The resulting Ag–C system formed on a copper substrate is characterized by a highly developed coating thickness from 50 to 550 μm. In the coating, carbon-graphite fiber is present in the form of plates. The coating is an aggregate doped with copper atoms. The change in the concentration ofcopper atoms with a change in the distance from the coating surface to the depth has a positive gradient. The formation of interstitial solid solutions based on copper and silver is confirmed by X-ray phase analysis data. Studies by X-ray microanalysis offoils for transmission electron microscopy showed that copper in the coating is located in the form of thin layers along the boundaries of silver grains, or forms inclusions (grains) of submicrocrystalline sizes. It was established that graphite is present in the form of nanosized (10‒ 15 nm) particles in the volume of silver grains and copper grains, and is also located at the boundaries of silver grains. In the Ag –C / Cu system, the formation of a transition layer with a thickness of 250 –300 nm was revealed. The size of subgrains in the transition layer varies within 150 –250 nm. The obtained set of properties and characteristics of the structure allows us to draw a conclusion about the suitability of the formed coatings for work in electrical contacts of powerful electrical networks. The specific choice of a certain model of contacts requires additional clarifying studies.

The effect of a diffusion coating consisting of boron, chromium and the rare earth element lanthanum on the resistance of 4Kh5MF1S steel to high-temperature oxidation and wear was studied. The thickness of the diffusion layer after the addition of chromium and lanthanum to the saturating composition increased 2.2 times - from 28.2 to 61.5 µm compared with single–component boration. This is due to the fact that the introduction of lanthanum causes distortion of the atomic lattice of iron, increases the density of defects, thereby contributing to the formation of a boride layer. The number of pores and microcracks is greater in the boron layer without the addition of chromium and lanthanum. After the addition of chromium and lanthanum, the boride layer has a higher density and uniformity. In an oxidation experiment at a temperature of 800 ℃ and exposure for 6 hours, the thickness of the oxide layer of samples with a boron-chromium-lanthanum diffusion coating decreased from 68 to 22 µm relative to a single–component boride layer. The analysis of the oxide layer showed that the samples after complex saturation with boron, chromium and lanthanum have a dense and smooth oxide layer, while the samples borated in a single-component saturating medium have cracks and pores. The wear of samples with a complex diffusion layer after saturation with boron, chromium and lanthanum has a lower roughness, the wear marks were shallow, and the tendency of the layer to chip significantly decreased. The addition of chromium and lanthanum in the boration process can significantly increase the resistance of Kh5MF1S steel to oxidation at high temperatures and wear resistance.

This paper presents systematized data on the effect of carbon content in steel on the diffusion parameters and thickness of the boride layer for most carbon steels used in industry, starting with carbon steel 15 and ending with hypereutectic tool steels up to and including U10. Saturation of the steel surface with boron was carried out at temperatures of 850, 950 and 1050 °C using a previously developed and patented saturating medium. An increase in the carbon content in steel leads to an increase in the activation energy of boron diffusion, which in turn leads to a decrease in the thickness of the diffusion layer. At the same time, the decrease in the activation energy is not monotonous and depends on both the carbon content in steel and the temperature of the saturation process. An increase in the temperature of the saturation process leads to a decrease in the activation energy of boron diffusion - on average by 5 kJ/mol for every 100 °C. An increase in the carbon content leads to a decrease in the thickness of the boride layer, and this is most noticeable in the industrially used temperature ranges of boriding - from 950 to 1050 °C. The most significant decrease in the thickness of the boride layer occurs with an increase in the carbon content in the range from 0.35 to 0.50 wt. %. In the ranges of carbon content in steel from 0.15 to 0.35 and from 0.5 to 0.95 wt. %, the nature of the decrease in the thickness of the boride layer can be considered linear.

The Department of Thermal Power Engineering and Ecology celebrates the 90th anniversary of its existence. It is one of the oldest basic departments of the Siberian State Industrial University. The information from the history of the formation and development of the department is given. The main milestones of the department's development, information about educational, methodological and scientific work, achievements of its staff, students and graduates are considered. The range of directions of exploratory, fundamental and applied scientific research conducted by the staff of the department covers the solution of scientific and practical tasks. In 2023-2024 academic year. together with employers, representatives of metallurgical, mining and thermal power enterprises of Kuzbass, new educational programs of higher education have been developed in the following areas: "Ecology and nature management" profile "Geoecology and effective management of natural resources" and "Techno-sphere safety" profile "Engineering environmental protection and environmental technologies". The staff of the department celebrates its anniversary full of energy, creative ideas and promising areas of development.

