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Organic farmers farming on arable land have often had, in addition to the cultivation of common species of cultivated crops (such as wheat, rye, triticale or potatoes), interest in the cultivation of marginal crops such as hulled wheat species (Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt wheat). The production of marginal cereals has seen significant developments in the European Union related to the development of the organic farming sector. Just the average annual organic production of spelt in the Czech Republic reached more than 9000 tons in 2018. The cultivation of these cereals requires post-harvest treatment in the special method of dehulling. The waste emerging after dehulling of spikelet (i.e., chaff) accounts for about 30% of the total amount of harvest and can be used as an alternative fuel material. When considering the energy utilization of this waste, it is also necessary to obtain information on the energy quality of the material, as well as environmental aspects linked to their life cycle. For evaluating the energy parameters, the higher and lower heating value, based on the elemental (CHNS) analysis, was determined. The environmental aspects were determinate according to the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology where the system boundary includes all the processes from cradle to farm gate, and the mass unit was chosen. The SimaPro v9.1.0.11 software and ReCiPe Midpoint (H) within the characterization model was used for the data expression. The results predict the energy potential of chaff about 50&ndash, 90 TJ per year. The results of this study show that in some selected impact categories, 1 kg of chaff, as a potential fuel, represents a higher load on the environment than 1 kg of lignite, respectively potential energy gain (1 GJ) from the materials.

Comparative studies of the classical and new design of a chaff cutter&rsquo, s cutting drum have been conducted within the frames of the study in order to determine their functional characteristics at the time of cutting rye straw into pieces of specific length (into chaff). A classical design of a cutting drum is of the shape of a roller and is suitable for material layer cross-cutting. However, the new drum design has the shape of a double truncated cone and, with the use of it, diagonal cuts in two directions can be realized. The studies were conducted for four designs of cutting drums with cutting angles &alpha, = 0&deg, (classical design) and &alpha, = 15&deg, &alpha, = 30&deg, and &alpha, = 45&deg, (new design). Three indicators were applied for the assessment: capacity, unit energy consumption, and the unit cutting resistance. The obtained results show that the use of a new drum design makes it possible, depending on the assumed parameters of the cutting process and the material&rsquo, s compaction degree, to increase the process&rsquo, s efficiency by up to 25%, lower the unit energy consumption up to 34%, and lower the unit cutting resistance by up to 8%. The conducted experimental studies have unequivocally shown that the use of a new cutting drum design, as compared to the classical one, results in a considerable increase in the cutting process&rsquo, s performance. Studies on the new design of a chaff cutter&rsquo, s cutting drum, of the shape of a double truncated cone, belong to original ones that so far have not been described in the available literature.

In cereal crops, chaff is a valuable lignocellulosic by-product that accounts for more than50 Mt y-1 in Europe and is suitable for bioenergy purposes. Chaff is usually not collected due tothe lack of combine harvesters that have the capability to handle it properly. The present two yearsexperimental study investigated the hypothesis that the overall biomass collected in wheat crop canbe increased by equipping the combine harvester with an aftermarket device. Chaff, dischargedfrom the combine harvester-cleaning system, is collected by the turbine that delivers it either on theswath or on a lateral trailer towed by a tractor. The performance of all machines involved in theharvesting (combine harvester, tractor, baler, and trailer) were assessed. The chaff was collected in bales with the straw (A mode) and separately on a trailer (C mode). Comparisons with non-collected treatment (B mode) were performed in order to estimate the total chaff collected and the biomasslosses. The results showed that 1.79 t FM ha-1 per year of chaff could be collected when baled with thestraw, whereas 1.27 t FM ha-1 were collected separately on a trailer. Both field and material capacitywere not negatively affected by the chaff collection. Therefore, our study confirmed the hypothesis that turbine technology is a valid solution for increasing the total residual biomass collected in cerealcropping for energy purposes.

The article presents some of the research on the wider work related to testing and improving a new rotary cleaning device. The new cereal grain cleaning and separation device can support the development of sustainable agriculture in terms of seed purity and quality. This device is especially useful for small and medium-sized farms. This device has the characteristics of a multi-stage screen aided by an air stream (i.e., by pneumoseparation). The prototype was constructed at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin. The research was conducted at a test stand, which allowed changes in the operating parameters of the cleaner and their measurement. The scope of the tests included determining the influence of the inclination angle of the sieve unit (&alpha, ) on the effectiveness and efficiency of oat grain cleaning. The experiment was carried out using two rotational spindle speeds: 5 and 75 rpm. The quality of the separation and cleaning of oat grains was evaluated using six cleaning process parameters: plump grain mass separation coefficient (Spg), fine grain separation coefficient (Sfg), fine impurities separation coefficient (Sfi), chaff separation coefficient (Sch), total coefficient of cleaning effectiveness (E), plump grain cleaning efficiency (qpg). Results showed the significant effect of the sieve drum inclination angle on the efficiency and effectiveness of oat grain cleaning.

