During the last few years, we have witnessed more frequent floods affecting the northeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the valley of the Spreca River. Flooded soil has undergone various changes, in terms of numerous deficiencies and heavy metal contamination, where such soil represents a great danger both for people and animals. Therefore, in this paper the physicochemical analysis of soil and degree of pollution is determined. The aim of soil sampling and analysis is to determine its status after water withdrawal, in terms of nutrient supply, and to determine possible chemical pollution. Based on the results obtained, agricultural producers will receive recommendations regarding restoration of production on these areas, the choice of cultivated culture, corrective measures or remediation of these areas. As part of the analysis, hygroscopic moisture, acid-base soil status, oxidoreduction potential, organic matter content, carbonate content and heavy metals content were determined. Based on the performed analyzes, the soil was shown to be of neutral character (determined in 1M KCl), and weakly alkaline (determined in distilled H2O) with predominantly reducing condition prevailing in the soil. The conducted analyzes have shown that the soil is very poor in humus, and that the heavy metals content is within the limit values determined by the Rulebook on Determination of Allowed Quantities of Harmful and Dangerous Substances in Soil and Method of Testing there of (“Official Gazette of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, number 52/09). Therefore, from the aspect of the pollution degree, the soil from this plot belongs to the first class when it comes to iron, manganese, cadmium and lead, to the second class when it comes to zinc, and the third class when it comes to copper.

During the last few years, we have witnessed more frequent floods affecting the northeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the valley of the Spreca River. Flooded soil has undergone various changes, in terms of numerous deficiencies and heavy metal contamination, where such soil represents a great danger both for people and animals. Therefore, in this paper the physicochemical analysis of soil and degree of pollution is determined. The aim of soil sampling and analysis is to determine its status after water withdrawal, in terms of nutrient supply, and to determine possible chemical pollution. Based on the results obtained, agricultural producers will receive recommendations regarding restoration of production on these areas, the choice of cultivated culture, corrective measures or remediation of these areas. As part of the analysis, hygroscopic moisture, acid-base soil status, oxidoreduction potential, organic matter content, carbonate content and heavy metals content were determined. Based on the performed analyzes, the soil was shown to be of neutral character (determined in 1M KCl), and weakly alkaline (determined in distilled H2O) with predominantly reducing condition prevailing in the soil. The conducted analyzes have shown that the soil is very poor in humus, and that the heavy metals content is within the limit values determined by the Rulebook on Determination of Allowed Quantities of Harmful and Dangerous Substances in Soil and Method of Testing there of (“Official Gazette of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, number 52/09). Therefore, from the aspect of the pollution degree, the soil from this plot belongs to the first class when it comes to iron, manganese, cadmium and lead, to the second class when it comes to zinc, and the third class when it comes to copper.

The effect of the initial concentration of Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, and Pb metal ions from multicomponent solutions on the sorption capacity of natural and acid activated bentonite was examined in this paper. The acid activation was performed by using hydrochloric and sulfuric acid at different concentrations. The results of adsorption research have shown that bentonite can be effectively used as an adsorbent for the removal of metal ions from multicomponent solutions. Acid activation of bentonite changes the structure and content of individual oxides, increases the porosity and the number of available spots for the adsorption process. For this reason, the bentonite removal efficiency increased after acid activation for all heavy metals tested. With increased acid concentration, the degree of bentonite adsorption increased, and sulfuric acid rather than chloric acid showed better results in removal efficiency.

Wastewaters from the galvanization process contain high concentrations of heavy metals representing a great danger to human health as well as to the environment. Heavy metals in the galvanization process are used in the coating process, whereby the coatings of certain metals are formed. The treatment of wastewaters generated by the galvanization process can be conducted by a number of methods, however, today more research is being done on processes which are efficient, economical and cost-effective, but environmentally acceptable. One of those techniques is adsorption. The adsorption process of Cd2+, Ni2+ and Cr2+ions from galvanization water using brewer’s grain as the adsorbent, at different pH values and adsorbent granulation of 0.5 mm is analyzed in this paper. The percentage of moisture and ash was determined, and the FTIR analysis was performed confirming the presence of certain functional groups. Based on the obtained values, it has been shown that the brewer’s grain can be successfully used as a natural adsorbent to remove Cd2+, Ni2+ and Cr2+ ions from galvanization waters, and also that high level of efficiency is obtained at all analyzed pH values. The analysis has also shown that the affinity of adsorbents to Cd2+, Ni2+ and Cr2+ ions is in correlation with physical and chemical properties, but that the best removal efficiency is achieved at the pH 4 value

Biosensors are nowadays a powerful alternative to conventional analytical techniques for controlling the quality of not only natural water but also process water used by the food industry during the production process, as well as wastewater prior to release into natural watercourses. The goal is to provide the required quality and safety of water from the standpoint of heavy metal contamination. The basic and most important characteristics of biosensors are high sensitivity, short response time, specificity, and relatively low production cost. Biosensors can detect the presence and measure the content of various toxic substances (pesticides, heavy metals, etc.) not only in water but also in food. Detection of contaminants, primarily heavy metals in water used in food production processes, is a potential area of biosensor application in the food industry. Biosensors can be adapted for direct and continuous (online) monitoring by measuring certain analytes that can affect the quality and safety of water. This chapter will give an overview of the development and application of biosensors in order to control the quality and safety of water from the standpoint of the presence of heavy metals.

