As a fuel, biomass differs in its properties from fossil fuels and acquisition thereof for energy purposes is limited; hence, the ongoing search for new bioenergetically useful plants. The article presents the results of physical and chemical analyses of seven species of perennial grasses: tall wheatgrass, tall wheatgrass ‘Bamar’, brome grass, tall fescue ecotype, reed canary grass, giant miscanthus, and sorghum. The research involved technical and elemental analysis as well as analysis of the ash composition performed in order to determine their potential use for combustion process. The measurement results were compared with those obtained for hard coal and agricultural biomass, which is widely used in the energy industry. The results suggest that perennial grasses can successfully be combusted with similar performance to coal if burned in appropriate combustion installations.

The extrusion-cooking technique may be used to convert the common bean into functional food products. There is still insufficient information on the properties of extruded beans. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of extrusion-cooking conditions on the pasting properties of two...

The aim of the study was to assess the potential of organic wastes from the agriculture and food industry as co-substrate for biogas production, on the basis of physical and chemical parameters analysis and biogas yield in the process of methane fermentation. The experimental material consisted of carrot pomace, kale by-products and maize silage. Methane fermentation was conducted in bioreactors equipped with an automatic control and measurement system. The study indicated correct physicochemical properties in terms of high content of dry organic matter and also correct C/N ratio. That was reflected in high biogas yields which amounted to, respectively, 558 N dm³kg⁻¹VS⁻¹for carrot pomace and kale by-products, and 526 N dm³kg⁻¹VS⁻¹for maize silage. The study showed that the intensity of biogas production was varied and depended on the composition of fermented mixtures. Methane fermentation of organic waste mixtures significantly increased the amount of biogas efficiency compared to the fermentation of individual substrates. The successful run of the experiment indicates that a mixture composed of carrot pomace and kale by-products is a good substrate for the production of biogas.