The results of laboratory studies of decarburization processes of E90HAF grade rail steel when heated to temperatures of 800 – 1250 °C. are presented. The depth of the visible decarbonized steel layer was determined by metallographic method. During laboratory experiments, samples with a size of 10-10 (2 ÷ 26) mm were used. The samples were heated in an electric furnace of resistance SUOL-0.25.1/12.5-I1 with silicon carbide heaters in an air atmosphere. Heating was carried out to temperatures of 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000, 1050, 1100, 1150, 1200 and 1250 °C and kept at a constant temperature for 10, 30 and 50 minutes. Temperature ranges have been established and scientifically substantiated, for which different dynamics of the formation of a decarbonized layer are characteristic. In the temperature range of 800 – (1000 ÷ 1050) °C, an increase in the depth of the visible carbonized layer is observed from 0 to 0.15 – 0.24 mm. At temperatures (1000 ÷ 1050) – 1200 ° C and a holding time of 30 and 50 minutes. A decarbonized layer is formed with a depth of up to 0.57 and 0.72 mm, an increase in temperatures of more than 1200 – 1250 °C is accompanied by its decrease to 0.4 and 0.52 mm. For a holding time of 10 minutes at temperatures of 1200 – 1250 °C, the depth of the decarbonized layer is stabilized at 0.27 mm. The obtained data are recommended for the development of metal-saving temperature regimes for heating continuously cast blanks in methodical furnaces in the production of rail products with a regulated depth of the visible decarbonized layer.

The article is dedicated to the anniversary of the Department of Thermal Power Engineering and Ecology (90 years). The scientific results obtained in innovative areas of technology, including with the participation of the department staff, are presented. The main studies were carried out in the experimental laboratory created during the implementation of the high-tech project "Development of technology and creation of a pilot model of an operating energy-generating complex operating on coal washing waste". Feasibility studies have been developed for the creation of a mini CHPP on coal washing waste from the washing plants of JSC «Kuzbassrazrezugol» and other southern enterprises, the transfer of coal boilers of boiler houses of washing plants (WPP) to water-coal fuel and a business plan for the creation of technological complexes for partial replacement of pulverized coal fuel with water-coal fuel prepared from southern WPP sludge at the thermal power facilities of EVRAZ ZSMK. The article presents the main technological directions developed by the Center of Innovative Coal Technologies (CICT) of SibSIU in the field of coal beneficiation and coal processing related to environmentally friendly methods of utilization of fine coal sludge (FCS) using coal-water fuel (CWF) technologies and agglomeration (briquetting), additional enrichment, oil granulation method, as well as a fundamentally new one - coal oxidation using extreme mechanomechanical and electrophysical effects on coal-water suspension chemistry. The article describes the results of development and creation of local energy sources using gasification of brown and low-metamorphosed hard coals. The possibility of utilization of environmentally friendly ash and slag waste and rock dumps of enrichment plants is shown. The developments of unique equipment of the Central Institute of High Technologies (bi-chamber vibratory mill, reactor-mixer, coarse and fine filters, pump-activator, adiabatic vortex combustion chamber, etc.) for heating and efficient combustion of coal-water fuel based on both coal and FCS are presented. Within the framework of international scientific and technical cooperation, the Institute of High Technologies of the Academy of Sciences of Heilongjiang and the Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology have been signed.

The article presents information on sewage sludge (WWS) of municipal treatment facilities as a promising non-traditional resource for plant nutrition and their use in the reclamation of technogenically disturbed lands. An overview of the use of sewage sludge in agricultural technology for cultivating agricultural crops and as a soil improver during reclamation in Russia and abroad is given, and agrotechnical characteristics of sewage sludge are given. Sewage sludge is solid municipal and industrial waste that accumulates on sludge beds of treatment facilities and in dumps. They contain significant amounts of mineral nutrition elements such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, etc., which makes them valuable fertilizers for growing crops. Their use can significantly reduce or replace the introduction of other fertilizers into the soil. When using sewage sludge as fertilizer, it is necessary to take into account the content of heavy metals, the standards of which differ in different countries. The most stringent requirements for their content have been developed in Norway, especially for such an element as cadmium. The results of the author's field research on the reclamation of iron ore processing waste and iron-containing sludge from metallurgical production are described. The absence of self-overgrowth of technogenic areas, caused by the high phytotoxicity of metallurgical waste, was noted. As a result of the placement of WWS, the physical and agrochemical characteristics of the surface layer of the reclaimed areas of the tailings and sludge storage ponds were improved, and the appearance of grass cover on them was ensured, starting from the first year of placement of this soil improver. Due to the absorption of leachable metals into organomineral complexes, the use of WWS makes it possible to reduce the toxicity of the material on iron-containing waste. The environmental and economic feasibility of using organic waste from urban wastewater treatment plants in agricultural and reclamation practices is substantiated.

