The article presents a comparison of results from a simulation of the energy production by a photovoltaic installation with a tracking system and a stationary PV farm in the PVSyst program. The analyzed 1 MW PV installations were located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. Energy production results obtained from the installation with a tracking system were compared with a stationary farm with panels placed at an angle of 20° and an azimuth 0°. The paper also presents the types of tracking systems and discusses the advantages of this solution and its risks compared to traditional panel mounting. The results obtained in the study indicated that the use of a tracking system increased the annual energy production compared to a stationary farm.

Comminution is important in the processing of biological materials, such as cereal grains, wood biomass, and food waste. The most popular biomaterial grinders are hammer and roller mills. However, the grinders with great potential in the processing of biomass are mills that use cutting, e.g., disc mills. When it comes to single-disc and multi-disc grinders, there are not many studies describing the relationships between energy, motion, material, and processing or describing the effect of grinding, meaning the size distribution of a product. The relationship between the energy and size reduction ratio of disc-type grinder designs has also not been sufficiently explored. The purpose of this paper was to develop models for the particle size distribution of the ground product in multi-disc mills depending on the variable process parameters, i.e., disc rotational velocity and, consequently, power consumption, and the relationship between the grinding energy and the shape of graining curves, which would help predict the product size reduction ratio for these machines. The experiment was performed using a five-disc mill, assuming the angular velocity of the grinder discs was variable. Power consumption, product particle size, and specific comminution energy were recorded during the tests. The Rosin–Rammler–Sperling–Bennet (RRSB) distribution curves were established for the ground samples, and the relationships between distribution coefficients and the average angular velocity of grinder discs, power consumption, and specific comminution energy were determined. The tests showed that the specific comminution energy increases as the size reduction ratio increases. It was also demonstrated that the RRSB distribution coefficients could be represented by the functions of angular velocities, power consumption, and specific comminution energy. The developed models will be a source of information for numerical modelling of comminution processes.

Increasing requirements in the field of monitoring the impact of machines contributes to the analysis of production processes in order to verify their environmental loads. The research carried out in this area is aimed at identifying the negative impact of the tested object to be able to introduce changes in the consumption of raw materials and energy while limiting the negative impact on the environment. The article will present the results of the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the process of mass, thermo-shrinkable packaging of beverage bags depending on the change in the way the packaging machine is powered. In addition, as part of the analysis, it was indicated which stage of the process has the biggest negative impact on the environment. LCA results are presented at the stage of endpoint characterization.

A representative statistical analysis of the operational information of the reliability of tillage units, which have operating devices with an oscillating motion, was carried out. The results of the working condition of thirteen cultivators in operation, with an accumulated operating time of more than 280 thousand hectares, were considered. A field investigation was carried out in seven regions in Ukraine, characterizing various edaphoclimatic conditions. The occurrence of sudden failures due to the fracture of the elastic struttings of cultivator operating devices was established. There were 42 sudden failures among 260 tested struttings. The inversion method was proposed to determine the elastic elements’ loading parameters being a combination of the theoretical reliability model, which was adapted to the probability of failure-free operation prediction due to the fact of sudden failures, and statistical model-specific indicators that were obtained depending on the operating elastic struttings. The given approach, based on the evaluation of the operating tillage units, made it possible to determine the impact of the load on the existing designs of the machines and their elements leading to the sudden failures. It was possible to present such an influence in the form of a probabilistically justified reserve factor, which had an empirical basis and allowed for the design of the next generation of technical systems and their elements to correct the theoretically assumed load value. Constructive and technological changes in the design, based on the approach described in this article, provide an opportunity to manage the level of reliability for economic and image reasons.