International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

The steam distillation is the most frequently method for production essential oil from fresh medicinal and aromatic plants. This paper compares an existing with an innovative solution of the substance flow system which is used for production essential oils from the biomass of lavender, juniper, immortelle, chamomile, etc. In order to improve the effectiveness of the distillation process as well as the quality of extracted essential oils, most often used substance flow system was reconstructed. The existing solution of distillation equipment was improved with two innovations. The first one refers to the supply of steam from upper side into the distillation unit, and the second is the technical solution of the condenser. The new distillation equipment was produced in domestic company, and analysis of produced essential oil from immortelle was compared with oil produced with classic distillation method. The analysis showed the improvement of the quality of the essential oil produced with new distillation unit.

Greening the building envelope is innovative technology in architecture that can regain losses of a natural environment in dense urban areas. Implementation of green living systems, greening horizontal surfaces with intensive and extensive green roofs or using vegetation in vertical greening systems for façades is a strategy that provides ecological, economic and social benefits and it is a sustainable solution for improving the environmental balance of cities limiting the major negative effects of urbanization providing better comfort at both building and urban level. The potential to provide external and internal sound insulation due to their high mass and absorption through the surface, reducing and control of noise pollution in urban areas, was investigated trough various studies. There are several situations in which noise reduction due to green living systems’ sound absorption should be considered important, such as buildings near to roads, rail or air traffic noise sources. The configurations of the systems, substrate thickness, and vegetation layer, are important factors affecting the sound absorption and sound propagation properties of these systems. This review paper presents findings from different research conditions and approaches, to explore the importance of green living systems considering the impact on noise mitigation and acoustic aesthetics of the environment.

There are many variants of solar collectors on the market with their advantages and disadvantages. The innovative solution of solar thermal collector has been done to increase efficiency and improve design. The new constructive solution presents good combination of an attractive design and appropriate constructive materials with special geometric shapes. Hydraulic and thermotechnical tests of this collector showed high hydraulic and structural stability. The main disadvantage is selective electrochemical coat and further development of the solar collector will be in order to improve observed disadvantages.