200 m spacing. Concentrations of methane, total alkanes (C₂‐C₄) and total alkenes (C₂‐C₄) reached 13.7 vol. %, 18.4 ppm and 0.56 ppm, respectively. Soil gas alkanes heavier than methane were interpreted to be derived from subsurface hydrocarbon accumulations. These hydrocarbons migrated up into the near‐surface zone along structural discontinuities and fractures which were observed on seismic profiles. The migration rate of hydrocarbons from subsurface accumulations towards the surface was determined by the ethane/ethylene (C₂/C₂₌) ratio. The statistical distribution of the ethane:propane (C₂/C₃) ratio and plots of the C₂/C₃+C₄ and C₁/C₂+C₃ ratios indicated that accumulations of condensate, gas or oil with a gas cap probably occur in the study area. Variations in normalized values of total alkane C₂‐C₄ concentrations allowed surface geochemical anomaly zones to be identified. These anomaly zones were evidence for the occurrence of subsurface hydrocarbon accumulations. Hydrocarbon accumulations are most likely to occur beneath the central part of profile II–II' and may also occur in the SW and NE parts of profile III–III' where both the Carboniferous and the Zechstein Main Dolomite are prospective. In these areas, hydrocarbon accumulations may occur in fault‐bounded anticlinal highs. Surface geochemical anomalies also confirm the presence of a non‐commercial hydrocarbon accumulation in the Main Dolomite which was discovered by the D‐1 well, and the possibility of another subsurface accumulation in an adjacent tectonic block. Soil gas analyses combined with seismic data provide evidence for the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the study area.     

PRESENCE OF NATURAL GAS IN BASINAL FACIES OF THE ZECHSTEIN LIMESTONE IN A COPPER MINE IN SW POLAND

Zechstein (Upper Permian) dolomitic grainstones saturated with high pressure natural gas (including N₂, CH₄ and CO₂) are present in the roof of workings in the Rudna copper mine in SW Poland. Natural gas commonly occurs in Zechstein reefal carbonates but this is the first occurrence of gas in basinal facies of the Zechstein Limestone in Poland. The reservoir dolomites are thin (ca. 1m), with porosity of 2–15% and permeability of less than a few mD. Pore size and pore distribution was analysed using microscope observations, X‐ray computed microtomography, mercury porosimetry and argon adsorption to investigate the dolomitic reservoir interval. The dolomites have variable reservoir properties, and stratigraphic traps with dimensions of several metres are present where high poro‐perm dolo‐grainstones are sealed by tighter dolomites. Geochemical data indicate that the methane and carbon dioxide present are derived from source rock intervals in the Kupferschiefer (Late Permian) and the Zechstein Limestone. The high content of nitrogen in the gas may be related to the thermal decomposition of Carboniferous organic matter. However, a biogenic origin for the nitrogen is also possible.     

ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY OF MIDDLE MIOCENE (BADENIAN – SARMATIAN) SOURCE ROCKS AND MATURATION MODELLING IN THE POLISH AND UKRAINIAN SECTORS OF THE EXTERNAL CARPATHIAN FOREDEEP

The Carpathian Foredeep to the north and NE of the Carpathian orogenic belt in SE Poland and NW Ukraine is divided into internal and external sectors. In the narrow internal foredeep, Lower and Middle Miocene shales, sandstones and interbedded evaporites are tightly folded. By contrast the external foredeep is characterized by the presence of a thick, unfolded Middle Miocene molasse succession. This ranges in thickness from a few hundred metres in the north of the external foredeep to >5000 m in the south, near the Carpathian thrust front. Middle Miocene sandstones in the external foredeep form a major reservoir for biogenic gas at fields in Poland and Ukraine. The Middle Miocene molasse succession in the external Carpathian Foredeep also contains organic-rich intervals which have source rock potential. For this paper, core samples (n = 670) of Badenian and Sarmatian mudstones from 43 boreholes in the Polish sector of the external foredeep were analysed to investigate their organic geochemistry and hydrocarbon potential. Results show that the samples analysed in general have low to fair (but locally high) total organic carbon (TOC) contents which range up 4.6 wt.% although the average is only 0.7 wt.%. Rock-Eval (S₁+S₂) values are poor to fair and the hydrogen index is also low with a mean value of less than 100 mg/g TOC. The samples analysed are dominated by gas-prone Type III kerogen and this is consistent with previous studies of time-equivalent samples from the Ukrainian part of the external foredeep. The organic matter is in general thermally immature and is interpreted to have been deposited in anoxic and/or sub-oxic conditions. However in the Polish part of the external foredeep, thermal maturities may locally reach the initial phase of the oil window where the Middle Miocene source rocks have been buried deeply beneath the Carpathian thrust front. The burial history and thermal evolution of the Middle Miocene succession were reconstructed by means of 1-D modelling at nine boreholes located in both the Polish and Ukrainian parts of the external Carpathian foredeep. The modelling indicated that Middle Miocene source rocks have only entered the initial phase of the oil window locally where they are buried beneath the flysch nappes of the Carpathian foldbelt. At these locations the generation of thermogenic gas may have begun at depths of more than 3 km. However, Middle Miocene source rocks are still immature at depths of >4000 m in some boreholes in the Ukrainian part of the study area. The absence of accumulations of thermogenic natural gas is consistent with the observed low levels of source rock maturity.     

