Characterization of Novel Moss Biomass, Bryum dichotomum Hedw. as Solid Fuel Feedstock

Abstract

Due to the overuse of natural gas and petroleum in Bangladesh, the excessive greenhouse gas (GHG) emission continuously worsens the countries’ air quality. To resolve this environmental concern as well as determine the sustainable bioenergy sources, research on biomass for biofuel production has been highlighted recently. Therefore, this study emphasized to identify a novel biomass for solid fuel generation as well as designed a pilot-scale biofuel production scheme. The study endeavoured to characterize the bioenergy properties of a novel wetland moss species, B. dichotomum Hedw., collected from rainforest of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh. Current study also presented the morphological edifice and elemental composition through scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Gross and net calorific values of moss were determined through bomb calorimeter by standard method, and they were 10.77 and 9.35 MJ kg−1, respectively. Moisture content, ash content, volatile matter, fixed carbon, and bulk density were characterized on air-dried basis through standard ASTM methods, and the outcomes were 10.74%, 55.3%, 28.29%, 5.67% and 44.09 kg m−3, respectively. Other physical bioenergy parameters were biomass characteristics index 3936 kg m−3, energy density 0.475 GJ m−3 and fuel value index 5.07. Apart from that, experimental results revealed carbon element 56.6%, oxygen content 42.1% on dry weight basis and O/C ratio 0.74 in sample biomass.