Advances in Science and Technology Vol. 165

Abstract: Climate change has further exacerbated long-standing water use conflicts in the Lake Velence catchment area in Hungary. The lake is the ecological, social and economic central element of the area, with water scarcity as water levels having fallen to record lows in recent years due to severe summer droughts. As a result of infrastructure developments in the 20th century and the significant waves of immigrants in recent decades, the lake and its surroundings have been heavily modified, transformed into an artificial waterbody, while land and water use has significantly altered. Besides these negative effects on water resources and the lake’s water level, settlements in the catchment area have become the top solar energy producers per housing in Hungary in recent years. The aim of this research is to identify and develop a possible inter-basin water recharge solution that meets societal needs based on the suggested development ideas formulated in questionnaire responses. A sustainable alternative of these solutions is pumping from a nearby catchment, that was evaluated in detail. Based on ecological considerations, a multi-criteria analysis summarizing nearly 100 water quality and quantity parameters was developed to ensure that water supply meets qualitative requirements. To ensure economically sustainable operating costs, the nearby solar capacities were used for pumps operation and energy storage. For energy demand and carbon emissions reduction, the uphill pumping was complemented with a downhill turbine hydropower recovery system. Several scenarios of the pumped water recharge system were considered and hydrodynamically optimized in Matlab. The return on investment of the inter-basin pumped water replenishment systems were evaluated as well as the carbon emissions to assure additional economic benefits and low carbon-footprint. A bottom-up methodology with large scale stakeholder involvement that assesses social needs and applies well-balanced the three pillars of sustainable development, can achieve a Pareto effective displacement even during the development of a water replacement system at the catchment level and beyond, on an inter-basin level. With a comprehensive methodology developed for pumped water recharge from an external catchment using existing renewable energy sources, the deteriorating social atmosphere and ecological conditions caused by climate and land use changes may be improved. In the meantime, even economic benefits can be increased, all with a low energy demand and carbon footprint, in a sustainable way.

Abstract: The former regional municipal solid waste landfill owned by the Local Government of Dunaújváros; Hungary located next to village Kisapostag. The first part of the recultivation of this territory was begun in 2010 and was finished in 2012. In this case study, ten-year changes in concentrations of some groundwater pollutants such as ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and some heavy metals such as arsenic and nickel are presented. The recultivated municipal solid waste landfill is covered with a temporary top closing layer, on the top are plants, mainly grass according to 20/2006. (IV. 5.) KvVM decree on landfill and certain rules and conditions related to landfill [4]. The environmental protection authority obliged the municipality to build the final waterproofing top layer at the landfill by June 30, 2025. In our opinion, this is completely unnecessary, as the temporary barrier layer fully fulfils its function. The landfill is far from populated areas and has not caused any environmental pollution or damage. The construction of the final upper waterproofing layer would cause extremely high costs for the local government.

Abstract: Waste materials (WAS) have recently been recycled into the environment and are materials that come to the fore in terms of both cost and environmental use. The waste material used in this study is a type of material classified as waste in a local textile factory due to the raising process, which cannot be converted back into textile. In this study, the effects of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 40% waste raising on the mechanical and physical properties of the composite samples produced by combining them with epoxy were investigated. For comparison purposes, fabric reinforced samples made in previous studies were considered as reference samples. WAS 10 sample is the sample where the tensile strength value reaches its maximum. In the impact test results, the WAS 10 sample absorbed 1.63 times more energy than the WAS5 sample (1.3 J) that came after it, with 2.12 J. The WAS5 sample reached a hardness value of 205.067 in the microhardness test, 3.45% better than the WAS10 sample. Overall, it has been determined that the composite obtained from this waste material, which cannot be recycled into textile products, can be used as an alternative to interior plastics in the automotive industry.

Abstract: The scourge of tonnes of waste generation from municipal, industrial, and medical facilities, among other sources, is a serious concern, significantly the increase in disposal through landfills, incineration, and others, which may pose further health and environmental challenges. In our work, we intend to study the characteristics of foam glass made from hazardous waste incinerator slags (HWIS) and waste bottle glass with 1.5%wt SiC used as foaming agents. Varying percentages (10%wt, 20%wt, 25%wt) of slags were sintered with waste bottles (88.5%wt, 78.5%wt, 73.5%wt). The increase in the height of the green samples with temperature rise, properties of the produced foam glass-like thermal conductivity (0.04-0.135W/mK), effusivity, water absorption (31.93%-98.67%), and compressive strength (3.92-5.61MPa) were checked as well. Our results gave great possibilities for the applicability of slags as secondary raw materials for foam glass production with good thermal insulating characteristics and other physical properties relevant to the expectations of construction materials.