Rising global food demand amid climate change presents unprecedented challenges for modern agriculture. The spread of phytopathogens and the degradation of agroecosystems necessitate the development of innovative plant protection solutions. Traditional chemical pesticides are losing their effectiveness due to the emergence of resistant pathogens and their adverse environmental impacts, thereby intensifying interest in biological control methods. This study examines the integration of metagenomic analysis and phototrophic biotechnology as a promising approach to biocontrol. Metagenomics enables the precise identification of phytopathogens and beneficial microorganisms, laying the groundwork for the development of targeted biopesticides. Phototrophic microorganisms, including microalgae and cyanobacteria, exhibit antimicrobial properties and contribute to the restoration of soil ecosystems. The convergence of these technologies offers opportunities to form adaptive microbial consortia that ensure the long-term sustainability of agroecosystems. The paper discusses key challenges, including data processing complexities, the scalability of technologies, and regulatory barriers, and underscores the need for standardized methodologies and interdisciplinary collaboration. The integration of metagenomics and phototrophic biotechnology represents a promising direction for creating environmentally safe and sustainable agricultural production systems.

The frequency method is currently recognized as the most technically and economically feasible approach for controlling alternating current electric drives. However, systems employing frequency-controlled electromechanical setups with stator circuits, while offering extensive capabilities, present a more intricate challenge for voltage frequency regulation compared to systems utilizing rotor circuits. This complexity arises from the fact that the power of a thyristor frequency converter is comparable to that of electric motors. Consequently, there is a pressing need in contemporary electromechanics for the development of innovative circuit solutions to regulate the performance of flow transport systems. This study aims to design a two-motor electric drive for the mechanisms of flow transport systems with medium to high power, aiming for improved energy efficiency. As a result of this study, it was found that utilizing a cascade circuit in a dual-motor electric drive, along with an additional power source in the rectified rotor current circuit, enables the synchronized rotation of two motors. This synchronization can be achieved not only with identical nominal parameters but also with differing power and synchronous frequency of rotation. The primary advantages of this coordinated rotation approach in a twin-motor electric drive using a cascade scheme include the ability to adjust the power factor of the machines and reduce the power transferred to the control circuit by the thyristor frequency converter, thereby enhancing the reliability of the electric drive’s power components. Furthermore, by regulating the rotation frequency of two AC motors, it becomes feasible to enhance overall energy efficiency. © 2024 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.

Keeping the sustainability concept in view, a green, biocompatible, eco-friendly, and advantageous nano-composite was fabricated by impregnation of chitosan derived from waste shrimp shells onto Magnesium oxide nanoparticle (MgO) for exploiting in acenaphthene (ACN) removal from wastewater resources. The tested nanocomposite showed a high potential for ACN adsorption at pH 5.5. The thermodynamic evaluations laid the spontaneity nature of the process (∆G ≤-25.93 kjmol−1) bearing a ∆H value of 12.701 kjmol−1 which shows a favorable physisorption phenomenon. Kinetic evaluations demonstrated that the studied adsorption system conforms to pseudo-first order model to a greater extent. Other kinetic evaluations (Dumwald–Wagne/ Boyd model) revealed the important role of film diffusion in such an adsorption system, especially in the initial stages of the process. The equilibrium scrutinization under isothermal conditions displayed that the process has proceeded via mono-layer adsorption with a qmax value of 116.88 mg/g (at 298 K), for which Langmuir model showed a high goodness-of-fit. Overall, the new green adsorbent was highly advantageous in removal of ACN, and hence it is worth to be checked for the possibility of removing similar contaminants from polluted agricultural wastewater resources. © 2024 The Authors

This study presents an innovative approach to processing refractory zinc-bearing clinker using microwave thermal treatment followed by acid leaching. Microwave irradiation induces phase transformations, converting sphalerite (ZnS) to zincite (ZnO), and generates microcracks that enhance clinker porosity and reactivity. These changes significantly improve zinc dissolution during sulfuric acid leaching. Key parameters—acid concentration, temperature, solid-to-liquid ratio, and leaching time—were optimized, achieving a zinc extraction of 92.5% under optimal conditions (40 g/L H2SO4, solid-to-liquid ratio 1:4, 600 °C, 5–7 min) compared to 39.1% without pre-treatment. Thermodynamic analysis confirms the higher reactivity of ZnO, driven by favorable Gibbs free energy and exothermic reaction characteristics. These findings demonstrate the potential of microwave processing to intensify hydrometallurgical processes, offering energy efficiency and environmental benefits for industrial zinc recovery. © 2025 by the authors.

