The sixth edition of the Strategic (Basic) Energy Plan until 2030 was published in Japan in October 2021. The primary goal remained the same — to maximize energy independence by reducing purchases of primary energy resources and to increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy balance from 18 % to 36 % relative to 2021 levels. However, these steps are not enough even to reduce purchases of oil, coal and natural gas by about 20% in the coming years. Thus, the issue of restarting the majority of existing nuclear power plants and the construction of new power units come to the fore again, since they are providing most stable energy amidst ongoing market turbulence. Japan has made a lot of efforts to revise the nature of its energy policy in order to find an acceptable balance between abandoning nuclear energy and maintaining basic indicators of energy supply reliability, but these efforts have partly led the country into an “energy impasse” when current demands are partially addressed, but the long-term development of the industry remains a big question. This is especially noticeable given the fact that Japan has made significant commitments to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050, which requires a revision of many benchmarks and a rethinking of strategic documents. The search for answers to this question is the main purpose of this article.

Some results of activities on improving weather conditions (weather protection) in megacities by cloud seeding are presented. The main tasks of the activities were to dissipate clouds and reduce or stop precipitation in the protected area during political, cultural, and sport events. In accordance to the methodological guidelines, four seeding methods are recommended depending on synoptic conditions: the dissipation of stratiform cloudiness; the initiation of premature precipitation on the windward side of the protected area by cloud seeding to form the precipitation "shadow," the intense seeding ("overseeding") of precipitation-forming clouds moving toward the protected area to reduce the efficiency of precipitation formation in them; the dissipation of deep cumulonimbus clouds by the dynamic method. To perform weather protection operations, up to 12 aircraft equipped with measuring equipment necessary for seeding, the "ground-air-ground" data communication system, and cloud seeding means were used. Liquid nitrogen, solid carbon dioxide, silver iodide, and coarse powder were used as reagents for cloud seeding. Ground-based automated weather radar systems were used to control aviation operations and to monitor the results of the seeding. The results of more than 100 large-scale operations on the creation of favorable weather conditions performed in various regions of Russia and neighboring countries indicate the efficiency of the methods and technical means of cloud seeding developed in the USSR and Russia for the artificial precipitation control.

An interesting picture has emerged in the region of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. On the one hand, there are states included in the list of the world’s largest importers of energy resources — India and China. On the other hand, the Central Asian countries, including Russia, are net exporters of energy resources, and this type of export is extremely important for their macroeconomic stability. It is not surprising that the problems of organizing mutually beneficial trade in energy resources within the SCO are among the most urgent for the Organization’s agenda. Nevertheless, there are many disagreements on this issue, some of which have appeared recently, so the analysis and assessment of the energy component of cooperation between the SCO member states is in the focus of this article. It is also obvious that the current practice of multilateral participation in the energy dialogue can also be of great importance in the geopolitical context — as a factor of either additional cohesion or an increase in contradictions within the SCO. A certain role in this sense is also played by external regional actors such as Japan, which faces the permanent task of diversifying the directions of energy imports. Naturally, the SCO member states rich in oil, coal and natural gas (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia) are at the forefront of Tokyo’s energy diplomacy and determine the development of new concepts for promoting Japan’s energy interests in the region of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The article discusses nanosized powdery ice-forming reagents, which are supposed to be used in the works on active action on clouds in order to regulate precipitation and hail suppression, as well as to dissipate supercooled fog. These ice-forming reagents have been obtained by the levilite method, in which a layer of silver iodide is deposited on the surface of nanosilica particles. Description of the methodology for studying the effectiveness of nanosized powdery ice-forming reagents, as well as the results of laboratory studies of their effectiveness obtained in different organizations is given. The results of studies of ice-forming reagents carried out at laboratories of RPA “Typhoon”, High-Mountain Geophysical Institute, JSC “Cheboksary production association n.a. V.I. Chapaev” and ANO “Agency of atmospheric technologies” have shown that the efficiency of these reagents differs significantly from those obtained earlier in the Central Aerological Observatory. It has been suggested that the low efficiency of nanosized ice-forming reagents is due to the high aggregation of the original nanosilicum particles, resulting from the high surface activity of these particles. Possible ways to reduce the degree of aggregation of powders by modifying the surface of the original nanoparticles aimed at decreasing the high activity of the nanosilica particles surface are discussed.