The problem of environmental pollution is more expressed and more present by the development of the industry and the growth of the human population. Pollution of natural and wastewater is most often due to the release of heavy metals into watercourses. The greatest challenge for researchers is choosing the right biomass from a large number of low-cost biomaterials, and availability and price are very important selection factors. Microbial biomass, forestry waste and agroindustrial complexes are most frequently examined, as well as various macromolecules of natural origin. In this paper, barley straw that arises as agricultural waste product in barley production in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was used as a biosorbent. In the experimental part, physical and chemical characterization of  barley straw was performed, after which the efficiency of removing Cd(II) and Ni(II) from aqueous solutions, using barley straw, and the influence of process parameters (pH value of aqueous solution, biosorbent size, interaction of metal ions) on the biosorption capacity were tested. It can be concluded that barley straw has good adsoption characteristics for the use as a low-cost natural sorbent for the removal of heavy metals from water.

In this paper, two different groups of liquid soaps were prepared. The first group of samples consisted of anionic surfactant (SLES), amphoteric surfactant (BETAIN) and nonionic surfactant (DEA). The second set of samples consisted of anionic surfactant and two nonionic surfactants. The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of the type of surfactant as well as the mass fraction of surfactants on the physicochemical properties of liquid soap. The surface tension, electrical conductivity and density for different concentrations of all examined type of surfactants have been determined as well as the critical micelle concentration (CMC). Moreover, the studies have shown that by increasing concentrations of zwitterionic (amphoteric) surfactant, and by decreasing concentration of nonionic surfactant, a mild decrease in pH value and viscosity increase occurred. In contrast, with increasing polyglycoside concentrations and decreasing concentration of DEA, a mild increase in pH but a decrease in viscosity was observed. In order to monitor the stability of the liquid soaps obtained, the appearance, color and odor were observed at three different temperatures at +4°C, room temperature and at + 40°C, in the dark and under UV light during the three months.

The forms of finding heavy metals in clear natural water is usually different because of the different ionic strength, different metal concentration, different anions and cations concentration as well as high concentration of organic ligands. Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) was applied to determine the concentration of heavy metals in Modrac Lake and their speciation. Physical and chemical parameters of water quality and ionic strength were determined. Inorganic speciation was determined by a software programme HIDRA/MEDUSA. Examination of heavy metal traces and their form in water enabled a more detailed insight into their behaviour, bioavailability and toxicity. The mechanism of interaction was explained in the function of all relevant physical and chemical parameters. Keywords--inorganic speciation, lead, copper, zinc, DPASV

Summary The term "nano" refers to nano particle size from 1 to 100 nanometers. The term "nanotechnology" was first introduced by Norio Taniguchi in 1974. Nanotechnology may be used to improve the taste and texture of food and for the production of packaging that maintain fresh product. The primary function of packaging is to maintain the quality and safety of products during transport and storage period, as well as to extend its viability by preventing unwanted effect agents such as microorganisms, chemical contaminants, oxygen, moisture and light. The aim of this paper is to point out the achievements of nanotechnology in terms of food packaging with an overview of polymers that are commonly used in food packaging, as well as strategies to improve the physical properties of polymers, including mechanical strength, thermal stability and barrier to gases. By studing of recently published literature, it was clear that nanomaterials such as nano polymers are trying to replace conventional materials in food packaging. Nanosensors can be used to prove the presence of contaminants, microtoxins and microorganisms in food.

The content of the some ingredients, such as proteins, ash, etc. is important in food products, either they are present in raw materials or in final products. As wheat is also very important food raw material, and flour as the fi nal product of milling, it is important to know their specific physical – chemical properties. The importance of knowing the physical and chemical properties of wheat and flour is due to the determination of quality and kind of fl our which is produced after milling process. In this work, some physical – chemical properties are determined and some comparations of characteristics were performed in both wheat and flour. Characteristics that were observed in this work are moisture content, ash content, protein content, Zeleny sedimentation value, gluten content and water adsorption values. On the base of results obtained in this work, some conclusions are made that could be useful for milling industry.