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The main objective of this research is to evaluate how fertilisation with different amounts of municipal sewage sludge, a by-product of wastewater treatment, affects the yield and energetic properties of Miscanthus biomass. The influence of municipal sewage sludge on the energy properties of Miscanthus was analysed in four dosages, namely: 0 t/ha DM, 1.66 t/ha DM, 3.32 t/ha DM and 6.64 t/ha DM. The study showed that the highest amount of municipal sewage sludge did not negatively affect the analysed energy properties of Miscanthus in any way. The yields were almost the same at all dosage of municipal sewage sludge application at around 32 t/ha, the higher calorific value was 18.90 MJ/kg at all dosage of municipal sewage sludge application, coke and carbon, as one of the more important parameters for direct combustion, also remained statistically unchanged. The composition of lignocellulose also showed no significant differences in relation to fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of using structural analysis parameters for estimating the higher heating value (HHV) of biomass by obtaining information on the composition of cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose. To achieve this goal, several nonlinear mathematical models were developed, including polynomials, support vector machines (SVMs), random forest regression (RFR) and artificial neural networks (ANN) for predicting HHV. The performed statistical analysis "goodness of fit" showed that the ANN model has the best performance in terms of coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.90) and the lowest level of model error for the parameters X2 (0.25), RMSE (0.50), and MPE (2.22). Thus, the ANN model was identified as the most appropriate model for determining the HHV of different biomasses based on the specified input parameters. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate the potential of using structural analysis parameters as input for HHV modeling, which is a promising approach for the field of biomass energy production. The development of the model ANN and the comparative analysis of the different models provide important insights for future research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miscanthus is a perennial energy crop that produces high yields and has the potential to be converted into energy. The ultimate analysis determines the composition of the biomass and the energy value in terms of the higher heating value (HHV), which is the most important parameter in determining the quality of the fuel. In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model based on the principle of supervised learning was developed to predict the HHV of miscanthus biomass. The developed ANN model was compared with the models of predictive regression models (suggested from the literature) and the accuracy of the developed model was determined by the coefficient of determination. The paper presents data from 192 miscanthus biomass samples based on ultimate analysis and HHV. The developed model showed good properties and the possibility of prediction with high accuracy (R2 = 0.77). The paper proves the possibility of using ANN models in practical application in determining fuel properties of biomass energy crops and greater accuracy in predicting HHV than the regression models offered in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater treatment plants are facilities where wastewater is treated by technological processes. A byproduct of a wastewater treatment plant is sewage sludge, which can be both a good soil conditioner and a source of nutrients for the crops to which it is applied. Energy crops are non-food plants that can cleanse the soil of heavy metals through their ability to phytoremediate. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of different amounts of sewage sludge on soil and plants. In the experiment Virginia mallow (Sida hermaphrodita L.) was used and the influence of stabilized sewage sludge in the amounts of 1.66, 3.32 and 6.64 t/ha dry matter on the energy composition and biomass yield was observed.The obtained results showed a yield of 8.85 t/ha at the maximum amount of sewage sludge used. Hemicellulose content was 20.20% in the application of 6.64 t/ha of sewage sludge and 19.70% in the control, while lignin content was 17.97% in the control and 16.77% in the maximum amount of sewage sludge. The heavy metals molybdenum and nickel did not differ significantly under the influence of larger amounts of sewage sludge, while manganese increased from 23.66 to 35.82 mg/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of municipal sewage sludge as fertilizer in the production of non-food energy crops is an environmentally and economically sustainable approach to sewage sludge management. In addition, the application of municipal sewage sludge to energy crops such as Miscanthus x giganteus is an alternative form of recycling nutrients and organic material from waste. Municipal sewage sludge is a potential source of heavy metals in the soil, some of which can be removed by growing energy crops that are also remediation agents. Therefore, the objective of the research was to investigate the effect of municipal sewage sludge applied at three different rates of 1.66, 3.22 and 6.44 t/ha on the production of Miscanthus. Based on the analyses conducted on the biomass of Miscanthus fertilized with sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in three fertilization treatments, it can be concluded that the biomass of Miscanthus is a good feedstock for the process of direct combustion. Moreover, the application of the largest amount of municipal sewage sludge during cultivation had no negative effect on the properties of Miscanthus biomass. Moreover, the cellulose and hemicellulose content of Miscanthus is ideal for the production of second-generation liquid biofuels. Fertilizer treatments had no effect on the content of cellulose and lignin, while a significant statistical difference was found for hemicellulose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]