The aims of the study were (a) the determination of the physicochemical characteristics of properties of pellets made of shredded residue from hay, wheat straw, and their blend at a ratio of 50:50, and (b) the determination of a mathematical model of pellet durability, using a response surface method. Tests were conducted according to applicable standards. As a result of thermal changes during the pressure agglomeration process, the material moisture content of pellets had slightly decreased versus raw three biomasses by 0.50% w.b. (wet basis) to a final value within the range of 5.56–5.87% w.b. The pellet properties of the blend were not adequately represented by the arithmetic mean of their components. Pellets made of hay, straw, and their blend, had DM (DM—dry matter) specific densities of 1034, 974, and 1102 kg m⁻³, respectively. The densities showed correlation with calorific values (r = 0.637), which were in the range of 16.07–17.00 MJ kg⁻¹. The pellet durability coefficient correlated negatively with particle size and biomass moisture content. On the basis of previous conclusions, a non-linear mathematical model was formulated to account for the pellet durability coefficient relative to pellet moisture, and the relation of particle sizes and specific density to pellet bulk density.

Plastic packaging of food products has a significant impact on the sustainability of the food industry and trade. The article presents selected problems surrounding the production of plastic packaging for food storage and distribution that might cause disruptions in the implementation of sustainable production. An important question regards the extent to which the industry that produces this packaging complies with the sustainability requirements. The present work consists in an investigation of the problems observed in a plastic packaging manufacturing company located in Poland, which is part of a global corporation. Plastic waste management was analyzed and compared with the requirements of a closed loop economy. The quantities of raw material processed and the quantities of waste in the defined period were analyzed. During the analyzed period, 0.05% of the monthly production was non-recyclable waste. The quality of raw material seems to be responsible for the majority of wastes. Therefore, the important role of SAP (Systems Applications and Products) in the use of lower quality batches of raw material is indicated. On the other hand, a possibility of converting the wastes into liquid or gaseous fuels is suggested. In addition, the paper investigates the efficiency of machine use in a film bag production line in a three-shift system. Process losses were analyzed and reliability indicators such as overall equipment efficiency (OEE) and its components, mean time between failures (MTBF), and mean failure repair time (MTTR) were determined. The monthly OEE values for each change individually exceeded 80%.

The paper concerns the analysis of harmful emissions during the combustion process in households. The subject of the analysis is a low emission heating device with an output of 50 kW for burning biomass of forest origin (low-quality hardwoods or softwoods). The proposed boiler is automatically fed from the connected container by means of a screw conveyor. In this way, the optimum amount of fuel is supplied for maximum heat output (adjustment of the ratio of primary air to fuel). The proposed biomass heating system is equipped with a primary and secondary air supply system and exhaust gas sensors. This ensures optimal regulation of the air mixture and efficient and clean combustion. Proper control of the combustion process, control of the air supply by means of a lambda sensor and power control of the system ensure a low-emission combustion process. The system precisely adjusts to the heat demand. This results in highly efficient heating technology with low operating costs. In the presented work, the emission of exhaust gases from the proposed heating device during the combustion of woodchips and beech–oak pellets were measured. It is demonstrated that the proposed design of the boiler equipped with intelligent control significantly reduces emissions when the biomass solid fuels are used, e.g., CO emissions from beech and oak chips and pellets in the low-emission boiler—18 extract pipes shows the value <100 ppm, which is even lower than when gas is burned in the other boilers; on the other hand, the pine chips show even higher emission when burned in the low-emission burner. Consequently, the choice of biomass source and form of the fuel play some role in the emissions observed.

The aim of this study was to investigate the pressure agglomeration process of wheat straw (WS) and the blends of WS with calcium carbonate (CC) or cassava straw (CS) with a ratio of 6% wt./wt. from seven separate fractions with sizes in the range of 0.21–2.81 mm. The agglomeration was performed at a moisture of 30% wb and a material temperature of 78 °C, with a dose of 0.1 g, in a die of diameter 8 mm and height 80 mm. The effects of the process were evaluated based on the compaction parameters and the pellets’ density, tensile strength, and water absorption. The incorporation of additives into the WS improved the pellet process and quality. Refined results were achieved after adding CC, as compared to those achieved after adding CS, and the preferred particle size was in the range of 1.00–1.94 mm. This was because, under the given conditions, the back pressure in the die chamber significantly increased, allowing the achievement of a single pellet density of 800 kg·m⁻³. The pellets were resistant to compressive loads and cracked only at tensile strength of 6 MPa and a specific compression work of 6.5 mJ·mm⁻². The addition of CC to the WS improved the strength of the adhesive and the cohesive bonds between the particles. The water absorption for the uncrushed pellets was considerably less than that for crushed pellets, which results in the safer storage of uncrushed pellets and excellent moisture absorption of crushed pellets. The addition of CC to the WS offers benefits in the form of pellet strength with a high water absorption capability. Notably, a study of crushed pellet litter under broiler rearing conditions and an analysis of the operational costs of using WS additives are required for implementing this study.

The transport sector is one of the main barriers to achieving the European Union’s climate protection objectives. Therefore, more and more restrictive legal regulations are being introduced, setting out permissible limits for the emission of toxic substances emitted into the atmosphere, promoted biofuels and electromobility. The manuscript presents a computer tool to model the total energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of vehicles with an internal combustion engine of a 2018 Toyota Camry LE. The calculation tool is designed in the OpenModelica environment. Libraries were used for this purpose to build models of vehicles in motion: VehicleInterfaces, EMOTH (E-Mobility Library of OTH Regensburg). The tool developed on the basis of actual driving test data for the selected vehicle provides quantitative models for the instantaneous value of the fuel stream, the model of the instantaneous value of the carbon dioxide emission stream as a function of speed and the torque generated by the engine. In the manuscript, the tests were conducted for selected driving cycles tests: UDDS (EPA Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule), HWFET (Highway Fuel Economy Driving Schedule), EPA US06 (Environmental Protection Agency; Supplemental Federal Test Procedure (SFTP)), LA-92 (Los Angeles 1992 driving schedule), NEDC (New European Driving Cycle), and WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Vehicle Test Procedure). Using the developed computer tool, the impact on CO₂ emissions was analyzed in the context of driving tests with four types of fuels: petrol 95, ethanol, methanol, DME (dimethyl ether), CNG (compressed natural gas), and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).