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Abandoned mine lands are a common element of the contemporary landscape. In administrative practice, they are rated low, yet they are of interest to informal users and scientific and cultural communities. The aim of our research was to identify the possibilities of using qualitative research methods, applied in architecture, to create friendly, urban spaces with a universal character in the areas of abandoned quarries.The study was conducted in the Sadowa G ora quarry area in southern Poland, using the post occupancy evaluation (POE) method. The results of the conducted analysis confirm the effectiveness of the POE method in restoring abandoned mine lands to an economically usable state by surveying users' opinions on accessibility, functionality, and visual quality. The applied methodology was used as effective support for the transformation process of post-mining areas and as a tool to optimize the costs of their reclamation and maintenance.

Concerns about climate change, energy security, and the diversification of energy supplies have made renewable resources increasingly more attractive and important sources of energy. As interest grows, bioenergy (energy from bio-based sources) is becoming more environmentally friendly and economically viable and has started to play a more prominent role in the global energy mix. In this changing market, wood pellets have emerged as a sustainable source of power with the potential to become a mainstream fuel in the future energy market. Pellets are currently the most economical way of converting biomass into fuel, and they are a fast-growing component of the energy sector. Pellets can be made from various types of biomass including industrial waste and co-products, food waste, agricultural residues, and virgin lumber, which are compressed under high pressure. Among these, wood pellets are the most common, and they generally are made from raw trees, wood shavings, compacted sawdust, industrial wastes from the milling of lumber, manufacture of wood products and furniture, and construction. The wood pellets available on the market are sold as fuel (heating and grilling) or as absorbents for animal bedding. But while the wood pellets are a fast-growing component of the energy sector and important tool in fight with global warming, it is important to understand influence of wood pellet quality on combustion emissions, and how their usage impacts human health and environment. Thanks to wood pellet industry efforts, especially in the North America and European Union, many of the wood pellets follow rigorous production procedures, and certification. However, there are still some manufacturers that do not use the same production scrutiny, which can result in poorer quality of their pellets. Our research show that in some extreme cases these uncertified wood pellets contain more than 20 percent of impurities. While some of those contaminants are so big that can be visible even without microscope the majority of the contaminants are of micrometer size and can be detected and identify only under a microscope. While the current standards test the quality of pellets based on a variety of physical and chemical properties, some impurities in pellets (glass, plastic, metal, ceramics, coal, and coke) are not easily identified this way. Our research shows that reflected light microscopy can be successfully used to identify and quantify those contaminants. Although  reflected light microscopy technique is a well-known and widely used method allowing examination of various materials, this is a novel application for pellet fuels.

Thirty-one batches of commercial charcoal from various regions of Poland and Germany were tested for the presence of twenty toxic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Elements that are toxic to living organisms were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). They were classified as elements representing a very high degree of hazard (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Pb), high degree of hazard (Zn, Ba, Cr, Mn, and Mo), moderate degree of hazard (Co, Ni, Sn, and Te), and a low degree of hazard for living organisms and the environment (Ag, Bi, Ce, Se, Sr, and Zr). When it comes to the most toxic elements, the highest concentration in the whole tested material was recorded for Cu. In addition, considerable amounts of Ba, Mn, and Sr, i.e., elements representing high or moderate degree of hazard, were found in the tested charcoals. Moreover, all charcoals contained a wide range of PAHs, from naphthalene to benzo(ghi)perylene, with concentrations in the range between 12.55 and 3554.11 ng/g of charcoal. In total, 25 unsubstituted PAHs were identified in the charcoal extracts. PAHs distributions were dominated by 5-ring PAHs. The results indicate the high carcinogenicity with ∑PAHcarc/∑PAHtot close to 1, as well as high TEQ and MEQ values. Thus, prolonged exposure to charcoal and charcoal dust might cause serious health problems. This applies to employees actively involved in the production and transport of charcoal, and, to a lesser extent, also to users of this fuel.

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