О ПРИМЕНЕНИИ БЕСПИЛОТНЫХ ЛЕТАТЕЛЬНЫХ АППАРАТОВС ЦЕЛЬЮ ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЯ РАБОТ ПО АКТИВНОМУ ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЮ НА ОБЛАКА И ТУМАНЫ С

The electrochemical behavior of amorphous and nanocrystalline soft magnetic Fe 79 P 13 Si 5 V 3 alloy in a 0.1 M Na 2 SO 4 solution has been studied. Mössbauer studies show that the electrochemical characteristics of the alloy are comparable with those of an Finemet Fe 77 Si 13 B 7 Nb 2.1 Cu 0.9 alloy, whereas the studied alloy is inexpensive and can be prepared using natural alloy ferrophosphorus containing vanadium and silicon.

The estimates are presented of the possible level of environmental pollution with reagents resulting from precipitation modification by cloud seeding. It is demonstrated that the amount of reagents (crystallizing reagents based on silver iodide (AgI), cooling reagents, and powder reagents) injected to the clouds does not exceed the level of inflow of these chemicals to the atmosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources. These data and the data on the pollution level in the areas where AgI is actively used, allow stating the extremely low impact of cloud seeding on the environmental pollution. No change in the precipitation regime was detected in the regions adjoining the areas where weather modification experiments on the meteorological protection of megalopolises were conducted.

The effect of the nanocrystallization of amorphous soft magnetic Fe-P-Nb alloys on their electrochemical behavior in a damp SO2-polluted industrial atmosphere is studied. It is shown that their electro-chemical characteristics shit toward positive values when the phosphorus content in the Fe-P-Nb alloys increases and when they undergo nanocrystallization from an amorphous state.

Nanocrystalline soft magnetic Finemet alloys, which are currently used in power electrical engineering and electrical equipment, are alloyed with expensive and scarce metals (Nb, Cu). We searched for low-cost soft magnetic alloys that are comparable with Finemets in the corrosion resistance.

The magnetic properties and Mossbauer spectra of amorphous 2NSR alloy samples are investigated after quenching and after tempering for different times at 520°C. After quenching, the alloy is inhomogeneous. Tempering of alloy samples below the crystallization temperature (540°C) raises the Curie temperature and the mean superfine field at the iron nuclei. Tempering leads to complex changes in the saturation magnetization. The changes in magnetic properties are analyzed.

The study is devoted to the choice of the optimum composition of a soft magnetic amorphous Fe–P–Sialloy, which is comparable with the (Fe77Si13B7Nb2.1Cu0.9) FINEMET alloy in corrosion resistance and is passivated at lower critical currents in a 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution. The alloy can be prepared from naturally alloyed ferrophosphorus.

It is shown that metallurgical scale can be effectively used as a raw material for ferrous metallurgy. Associates of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms are used to remove mineral oil from oiled scale. Experimental results show that the degree of removal of oil from scale by the microbiological method can be 94%. The scale cleaned of oil can be used in pyrometallurgical processes that are ecologically safe for the environment.

This paper examines the electrochemical behavior and structural changes of an Fe-P-V alloy in a 0.1 M Na2SO4 solution modeling a SO2-contaminated humid atmosphere.

The mechanical activation (MA) of a charge of a hard magnetic 22Kh15KT alloy is studied by wet and dry milling in a planetary mill in a medium of argon and ethyl alcohol with addition of surface-active materials and without them. It is shown that, upon dry MA, powder alloy components are alloyed with formation of two bcc solid solutions and, upon wet MA, charge particles are only intensely dispersed. Dispersion is developed at the highest degree in the first five minutes of MA.

The changes in the phase composition and the mechanical and magnetic properties resulting from the nanocrystallization of an Fe 80.2 P 17.1 Mo 2.7 amorphous alloy activated by heat or fast photon (xenon lamp radiation) treatment are compared using X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and hardness measurements. The initial stages of crystallization of the amorphous alloy have been detected.

The properties of the dusts of electric-arc melting in the Severstal’ metallurgical works are studied by X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. The elemental compositions of dust particles of various sizes are determined, and the complex structural composition of iron-containing oxide phases is revealed. It is shown that, in these systems, the carbon reduction of zinc from zincite is possible in the solid state in the temperature range 600–1000°C. In this case, zinc passes into a gaseous phase and iron oxides are reduced to form metallic iron.

A large number of amorphous and nanocrystalline inexpensive alloys have been prepared from ferrophosphorus naturally doped with Si, V, Mn, and C. The alloys appear attractive for use in parts of transformers intended for operation in SO2-contaminated atmospheres. Electrochemical characterization results demonstrate that amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys of the Fe-P-Mn-V system, a part of the Fe-P-Si-Mn-V-C system, are comparable in corrosion resistance to the Fe77Si13B7Nb2Cu1 (Finemet) alloy, doped with expensive, deficient metals in the presence of boron and copper.