The direct carbon fuel cell technology provides excellent conditions for conversion of chemical energy of carbon-containing solid fuels directly into electricity. The technology is very promising since it is relatively simple compared to other fuel cell technologies and accepts all carbon-reach substances as possible fuels. Furthermore, it makes possible to use atmospheric oxygen as the oxidizer. In this paper the results of authors' recent investigations focused on analysis of the performance of a direct carbon fuel cell supplied with graphite, granulated carbonized biomass (biocarbon), and granulated hard coal are presented. The comparison of the voltage-current characteristics indicated that the results obtained for the case when the cell was operated with carbonized biomass and hard coal were much more promising than those obtained for graphite. The effects of fuel type and the surface area of the cathode on operation performance of the fuel cell were also discussed.

The changes in the domestic solid fuel market (including forecasted increases in the fuel prices) and the growing requirements related to actual environmental standards, result in increased interest in renewable energy sources, such as biomass, wind and solar energy. These sources will allow to achieve reduction in the CO2 emission, and consequently – avoid environmental costs after 2020. Therefore, the development of distributed energy systems, based on the use of biomass boilers, gas boilers and high efficiency combined heat and power units, will enable the fulfillment of current standards in the field of energy efficiency and emission of pollutants to the atmosphere. It should be emphasized that the actions taken to reduce emissions (e.g. anti-smog act) will contribute to reducing coal consumption in the municipal and housing sector (households, agriculture and other customers) in favor of biomass and other renewable energy sources. The article reviews selected biomass technologies:

- fluidized, dust and grate boilers,

- straw-fired boilers,

- cogeneration systems powered by biomass,

- torrefaction and biomass carbonisation.

The mentioned technologies are characterized by a high potential of in the field of dynamic development and practical application in the coming years. Thus, they can improve difficult situation in the distributed energy sector with a capacity up to 50 MW.

The influence of sewage sludge torrefaction temperature on fuel properties was investigated. Non-lignocellulosic waste thermal treatment experiment was conducted within 1 h residence time, under the following temperatures: 200, 220, 240, 260, 280 and 300°C. Sawdust was used as lignocellulosic reference material. The following parameters of biochar have been measured: moisture, higher heating value, ash content, volatile compounds and sulfur content. Sawdust biochar has been confirmed to be a good quality solid fuel. High ash and sulfur content may be an obstacle for biochar energy reuse. The best temperature profile for sawdust torrefaction and fuel production for 1 h residence time was 220°C. At this temperature the product contained 84% of initial energy while decreased the mass by 25%. The best temperature profile for sewage sludge was 240°C. The energy residue was 91% and the mass residue was 85%. Higher temperatures in both cases caused excessive mass and energy losses.

The use of torrefied biomass as a substitute for untreated biomass may decrease some technological barriers that exist in biomass co-firing technologies e.g. low grindability, high moisture content, low energy density and hydrophilic nature of raw biomass. In this study the TG-MS-FTIR analysis and kinetic analysis of willow (Salix viminalis L.) and samples torrefied at 200, 220, 240, 260, 280 and 300 °C (TSWE 200, 220, 240, 260, 280 and 300), were performed. The TG-DTG curves show that in the case of willow and torrefied samples TSWE 200, 220, 240 and 260 there are pyrolysis and combustion stages, while in the case of TSWE 280 and 300 samples the peak associated with the pyrolysis process is negligible, in contrast to the peak associated with the combustion process. Analysis of the TG-MS results shows m/z signals of 18, 28, 29 and 44, which probably represent H2O, CO and CO2. The gaseous products were generated in two distinct ranges of temperature. H2O, CO and CO2 were produced in the 500 K to 650 K range with maximum yields at approximately 600 K. In the second range of temperature, 650 K to 800 K, only CO2 was produced with maximum yields at approximately 710 K as a main product of combustion process. Analysis of the FTIR shows that the main gaseous products of the combustion process were H2O, CO2, CO and some organics including bonds: C=O (acids, aldehydes and ketones), C=C (alkenes, aromatics), C-O-C (ethers) and C-OH. Lignin mainly contributes hydrocarbons (3000-2800 cm−1), while cellulose is the dominant origin of aldehydes (2860-2770 cm−1) and carboxylic acids (1790-1650 cm−1). Hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones and various acids were also generated from hemicellulose (1790-1650 cm−1). In the kinetic analysis, the two-steps first order model (F1F1) was assumed. Activation energy (Ea) values for the first stage (pyrolysis) increased with increasing torrefaction temperature from 93 to 133 kJ/mol, while for the second stage (combustion) it decreased from 146 to 109 kJ/mol for raw willow, as well as torrefied willow at the temperature range of 200-260°C. In the case of samples torrefied at 280 and 300°C, the Ea values of the first and second stage were comparable to Ea of untreated willow and torrefied at 200°C. It was also found that samples torrefied at a higher temperature, had a higher ignition point and also a shorter burning time.