Using the DRASTIC System to Assess the Vulnerability of Ground Water to Pollution in Mined Areas of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin

Abstract  An attempt was made to use the U.S. EPA DRASTIC ranking system to assess the vulnerability of ground water in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Analysis of the various system components indicate that several DRASTIC factors would have to be modified to consider the effects of mining, subsidence, and ground water rebound.     

Hydrogeological and Hydrochemical Characteristics of the Partially Flooded Piaseczno Opencast Sulphur Mine in Southeastern Poland

Abstract.  The basic chemical properties of Tertiary (T) and Quaternary (Q) aquifers near the Piaseczno opencast sulphur mine and the water in the open pit, along with the stratigraphy and hydrogeology of the area, were characterized to assess the feasibility of inundating the mine with ground water. Ground water quality varied markedly in the opencast area. A distinct stratification was noted in the pit water; total dissolved solids, calcium, chloride, hardness, and hydrogen sulphide increased from the top water level to the bottom of the pit lake. The concentrations of SO₄^2- and Cl^- in the opencast water were very high, especially in the hypolimnion zone. Based on our preliminary analysis, it appears that an artificial lake formed in the Piaseczno open pit could be used in the future as a fish and wildlife habitat as well as for recreational purposes.     

基于SWOT分析法下的波兰矿业投资环境分析

本文在研究波兰矿产资源分布及经济发展水平的基础上,利用SWOT分析方法,从政治、经济、劳动力及基础设施等方面,对波兰的矿业投资环境的优势、劣势、机会和风险进行分析。在此基础上构建SWOT矩阵,并提出基于SWOT分析的波兰矿业投资决策,认为投资者应充分利用波兰地理位置优越、矿产资源丰富、矿业技术水平高以及经济状况良好等优势,借助"一带一路"建设发展机遇,把握波兰矿业产业政策,同时尽力规避投资风险,做好风险评估和投资预算等工作。     

Color of the façades of historic buildings from the turn of 19th and 20th centuries in northeast Poland

The article presents the outcome of the research on the façades and woodwork of historic buildings in northeast Poland, carried out by the author in the years 2007‐2018. The need to take such action was justified by intense renovation and construction activity, which contributes to the disposition of historic finishing coats of plaster as well as dilapidated historic windows and doors, at the same time leading to the loss of the original character and the historic value of buildings. The research conducted not only documents the original paint color and plasterwork, but allows for the observation of the dominant trends in architecture coloring at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries in Olsztyn and small towns of warmia‐masuria province. The outcome of the research may help with the restoration and reproduction of the façade polychromy of historic buildings erected at that time.     

Town planning and socialist realism: new Academic District in Wroclaw (Poland) – unfinished projects from the 1950s

Socialist Realism was the standard method in Polish architectural design and urban planning between 1949 and 1956. This was a special period in Polish history – a time of intensive post-war reconstruction, introduction of a planned economy, and creation of a new political and social order. Socialist Realism was undoubtedly a ‘political style’, a tool for communist propaganda. Yet, in urban planning, apart from its excessive monumentality and axial symmetry, it was mostly dominated by universal models. These stemmed from the requirements to create clear compositional systems, use urban areas rationally, distribute housing, industry and commerce complexes functionally, and to pay attention to proper hygiene. Strong emphasis was also placed on the need to build new ‘centrally located social complexes that would dominate the space’ in historic cities, one of which is discussed in this article. The new Academic District was a visionary concept and attempts were made to bring it to life in Wroclaw – the largest city in the so-called Recovered Territories that became part of Poland after the Second World War. Due to the scale of the development, its estimated cost, and the political changes that took place in Poland in 1956, only a small part of the new district was built.     

Constructing a New Polish Architecture： Critical Regionalism and Resistance to Globalization after 1989

This paper explores the critical regionalism which could play a role in the continued development of global era Polish architecture, and the advancements achieved by those few contemporary Polish architects who have sought to combine modern tastes and techniques with culturally meaningful designs. The new culture of Poland is very much reflected in the design of many of its new buildings that have been completed since the political and economic changes in 1989. The architecture of Poland appears to have lurched from an inappropriate socialist modernism that was so horridly imposed during the communist era to an equally inappropriate post modernist hegemony in the new enterprise culture. In accordance with Poland, now is rejection of the centrally imposed system of building and architecture, and with the greater emphasis on individual initiative in the new culture, it seems a pity that the country should automatically adopt western modes of architectural expression. This paper suggests that with its newly founded freedom, Poland should be careful that it does not suffer a loss of identity and that, in its architecture, it should seek a way forward through a critical regionalism.