The article considers ways and directions of increasing energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of functioning of geotechnological complexes at open-pit mines, gives substantiation, supported by specific examples, of expediency and conditions of transition to process management based on in-depth analytics with appropriate digitalization, information support and automation, reveals the effectiveness of using the method of simulation modeling in the process of formation of digital analogues for solving this set of problems. The paper notes the fundamental importance of adequate consideration in modeling, design and planning of mining transportation works of specific mining-technical, mining-geological, mining-geometric, organizational and mining-economic conditions of operation of geotechnological complexes. On the example of one of the quarries the potential and possible directions of increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost of mining transportation works are revealed. The economic effect is achieved by optimizing the modes and conditions of operation of the main technological equipment, resulting in the reduction of diesel fuel consumption and environmental emissions. The main conclusion in the article is the expediency of transition of enterprises with an open method of development of mineral deposits to the process approach in the management of functioning of geotechnological complexes with appropriate information support. Copyright © 2023, Authors. All rights reserved.

Along with the evolution of renewable energy technologies and some other systems such as electric vehicle, demands for batteries as storage unit has increased. Keeping the temperature of batteries in a specific range is necessary to have reliable performance and prevent degradation. In regard to the enhanced thermophysical specifications compared with pure heat transfer fluids, nanofluids would be attractive alternatives for them in thermal management of batteries. The purpose of this article is to identify the impact of using nanofluids for thermal management of batteries as heat transfer fluid with improved properties and evaluate the impactful factors in their cooling performance both as direct coolant or operating fluid of heat pipes as cooling mediums. In this regard, this article reviews the studies implemented on the thermal management of batteries by use of nanofluids. Reduction in maximum temperature of battery packs and temperature difference, due to elevation of heart transfer as a consequence of increment in the thermal conductivity, are the most remarkable outcome of using nanofluids for battery thermal management. Although nanofluids could be advantageous in term of heat transfer intensification, increment in the pressure drop can be one of the disadvantages in conditions of using liquid flow. In cases of using nanofluidic thermal mediums like heat pipes, the enhancement in the cooling performance can be attributed to some other factors, e.g. increase of nucleation sites for promotion of two-phase heat transfer, as well as thermal conductivity elevation. Concentration of the nanomaterials, operating conditions, specifications of the solid phase are among the most significant items in the effectiveness of the cooling techniques with nanofluids. In design of nanofluidic thermal management units of batteries, the mentioned influential factors must be taken into account to reach the optimal performance. © 2025

he aim of this study is to determine the effect of changing the ratio of components in the composition of two-component xLi2TiO3 − (1-x)Li2ZrO3 ceramics on structural distortions and degradation of strength and thermal parameters under high-dose neutron irradiation. The assessment of structural changes was carried out using the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) method, which is one of the most accurate methods that allows for a quantitative and qualitative assessment of structural changes caused by irradiation, as well as determining the concentrations of various types of defects depending on the irradiation fluence. It was found that in the case of two-component lithium-containing ceramics, the resistance to accumulation of radiolysis products is due to the effects of the presence of interphase boundaries that inhibit the formation of radiolysis products. According to the qualitative assessment of the EPR spectra, it was established that in the case of two-component ceramics, the formation of HC2 – centers occurs at higher irradiation fluences (above 5 × 1020 neutron/cm2), while for one-component ceramics, the formation of radiolysis products is observed at irradiation fluences above 1019 neutron/cm2. In this case, a comparative analysis of the concentrations of defects formed in the damaged layer and their evolution indicates an increase in resistance to defect formation processes due to a change in the ratio of components in the composition of two-component ceramics. The improved stability of two-component ceramics against disordering and defect accumulation is attributed to grain boundaries, which act as barriers to oxygen vacancy migration and defect clustering. © 2025 The Author(s)

