No abstract

No abstract

Regarding the price of meat product filling in comparison with the negligible cost of the collagen casings, whole roll of the casings is discharged only on suspicion of a small cut during handling. Once the casings are designed to be biologically resistant, they represent relatively problematic waste that is nowadays rather transported to landfills. This represents a significant cost; once the role is opened, it becomes extremely voluminous. The long-term study that was carried out on a commercial scale assessed two methods of utilization: composting of highly disintegrated casings and composting of charred casings. Robust qualitative and financial analysis revealed that the composting of charred casings was more meaningful both from agrochemical and financial point of view.

The abandonment of coal energy plants in the near future will result in a substantially reduced availability of the coal fly ash broadly used as an efficient supplementary material. In line with the growth of alternative and renewable energy resources, the amount of biomass-based ash rises substantially. Nevertheless, a diverse chemical composition prevents a broader utilization of biomass-based fly ash compared to coal ash on an industrial scale. On this account, the present work is aimed at investigating the basic physical and mechanical properties of concrete mortars modified by a high volume of biomass fly ash (BFA) from wood combustion. Delivered results confirm a significant potential of BFA in the building industry. Experimental analysis of concrete mortars with BFA reveals preservation or even improvement of compressive and bending strength up to 30 wt.% cement replacement. On the contrary, higher dosages induce a gradual decrease in mechanical performance. The performed Life Cycle Assessment analysis reveals the perspective of BFA incorporation taking into account environmental issues considering the ratio between preservation of mechanical performance per normalized endpoint environmental score that allows a direct comparison with other alternatives.

No abstract

This paper focuses on compost use in overpasses and underpasses for wild animals over roads and other similar linear structures. In this context, good quality of compost may result in faster and more resistant vegetation cover during the year. Inter alia, this can be interpreted also as reduction of damage and saving lives. There are millions of tones of plant residue produced every day worldwide. These represent prospective business for manufacturers of compost additives called "accelerators". The opinions of the sale representatives' with regards to other alternatives of biowaste utilization and their own products were reviewed. The robust analyzes of several "accelerated" composts revealed that the quality was generally low. Only two accelerated composts were somewhat similar in quality to the blank sample that was produced according to the traditional procedure. Overlaps between the interests of decision makers on future soil fertility were weighed against the preferences on short-term profit. Possible causes that allowed the boom of these underperforming products and the possible consequences are also discussed. Conclusions regarding the ethical concerns on how to run businesses with products whose profitability depends on weaknesses in the legal system and customer unawareness are to follow.

No abstract

Grape seed oil is recognized for its high quality bioactive compounds, however, these are sensitive to increased temperatures during manufacture. Technical and economical potential of the pretreatment in combination with the mixture of hydrolyzing enzymes have been analyzed. It was confirmed that the shockwave pretreatment significantly enhances the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis, which subsequently better liberates the vacuoles rich in oil (without exceeding the temperature limitation). The assessment of oil yields achieved together with the holistic cost analysis indicates that this technology has significant technical potential. Admittedly, it still faces difficulties linked with increased cost of production.