This study examines the process of groundwater purification from heavy metals through the control of high-frequency ozone generators using a sensor network. The use of high ozone concentrations allows for effective removal of heavy metals from water. The goal is to enhance the efficiency of the purification process by automating it through ozone generator control. The initial ozone concentration starts at zero and gradually reaches 2 mg/L over time. The initial concentration of heavy metals is 10 mg/L, and due to the impact of ozone, it is reduced to 0.2 mg/L. The sensor network ensured real-time adjustment of ozone levels, optimizing the process. As a result, purification efficiency increased by up to 60%. In addition to removing heavy metals, this method allowed for up to 20% energy savings. The modeling enabled prediction and optimization of the system's operational parameters. Controlling the ozone concentration through sensor networks helped maintain process stability. The results demonstrated the significant role of ozone in the water purification process. This technology is important as an eco-friendly and efficient solution, offering possibilities for energy saving and water quality improvement. Automation of the system reduces human intervention and optimizes the process.

Hydrotransport equipment of mining and processing plants has a low operational reliability, insufficient working resource due to intensive hydroabrasive wear of working surfaces of pipelines and pumping equipment, drawbacks in the design of some nodes of groundwater pumps and their operation. Significant hydroabrasive wear of the main element of the ground pump design, the impeller, causes additional disturbing dynamic forces, which leads to increased vibration of the unit and, consequently, to its premature failure. Until now, insufficient attention has been paid to the influence of water abrasion of the impeller on the service life of their units and their service life. The paper analyzes the manifestation of cavitation wear of parts of the flowing part of groundwater pumps, outlines measures to reduce cavitation by favorable conditions of fluid intake into the pump and reducing the vacuum suction height. A number of measures of technological and constructive decision, decrease of harmful influence of cavitation are also offered. Materials for manufacturing parts of the centrifugal soil pump with high performance and high service life have been selected and analyzed. These alloys showed high corrosion resistance due to their high chromium content. The ways of improvement of the centrifugal soil pump parts design, allowing to increase the resource of their work, to create an automated system of diagnosing the condition of the construction as a whole are outlined. On the basis of the analysis of wear of parts of a centrifugal soil pump the improved designs of an armored disk with a replaceable disc and a composite impeller with improved indicators of wear resistance and maintainability are developed, allowing to increase their service life, to reduce the cost of spare parts and to reduce the repair period. The influence of wear and tear of centrifugal soil pump parts on its operating parameters has been determined; the dependence of pump head and pumping capacity on the volume of pumped hydro-abrasive mixture has been established. © 2023, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan. All rights reserved.

Adverse environmental conditions, including drought stress, pose a significant threat to plant survival and agricultural productivity, necessitating innovative and efficient approaches to enhance their resilience. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recognized as key elements in regulating plant adaptation to drought stress, with a notable ability to modulate various physiological and molecular mechanisms. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the role of miRNAs in drought response mechanisms, including abscisic acid (ABA) signaling, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification, and the optimization of root system architecture. Additionally, it examines the effectiveness of bioinformatics tools, such as those employed in in silico analyses, for studying miRNA-mRNA interactions, as well as the potential for their integration with experimental methods. Advanced methods such as microarray analysis, high-throughput sequencing (HTS), and RACE-PCR are discussed for their contributions to miRNA target identification and validation. Moreover, new data and perspectives are presented on the role of miRNAs in plant responses to abiotic stresses, particularly drought adaptation. This review aims to deepen the understanding of genetic regulatory mechanisms in plants and to establish a robust scientific foundation for the development of drought-tolerant crop varieties.

