The paper presents the possibilities of using wood, waste and energy plant biomass as a material for the production of fuels in the form of pellets. Pine sawdust, energy willow chips, sunflower husk and corn straw were analysed. The materials were pelletized. Selected physicochemical properties and elemental composition were determined. It has been shown that the best alternative to replace wood pellets can be pellets made from both energy willow and sunflower husks. Sunflower husk pellets were selected as the most promising fuel and subjected to a strategic analysis using the SWOT/TOWS method. Based on the analyses, it was shown that sunflower husk pellets, due to their competitive price, appropriate physicochemical parameters and wide availability, can be successfully used as a fuel in boilers adapted to burn wood pellets and more.

In this study a possibility of using four types of biomass as a fuel in a domestic heating boiler has been investigated. Pine and spruce sawdust, sunflower husk and corn straw were analyzed. Analyzed materials were pelletized. Selected physicochemical properties as well as the elemental composition of the obtained pellets was determined. An economic analysis was also carried out. The experimental results show that the analyzed types of biomass, due to their competitive price, high calorific value and appropriate elemental composition, can be successfully used as fuel in domestic heating boilers.