The goal of the tests was to separate a phosphate concentrate from ash and to assess its fertiliser use efficiency in anthropogenic land. Ash obtained from poultry manure incineration is an interesting fertiliser, as it contains both of the necessary nutrients, i.e., phosphorus and potassium. The ash selected for the tests contained 15.73 wt% P₂O₅, and 6.75 wt% K₂O. CaO also constituted the main component (44.79 wt%). Phosphorus in crystalline form was present as hydroxyapatite and carbonate apatite. The first stage, applied in order to separate a phosphate concentrate from ash, involved a number of physicochemical methods: (i) a method based on grain wettability differences; (ii) a method based on grain density differences; and (iii) methods based on size distribution differences. Wet sieving made it possible to separate a fraction with a P₂O₅ content of 24.56 wt%. The second stage, applied to assess fertiliser use efficiency, involved cassette tests as well as pot and field cultivation using as fertiliser, the obtained product as well as raw ash and commercial ones. Therefore, the conducted research allowed for the development of a methodology for the management of ash from the incineration of a poultry manure and their use as a substitute for phosphorus fertiliser. The tested material was applied in various doses. Using the obtained phosphate concentrate at a dose of 95 g/m³ resulted in a comparable yield as in the case of the commercial fertiliser at a dose recommended by the producer (75 g/m³). Unprocessed ash had to be used in larger amounts, i.e., 165 g/m³, to have a comparable yield as a commercial fertiliser.

Coal consumption secures more than 50% of needs of Polish economy for primary energy carriers and the consumption of hard coal alone amounts 70–80 million Mg annually. Almost 14% of hard coal consumption – up to 11 million Mg per year – fall to households in Poland. Coal combustion in domestic furnaces and boilers is regarded as the main source of emissions into the atmosphere, referred to as the low-stack emission. The matter of the paper is the assessment of the emission of mercury from the households sector as the result of coal combustion. The results of the assessment were collated with GUS data on mercury emission from this sector. A change in the annual emission of mercury from the household sector has been proposed and justified, assuming that the whole low-stack emission of mercury is the result of coal combustion only

The process of identifying and documenting the quality parameters of coal, as well as the conditions of coal deposition in the seam, is multi-stage and extremely expensive. The taking and analyzing of seam samples is the method of assessment of the quality and quantity parameters of coals in deep mines. Depending on the method of sampling, it offers quite precise assessment of the quality parameters of potential commercial coals. The main kind of seam samples under consideration are so-called “documentary seam samples”, which exclude dirt bands and other seam contaminants. Mercury content in coal matter from the currently accessible and exploited coal seams of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) was assessed. It was noted that the mercury content in coal seams decreases with the age of the seam and, to a lesser extent, seam deposition depth. Maps of the variation of mercury content in selected lithostratigraphic units (layers) of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin have been created.

Unburned coal grains make it difficult to use fly ash economically, which causes energy losses in the fuel. The article presents the possibilities of separating unburned coal from selected fly ash. In order to assess the possibility of separation of unburned carbon, the analysis of grain density and ash composition was used. Unburned coal was separated by four methods – one wet gravity and three dry methods. It has been found that despite very fine ash grains, the quality and quantity of separation products are significantly dependent on the separation method used and the separated grains’ qualitative characteristics. The analysis of the coal grains under an electron microscope has revealed that they contain mineral inclusions. Their presence enables selective separation of carbon without first grinding the middling grains. The most advantageous results of the separation of unburned coal were obtained by the electrostatic separation method. Separated coal can be used in high-value carbon applications.