The role of the surface relief of the germ centers obtained in the process of jet spraying of wet charge mass in the formation of porosity and structure of iron ore pellets is analyzed. The possibilities of increasing the reactivity of the pelletized metallurgical product due to the formation of open porosity of pellets by the method of jet spraying of iron ore charge onto the surface of the charge garnishing are shown. To analyze the structural properties of the germ mass, a structural correlation factor is proposed that characterizes the relationship between the relative volume of structural depressions on the surface of the deposited charge layer forming the germ mass and the porosity of the embryos. Two areas of structural correlation have been established between volumetric changes on the surface of the embryos and porosity, depending on the structural correlation factor. In the first, most extended region (Ф = 1.0 – 2.4), a linear structural correlation was established between the relief volume changes on the surface of the sprayed charge layer and its porosity. The Pearson correlation coefficient, calculated using the MS Excel program, is 0.99 for this dependence. This area of structural correlation corresponds to a wide range of parameters of the air-charge jet and indicators of charge materials used to produce wet pellets using forced nucleation technology. In the second region (Ф < 1.0), no structural correlation was recorded, characteristic of the first region of the dependence between volumetric changes on the surface of the sprayed charge layer and the porosity of the embryos. This level of structural correlation is due to the predominant effect of the air-charge jet on the deep zones of the deposited layer, which causes a viscous mass flow and an active manifestation of mass-exchange processes in the volume of embryos at elevated pressures of the air-charge current, leading to the formation of open porosity. Examples from the production practice of pelletizing wet iron ore charge are presented, which correlate with the obtained research results. On the basis of the obtained data, the conditions for optimizing the structure of the embryos are formulated, the mechanism for the formation of the structure and porosity of the germ mass in the process of jet spraying of wet charge in the production of iron ore pellets is clarified.

Since 2017, EVRAZ ZSMK JSC has been developing and operating a mathematical model covering all processing stages from ore extraction to final products – SMM Forecast. The model is used to calculate technical cases, plans, and market prices for iron ore and coal, and its use brought more than 200 million rubles of economic effect in 2020 alone. The use of a universal mathematical model made it possible to begin the development of a module for daily optimization of the agglomeration factory and blast furnace production in 2023. The article discusses the experience of EVRAZ ZSMK JSC in the development and implementation of a daily planning system based on the monthly planning model of SMM Forecast. The SMM Forecast system was originally designed for end-to-end scenario calculation of the main raw materials processing from ore and coal to finished products in a volumetric monthly planning. The system uses optimization algorithms to search for a global objective function to maximize margin income within specified limits. The mathematical model of processingt uses the norms and technology specified in the company's regulatory documents. At the same time, the model is universal, and the transfer of algorithms from monthly to daily mode was carried out with minimal modifications. The article also discusses the difficulties encountered and methods of solving these problems. The first problem faced by the developers was the low speed of optimization of the model in daily dynamics due to the strong complication of the optimization load. The calculation time increased significantly, and to solve the problem, it took optimizing the speed of solving equations, setting the boundaries of variables, determining starting points, as a result of which the calculation speed for 30 days decreased to 40 minutes. The second problem was the need to develop a complex algorithm for managing the supply of raw materials. An important aspect was to maintain the usability of the system at the same level for the end user. The result of the implementation of the proposed solutions is a working tool that brings additional income to the enterprise.

