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The paper presents results of theoretical numerical research dealing with CO and NOx emission performed in the process of optimization of the performance of low-power atmospheric burners. The theoretical part of this paper, whose main goals were better understanding of the complex issues of methodology and establishment of performance prediction and optimization of low-power atmospheric gas burner included numerical variation of independent parameters, such as burner geometry, the coefficients of primary and secondary air and different gaseous fuels including biogas. The findings of theoretically obtained performance prediction and optimization of atmospheric burners were experimentally investigated in purpose built test rigs for a number of variable parameters. The obtained results fully justified the proposed models of performance prediction and burner optimization.

This article presents experimental and numerical determinations of thermal transmittance performed on three different types of window frames (vinyl, aluminium, and wooden) within the same insulated glass unit. Good agreement between experimental and numerical results was attained. Using the numerical models, thermal improvement techniques of the frames and their influence on thermal transmittance of frames were studied. The first thermal improvement technique was using the insulation materials inserted inside large air cavities. By filling the cavity of vinyl frame with the polyurethane foam, thermal transmittance of vinyl frame was lowered by 10%. The second technique was based on repeating the procedure with materials installed inside frames with the materials that have lower thermal conductivity. This technique can be applied on thermal breaks and on steel profiles inside cavities. The result of this thermal improvement (attained by replacing thermal break material with material that has lower thermal conductivity) was certain reduction of the thermal transmittance of frames, by 9%. Using stainless steel instead of the oxidized steel was reduction of the thermal transmittance of vinyl frame by 3%. For the case of wooden frames the influence of shifting glazing unit deeper into profile upon the thermal transmittance of the frame was analyzed. Installing the glass unit by 5 mm deeper into the wooden frame reduced glass thermal transmittance by 5%.

The aim of this research is to study the drying kinetics of vacuum-dried and freeze-dried bee honey produced from two different varieties: Sunflower honey (Helianthus Annuus L.) and Acacia honey (Robinia pseudo acacia L.). Vacuum drying treatments were carried out with the honey samples' initial temperatures of +25 degrees C, -20 degrees C, and -40 degrees C. Water content, total soluble solids, as well as the water activity of fresh and dried honey samples were determined. Freeze-drying of bee honey with initial sample temperature of -40 degrees C has resulted in shorter drying time (7-9 hours), moisture content (10%-12%), water activity (0.405-0.427 aW) and effective moisture diffusivity coefficient (8.26.10-7-9.51.0-7 m(2)/s). The high-performance liquid chromatography method was used when analyzing the impact that drying pre-treatments had on honey quality. The application of pre-treatments has led to an increase in hydroxy-methyl-furfural by 39-71%, and a decrease in diastase activity by 17-36%, all compared to fresh honey samples. The solutions of Verma model proved to be the best fit with the experimental results.

Many regions of the world face the problem of saline water. Water desalination processes, which require significant energy consumption, are a common solution to produce drinking water. This study evaluated the influence of the following process operational parameters on the energy consumption of seawater reverse osmosis systems: water salinity, permeate recovery ratio, membrane performance, and feed water temperature. Optimal operational conditions for the theoretical minimum energy consumption were determined with experiments by varying water qualities and operational parameters. In order to further reduce energy consumption a reverse osmosis system was integrated with a photovoltaic solar system and a pilot photovoltaic reverse osmosis system was built and tested The results obtained from this study indicated that even though a solar photovoltaic system incurs a huge initial capital investment, it will yield significant benefits in the long run of the reverse osmosis operational period