Biomass combustion is technologically difficult. It is also problematic because of the necessity to manage the ash that is generated in the process. The combustion of biomass pellets is optimum when their moisture is 6-8%. The calorific value of pellets made from straw and willow wood (4:1) was 17.3-20.1 MJ·kg −1 . There were serious problems with burning this material caused by the accumulation and melting of bottom ash on the grate, which damaged the furnace. These problems with optimizing the biomass combustion process resulted in increased CO emissions into the atmosphere. It was shown that pelletization could also be used to consolidate the ash generated during the combustion process, which would eliminate secondary dust during transport to the utilization site. For this purpose, it was suggested to add binding substances such as bentonite and bran. The analysis showed that an optimum material for pelletization should contain, on average, 880 g of ash, 120 g of bentonite, 108 g of bran, and 130 g of water.

Improving in the energy efficiency of urban buildings, and maximizing the savings and the resulting benefits require information support from city decision-makers, planners, and designers. The selection of the appropriate analytical methods will allow them to make optimal design and location decisions. Therefore, the research problem of this article is the development of an innovative decision support system using multi-criteria analysis and Geographic Information Systems (decision support system + Geographic Information Systems = DGIS) for planning urban development. The proposed decision support system provides information to energy consumers about the location of energy efficiency improvement potential. This potential has been identified as the possibility of introducing low-energy buildings and the use of renewable energy sources. DGIS was tested in different construction areas (categories: A, B, C, D), Zielona Góra quarters. The results showed which area among the 53 quarters with a separate dominant building category was the most favorable for increasing energy efficiency, and where energy efficiency could be improved by investing in renewable energy sources, taking into account the decision-maker. The proposed DGIS system can be used by local decision-makers, allowing better action to adapt cities to climate change and to protect the environment. This approach is part of new data processing strategies to build the most favorable energy scenarios in urban areas.

Biomass can be used for the production of energy from renewable sources. Because of social resistance to burning crop plants, mixtures and pellets made from or including waste materials are a good alternative. The mixtures analyzed, prepared from wood and municipal waste, were characterized for their calorific values, 7.4–18.2 MJ·kg−1. A result, over 15 MJ·kg−1 was obtained for 47% of the quantities of mixtures being composed. It has been demonstrated that wood shavings and sewage sludge have a stabilizing effect on the durability of pellets. The emissions of acidic anhydrides into the atmosphere from the combustion of pellets from waste biomass were lower for NO, NO2, NOx and H2S than emissions from the combustion of willow pellets. Obtained emission results suggest the need to further optimize the combustion process parameters.

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