This article describes R&D connected with the technology of production of building materials using waste of the mining and metallurgical industry. The subject of research are mill tailings, as well as backfill and reinforcement mixtures with and without addition of tailings. The object of research are physical and mechanical properties, and features of curing of the test mixtures in the conditions of natural humidity. The characteristics of the initial materials, compositions of backfill and reinforcement mixtures, and their physical and mechanical properties were determined using standard techniques, and the physicochemical properties were identified from the X-ray diffraction analysis and infrared spectroscopy. Phases were specified on diffraction device DRON-3M, and the chemical analysis used X-ray fluorescent spectrometer EDX-8000. The granulometry was determined using three methods: sieve analysis by multifrequency screener MSA W/D-200 Kroosh Technologies Ltd.; diffraction analysis by laser particle size analyzer Helos-KR with Quixel add-on; dispersion analysis by a dry powder dispersion unit. Toward the industrial and ecological safety, the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of waste from some large mines in Kazakhstan are described, and the environmental damage of the mining industry waste is investigated and taken into account. Mill tailings of a processing plant of a mining company in the Republic of Kazakhstan are analyzed. Some technologies are proposed to manufacture dry building mixtures and aerated concrete using mineral processing waste. The use of manmade mineral feedstock in manufacture of dry building mixtures and aerated concrete allows total substitution of carbonate and silica components, and saves consumption of Portland cement. The technical and economic effect of application of the developed compositions as masonry, finishing and polymeric materials for the building industry of Kazakhstan totals 329–2700 Tenge/m3 of mixture. The technology of no cement porous concrete manufacture uses a binder represented by burnt and ground lime from furnacing of carbonate-bearing waste. The binder is used jointly with a silica component — tailings of rare metal and complex ore processing, containing silicon dioxide. The technology of manufacture of aerated concrete using tailings is aimed at achieving: required thermal–insulating properties at the average dry density not higher than 500 kg/m3, structural–thermal–insulating properties at the average dry density of 500–900 kg/m3 and structural properties at the average dry density of 900–1200 kg/m3. © 2024, Ore and Metals Publishing house. All rights reserved.

The article provides the basic foundations of the implementation of sustainable development approaches in the world society and their interpretation in mining activities. The study also analyzes the regulatory framework and organizational mechanisms for the implementation of these principles in the Ukrainian mining industry. An analysis of the current state of rational subsoil use and solid industrial waste management in Ukraine is given. The concept of a mining cluster and prospects for its formation in the region of the Kryvyi Rih iron ore basin are substantiated. An algorithm designed to optimize the schedule of mining operations in the mining cluster is described. The Ingulets iron ore deposit was analyzed from the standpoint of integrated development. The reserves of talc shale extracted from the open-pit and stored in a man-made deposit for further sale are separately allocated. The order of mining works for the development of man-made deposits is given. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

The problem of preservation, and optimal demonstration of it to local residents and tourists of architectural monuments, is of constant scientific and public interest. Two concepts coexist in dialectical interaction: conservation to preserve the monument in the form in which it has come down to in our times, and restoration of the monument with the restoration of lost details. In each case, one or another decision is made, which finds both supporters and opponents. One of the aspects of this problem is the attitude to buildings that have long breaks in the history of conduct in their construction works. An interesting example of such a monument is the mausoleum-khanaka of Ahmed Yassawi in Turkestan, which remains unfinished. Given its importance for the self-determination of the culture of modern Kazakhstan, it seems appropriate to consider the planned design, which remains unrealized. For the first time, the article suggests, by way of discussion, several options proposed by the authors for solving the main facade of the mausoleum-khanaka and the shape of the central dome. © 2023 by the authors.