The Batch process of Adsorption were conducted using Congo red (CR) as the adsorbate and Jatropha curcas seed (chaff) as the adsorbent material. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms analysis were conducted and results obtained confirmed the adsorption process as highly dependent on effects such as; contact time, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration and the particle sizes of adsorbate. However, the sorption equilibrium for Congo red dye unto jatropha curcas seed (chaff) was reached within 180 minutes, more so, the Adsorption efficiency was recorded at 82.05%. The process of the experimental sorption kinetics followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model while Freundlich isotherm model was best applicable for obtaining the equilibrium of the parameters. These is an effective confirmation and validation of jatropha curcas seed (chaff) application as environmentally friendly and low-cost biomaterial for dye removal from aqueous solutions and industrial effluents.

The growing population worldwide will create the demand for higher cereal production, in order to meet the food need of both humans and animals in the future. Consequently, the quantity of crop by-products produced by cereal cropping will increase accordingly, providing a good opportunity for fostering the development of the sustainable supply chain of renewable solid fuels and natural feedstock for animal farming. The conventional machineries used in wheat harvesting do not guarantee the possibility to collect the chaff as additional residue to the straw. The present study investigated the possibility to equip a conventional combine with a specific device, already available on the market, in order to collect the chaff either separately (onto a trailer), or together with the straw (baled). The total residual biomass increased by 0.84 t&middot, ha&minus, 1 and 0.80 t&middot, 1 respectively, without negatively affecting the performance of the combine when the chaff was discharged on the swath. Farmers can benefit economically from the extra biomass collected, although a proper sizing of the machine chain is fundamental to avoid by-product losses and lower revenue.

In relation to the situation caused by the pandemic, which may also take place in the future, there is a need to find effective solutions to improve the economic situation of the floristry industry. The production and sale of flowers is time-consuming and long-term. Therefore, any information that causes the impossibility of selling the plants will result in a reduction of profitability or bankruptcy of such companies. Research on rationally utilizing biowaste from plant cultivation as well as unsold flowers for environmental protection and effective use of their potential as a raw material for bioenergy production were examined in this article. The aim of this study was to analyze the energetic potential of the biodegradable fraction of waste from floriculture. The trials included floricultural waste containing the stems, leaves and flowers of different species and hybrid tulips (Tulipa L.), roses (Rosa L.), sunflowers (Helianthus L.) and chrysanthemums (Dendranthema Des Moul.). Their biogas and methane production as well as heat of combustion were determined experimentally. The calorific value was calculated on the basis of results from selected floricultural waste and its chemical composition. The biogas production was tested on different levels of plant material fragmentation (chaff, macerate) in fermentation processes with two ranges of temperature (meso- and thermophilic fermentation). The presented results show that the highest calorific values were determined for dry stems of roses (18,520 kJ/kg) and sunflowers (18,030 kJ/kg). In turn, the lowest were obtained for dried chrysanthemums and tulips, for which the heating value reached 15,560 kJ/kg and 15,210 kJ/kg. In addition, based on one ton of the fresh mass of biowaste from floriculture, the largest biogas production including the control was obtained from the chrysanthemum chaff by mesophilic anaerobic digestion. Moreover, the largest volume of methane was received by thermophilic anaerobic digestion of roses. The highest content of biomethane (56.68%) was reached by thermophilic fermentation of roses. The energy production of the analyzed substrates was also calculated, based on the amount of biogas produced in the containers for anaerobic digestion. Additionally, a deep neural network model, which predicted the production of methane gas, was created. Owing to the properties of the network, the level of significance of variables used for modelling and prediction of biogas production was determined. The neural modelling process was carried out with the use of the H2O program.

A total of 122 wheat varieties obtained from the Nordic Genetic Resource Center were infected artificially with an aggressive Fusariumasiaticum strain in a field experiment. We calculated the severity of Fusarium head blight (FHB) and determined the deoxynivalenol (DON) content of wheat grain, straw and glumes. We found DON contamination levels to be highest in the glumes, intermediate in the straw, and lowest in the grain in most samples. The DON contamination levels did not increase consistently with increased FHB incidence. The DON levels in the wheat varieties with high FHB resistance were not necessarily low, and those in the wheat varieties with high FHB sensitivity were not necessarily high. We selected 50 wheat genotypes with reduced DON content for future research. This study will be helpful in breeding new wheat varieties with low levels of DON accumulation.

Animal-keratin-wastes (AKWs), horns (HN), hair (HR), puffed waterfowl feathers (PF), hydrolyzed waterfowl feathers (HF), hydrolyzed fish meal (HM), crab meat (CM), feathers (FR), shrimp chaff (SC), fish scales (FS), and waste leather (WL) were used as modifiers to prepare animal-keratin-wastes biochars (AKWs-BC) derived from Trapa natans husks (TH). AKWs-BC have a well-developed microporous structure with a pore size mainly below 3 nm. Due to the doping of AKWs, the surface chemical properties of AKWs-BC (especially N functional groups) were improved. The utilization of APWs not only realizes the resource utilization of waste, but also can be used to prepare high-performance biochars.

243 Address for correspondence: Salvatore Chirumbolo, MD, PhD, Laboratory of Physiopathology of Obesity Department of Medicine-University of Verona, LURM Est Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale AL Scuro 10, 37134 Verona-Italy, Tel +390458128456, Fax +390458027403 e-mail: salvatore.chirumbolo@univr.it DOI: 10.5603/PiAP.2015.0040 Received: 11.03.2015 Copyright © 2015 PTChP ISSN 0867–7077 Salvatore Chirumbolo