Spent coffee ground is a massively produced coffee industry waste product whose reusage is beneficial. Proximate and ultimate and stochiometric analysis of torrefied spent coffee ground were performed and results were analyzed and compared with other research and materials. Spent coffee ground is a material with high content of carbon (above 50%) and therefore high calorific value (above 20 MJ·kg⁻¹). Torrefaction improves the properties of the material, raising its calorific value up to 32 MJ·kg⁻¹. Next, the phytotoxicity of the aqueous extract was tested using the cress test. The non-torrefied sample and the sample treated at 250 °C were the most toxic. The sample treated at 250 °C adversely affected the germination of the cress seeds due to residual caffeine, tannins and sulfur release. The sample treated at 350 °C performed best of all the tested samples. The sample treated at 350 °C can be applied to the soil as the germination index was higher than 50% and can be used as an alternative fuel with net calorific value comparable to fossil fuels.

Tea waste as a potential biofuel and bio fertilizer was analyzed. Samples were collected from various tea species and torrefied to five different temperatures. All samples were analyzed for their proximal composition and calorific value. From the results, stoichiometric properties were calculated. A phytotoxicity test was performed, and the germination index was measured. Tea waste torrefied at 350 °C may be suitable biofuel reaching the calorific value of 25–27 MJ kg⁻¹, but with quite a high share of ash, up to 10%, which makes its use technically challenging and may lead to operating issues in a combustion chamber. The same biochar may be a suitable fertilizer for increasing the germination index, therefore, applicable to the soil. The non-torrefied sample and the sample treated at 250 °C are not suitable as fertilizers for being toxic. The total phenolic content in waste black tea was reduced from 41.26 to 0.21 mg g⁻¹, depending on the torrefaction temperature. The total flavonoid content was also reduced from 60.49 to 0.5 mg g⁻¹. The total antioxidant activity in the non-torrefied sample was 144 mg g⁻¹, and after torrefaction at 550 °C, it was 0.82 mg g⁻¹. The results showed that black tea waste residues have the potential for further use, for example, in agriculture as a soil amendment or as a potential biofuel.

A significant amount of waste is generated in the food industry, which is both an environmental and an economic problem. The recycling of this waste has become an important area of research. The processing of grapes produces 20–30% of the waste in the form of grape pomace and stalks. This article assesses the fuel values of these materials before and after torrefaction. The input materials were grape pomace samples from the varieties Riesling (Vitis vinifera “Welschriesling”) and Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera “Cabernet Sauvignon”) from the South Moravia region and stalks from the variety Welschriesling. The torrefaction process was performed using a LECO TGA 701 thermogravimetric analyzer under nitrogen atmosphere at set temperatures of 225 °C, 250 °C, and 275 °C. The residence time was 30 min. Elemental analysis, calorific value, and gross calorific value were determined for all samples. The analyses show a positive effect of torrefaction on fuel properties in the samples. Between temperatures 250 °C and 275 °C, the carbon content increased by 4.29 wt.%, and the calorific value increased with the increase in temperature reaching a value of 25.84 MJ·kg⁻¹ at a peak temperature of 275 °C in the sample grape pomace from blue grapevine.