Е-Публикации
Технически университет - София

Abstract: The following study provides information about the quality of sunflower husk pellets produced by Bulgarian manufacturers, helping consumers in selecting the most suitable pellets for their needs and heating installations. A consumer opinion research was conducted for examining customers' attitude towards the use of such pellets. It aids in shaping manufacturers' marketing strategies and product improvement. In order to establish the quality and reliability of sunflower pellets, experimental measurements were made of some of the energy characteristics of the most common brands of sunflower husks in the Bulgarian market. The results of these experimental measurements were compared with the information provided on the packaging of the sunflower pellets by the respective manufacturers. The analysis of the results shows that all of the studied parameters meet the conditions for quality certification. This is essential for all consumers as it certifies that the product meets certain quality and performance standards. Conducting such research is essential to ensure consistency of pellet quality and facilitate consumers' selection and purchasing process when using sunflower husks as an alternative raw material.

References

1. F. Cucchiella, I. D’Adamo, M. Gastaldi, Future Trajectories of Renewable Energy Consumption in the European Union, Resources, vol. 7, 10, 2018.
2. M. Bhattacharya, S. Paramati, I. Ozturk, S. Bhattacharya, The effect of renewable energy consumption on economic growth: Evidence from top 38 countries, Appl. Energy, vol. 162, pp. 733–741, 2016.
3. D.S. Armeanu, G. Vintila, S.C. Gherghina, Does Renewable Energy Drive Sustainable Economic Growth? Multivariate Panel Data Evidence for EU-28 Countries, Energies, vol. 10, 381, 2017.
4. K. Harshwardhan, K. Upadhyay, Effective utilization of agricultural waste: A review, J. Fundam. Renew. Energy Appl., vol. 7, 237, 2017.
5. J.N. Nwakaire, F.O. Obi, B.O. Ugwuishiwu, Agricultural waste concept, generation, utilization and management. Niger. J. Technol., vol. 35, pp. 957–964, 2016.
6. M. Röder, P. Thornley, Bioenergy as climate change mitigation option within a 2 °C target—uncertainties and temporal challenges of bioenergy systems, Energy Sustain. Soc., vol. 6, 6, 2016.
7. P. Pradhan, S.M. Mahajani, A. Arora, Production and utilization of fuel pellets from biomass: A review, Fuel Process. Technol., vol. 181, pp. 215–232, 2018.
8. G. Maj, P. Krzaczek, A. Kuranc, W. Piekarski, Energy properties of sunflower seed husk as industrial extrusion residue, Agric. Eng, vol. 21, pp. 77–84, 2017.
9. M.A. Perea-Moreno, F. Manzano-Agugliaro, A.J. Perea-Moreno, Sustainable Energy Based on Sunflower Seed Husk Boiler for Residential Buildings, Sustainability, 10, 3407, 2018.
10. V. Havrysh, A. Kalinichenko, G. Mentel, U. Mentel, D.G. Vasbieva, Husk energy supply systems for sunflower oil mills, Energies, vol.13, 361, 2020.
11. X. Cui, J. Yang, X. Shi, W. Lei, T. Huang, C. Bai, Pelletization of Sunflower Seed Husks: Evaluating and Optimizing Energy Consumption and Physical Properties by Response Surface Methodology (RSM), Processes, vol. 7, no. 9, 591, 2019.
12. Bulgarian Institute for Standardization, Solid biofuels - Determination of calorific value BDS EN ISO 18125:2017, 2017.
13. Bulgarian Institute for Standardization, Solid biofuels - Determination of ash content BDS EN ISO 18122:2023, 2023
14. Bulgarian Institute for Solid biofuels - Determination of moisture content - Part 1: Reference method (BDS ISO 18134-1:2022), 2022.
15. Bulgarian Institute for Standardization, Solid biofuels - Determination of length and diameter of pellets (BDS ISO 17829:2015), 2016.

Issue