The paper presents a comparative analysis of processing of zinc-containing dusts and sludge from blast furnace and steelmaking enterprises in domestic and foreign steel industry. The relevance of the research topic is determined by a significant increase in the zinc content in fine distillates of steelmaking in the last decade due to the increased volume of processing of zinc-containing scrap. The increased zinc content in metallurgical dust does not allow them to be used as additives to the metallurgical charge due to the negative effect on the melting process and melting equipment. As a result, it is necessary to withdraw and store a large amount of valuable iron and zinc–containing man-made raw materials with significant economic losses and additional environmental burden.The analysis of mastered and promising technological processes for the extraction of zinc from fine waste was performed. It seems that the process of isolation of technical zinc oxide during the reduction melting of cast iron in an electric furnace, developed by NUST “MISIS” employees, and a technology including preliminary high-temperature preparation of zinc-containing slurries in a tubular furnace followed by alkaline leaching of clinker and the release of metallic zinc and iron-containing concentrate, developed by the Non-state higher Educational Establishment “UMMC Technical University”, deserve the most attention for improvement and replication and tested in the conditions of Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant JSC. The significant advantages of the latest technological scheme include the possibility of implementing it according to the modular principle and using standard domestic equipment. The estimated capital costs for the construction of a module with a capacity of 100 000 tonnes per year of metallurgical sludge amount to 993.5 million rubles with a payback period of about 3 years.

A comparative analysis of the state of tax system of the Republic of Uzbekistan before and after the implementation of a number of reforms, as well as the achievement of target parameters of tax reform, was carried out. The main directions of the study are the level of tax burden and the balance of tax burden under different taxation systems of economic entities of Uzbekistan, the unification of taxes and optimization of tax reporting, the impact of tax reform on the dynamics of revenue and expenditure parts of the State budget. In addition, the development of regulatory framework for taxation, including legal protection of economic entities during tax administration, and transformation of tax control mechanisms and tools during tax reform were studied. The assessment results of tax reforms impact on the business climate in the country, including on various types of business entities (small businesses, farms, family businesses and others) are presented. The positive consequences of the ongoing reform processes are highlighted, such as increasing the transparency of tax rules, improving administrative procedures in the field of taxation, and reducing the tax burden. It is shown that the improvement of tax collection system, in particular the value added tax, contributed to the alignment of value chain, harmonization of the interests of participants in this chain, and the reduction of number of enterprises using various tax avoidance schemes. Attention is also focused on the fact that certain measures have been implemented to improve the interaction of state bodies with tax subjects, the mechanisms of this interaction have changed, as well as methods of tax control and principles of resolving tax disputes. It is noted that the reform process has not yet been completed and consistent actions are required to transform the tax system in order to further create conditions for the economic growth of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Socio-economic stability of the state as a whole, and of individual regions in particular, is a priority for ensuring the security of the country. It is determined that stability of the economy characterizes the strength and reliability of its elements, vertical, horizontal and other connections within the system, the ability to withstand internal and external "stresses". Social stability in Russia means sustainable development of society, ensuring equal opportunities for all citizens, social protection and support for vulnerable segments of the population, as well as harmonious interaction between various social groups, the main factors characterizing socio-economic stability and ways to ensure it are highlighted. The analysis of the current socio-economic situation in the Kaliningrad Region has been carried out, the main problems have been identified and the potential for further development of the region has been identified. The statistical indicators of the Kaliningrad region on the socio-economic situation in the region, presented in the form of the volume of investments in fixed capital in the city of Kaliningrad, on the development of transport infrastructure, human capital, tourism potential of the region, as well as the results of the implementation of the social subprogram "Creating conditions for an easy start and comfortable running of business", aimed at increasing the number of people employed in the sphere of small and medium entrepreneurship in the Kaliningrad region, are analyzed. The main priority directions of the development of socio-economic policy of the region are reflected: development of the scientific and innovative sphere, ensuring sustainable economic growth, improving the quality and standard of living, development of human capital and the social sphere. 

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of state support measures aimed at the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The current state of SMEs is investigated, and the main obstacles constraining their growth and development are identified. Particular attention is paid to problems related to credit, taxation and access to information resources. The authors review the effective strategies of the Kazakhstani government implemented through national programmes and initiatives and assess their effectiveness based on available empirical data. International experience is also analysed to identify the most effective incentive mechanisms. The paper offers specific recommendations for improving the institutional environment and developing a comprehensive system of support for priority areas of SME development. The importance of creating favourable conditions for innovation and increasing the export potential of enterprises is discussed. The final part is devoted to strategic planning at the state level in order to achieve sustainable socio-economic development.