This study investigates the efficacy of high molecular weight hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) solutions in enhancing oil recovery under high salinity conditions. The viscosity values of 0.25 wt.% HPAM solutions in 250 g∙L─1 brine with high content of divalent cations (Ca and Mg) were found to range from 11.5 to 12.6 cP for both 10% and 30% hydrolysis polymers. The displacement of 420-cP oil from sand pack models showed that injecting 3 pore volumes (PVs) of polymer solutions significantly increased the oil recovery factor, with an increment of 16─28% after the injection of 1 PV of water. The results of fractional flow calculations, along with sand pack flooding experiments, suggest that the oil recovery factor measurements are most likely overestimated by roughly 10%. An explanation for this is the plugging of pores by high molecular weight polymers. In fact, as the molecular weight increased from low to medium high and super high, it required the assumption of a much higher viscosity to achieve a fit between fractional flow predictions and actual polymer flood results. These findings highlight the potential of high molecular weight HPAM solutions to enhance oil recovery in high salinity environments and underscore the importance of using both sand pack flooding experiments and fractional flow calculations for comparing different polymers.

Providing safe drinking water to people in developing countries is an urgent worldwide water problem and a main issue in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. One of the most efficient and cheapest methods to attain these goals is to promote the use of slow sand filters. This review shows that slow sand filters can efficiently provide safe drinking water to people living in rural communities not served by a central water supply. Probably, the most important aspect of SSF for developing and less-developed countries is its function as a biological filter. WASH problems mainly relate to the spread of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. The surface and shallow groundwater in developing countries around urban areas and settlements are often polluted by domestic wastewater containing these microbes and nutrients. Thus, SSF’s function is to treat raw water in the form of diluted wastewater where high temperature and access to nutrients probably mean a high growth rate of microbes and algae but probably also high predation and high efficiency of the SSF. However, factors that may adversely affect the removal of microbiological constituents are mainly low temperature, high and intermittent flow rates, reduced sand depth, filter immaturity, and various filter amendments. Further research is thus needed in these areas, specifically for developing countries. © 2023 by the authors.

The saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), a keystone migratory species of the Central Asian steppes and deserts, is increasingly threatened by habitat fragmentation due to the rapidly expanding transport infrastructure in Kazakhstan, which hosts approximately 95% of the species’ global population. This study provides a spatial assessment of railway and road infrastructure across the contemporary ranges of the Betpaqdala, Ustyurt, and Ural saiga populations. Using the literature and our field data from the 1980s to the present day, combined with geographic information system (GIS)-based analysis of 80,427 km of roads and 4021 km of railways, we have quantified infrastructure densities and identified critical barriers to saiga migration using kernel density and minimum convex polygons (MCP) estimations. The results reveal a negative connection between infrastructure density and occurrences of saiga herds, particularly in the Ustyurt population, where a high railway density coincides with severely reduced migratory activity and a reduction in this population’s winter range by 79.84% since 2015. Major railways such as Sekseuildi–Zhezqazgan, Zhezqazgan–Zharyk, and Shalqar–Beineu intersect essential migratory pathways and have contributed to significant range contraction, subpopulation isolation, and northward shifts in seasonal habitats. In contrast, the Ural population (subject to minimal railway infrastructure interference) has shown robust demographic recovery. While roads are more widespread, their impact is less severe due to greater permeability. However, upcoming projects such as the China–Europe transit corridor and the “Center–West” regional development corridor could amplify future threats. We recommend immediately implementing wildlife-friendly infrastructure, including overpasses and ecological corridors, to preserve the connectivity of saiga ranges and support the long-term conservation of this ungulate species. © 2025 by the authors.

The article considers the assessment of the transfer of pollutants by the state of pollution of snow cover and soil to rank the study area by degree of pollution (2018–2020). The object of the study is one of the major megalopolises of the country ― the territory of Almaty agglomeration (AA) with a total area-939.5 thousand hectares. The area of the agglomeration includes 188 settlements of Almaty region, the center of which is the city of Almaty, includes parts of five administrative districts of Almaty region: Karasai, Talgar, Ili, Enbekshikazakh and Zhambyl, as well as cities of Kaskelen, Kapshagai, Talgar and Yesik. Assessment of the degree of pollution of the territory of the Almaty agglomeration is calculated one of the characteristics of soil and snow cover (SC) pollution, which are the total pollution index (Zc), which is determined by the degree of accumulation of the pollutant compared to the background point. Analysis of pollution of the AA area according to the values of metal concentration ratios for 2018–2020 showed that the largest contribution is copper, zinc and lead in the soil, while for SC mainly cobalt, nickel, copper and lead, which were also several times higher than the limit standards. Cartographic ranking of the territory of the AA showed that relatively high total pollution levels of SC were observed in 2020 in the areas that were most exposed to pollution from sources such as CHPP-2, power plants, household stoves, coal-fired and motor vehicles. According to the total values of soil pollution AA territory is characterized by a high level of pollution, and the territory of Almaty, according to the existing gradation, refers to a very high level of pollution in all the years studied. © 2023, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan. All rights reserved.

Disposal of spent drilling fluid at uranium deposits using flocculants is a process of cleaning and neutralizing spent drilling fluid in order to minimize its negative impact on the environment. The development of a plant for the disposal of spent drilling fluid in uranium deposits using flocculants is an important task, since the spent drilling fluid contains various contaminants, including heavy metals and radioactive elements, which can harm the environment. The use of flocculants in this process improves disposal efficiency, as they are able to remove solids and other contaminants from the drilling fluid, which reduces its toxicity and reduces the amount of waste released to the surface. The development of a plant for the disposal of used drilling fluid should include several stages, such as the selection of suitable flocculants and determining their optimal dosage, the development of a dewatering and solid waste recovery process, and the selection of appropriate equipment and technologies for the process. In addition, the design of the plant must take into account compliance with local regulations and environmental regulations, as well as ensure the maximum efficiency and economy of the process. The result of the study is the creation of a useful model for the disposal of waste drilling fluids, which relates to the field of disposal of waste drilling fluid accumulated during the construction of technological wells for underground leaching of uranium ore.

Being home to over 6,000 plant species, Kazakhstan is a world leader when it comes to biodiversity hotspots, and nearly 150 plant species of medicinal value are on the verge of extinction. According to the Red Book of Kazakhstan (2021), there are 42 species of medicinal plants in Kazakhstan that are "endangered" and "critically endangered," the main reason for which is loss of habitat (55%), over-harvesting (30%), and climate change (15%). Aiming for a comprehensive conservation plan, this research focuses on the site of major distribution areas of endemics such as Rheum tataricum and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, constructing a living gene bank with more than 1,000 seed specimens, and enhancing local community participation. It also suggests creating more stringent legislation to curb illegal harvesting and increasing protected territories to 20% by the year 2030. Preliminary findings suggest that the execution of this approach can guarantee the survival of 80% of the target species within the decade.

In this research paper, the problem of studying the effectiveness of ozone in the process of water treatment was considered. In the course of the scientific work, a review of domestic and foreign literature was conducted; its advantages and disadvantages were considered. The research paper presented the theoretical and practical methods of water purification with ozone. The main factors influencing the efficiency of the technology in the process of water purification were also considered. It was established that as a technological method of water purification, the efficiency of the ozonation process includes not only the cost of electricity, but also the efficiency of its mixing, ozone dissolution in treated water. In addition, special attention is paid to the final stage of mixing the ozone-air mixture with treated water. From the results obtained, it can be seen that after primary ozonation, the concentrations of chromium, oxidation of permanganate, iron, petroleum products, metal ions and other pollutants significantly decreased. During further water purification, organic and inorganic pollutants are removed in the future (completely or up to the requirements of the standard). However, calcium, magnesium, sulfates, chlorides, pH value, alkalinity and hardness practically do not change. The water quality after primary ozonation according to bacteriological indicators met the requirements of the standard. © 2023,Journal of Ecological Engineering. All Rights Reserved.