Evaluation of the Energy Balance for the Production of Briquettes from Biomass

Abstract

Wood densification consists of processing wood by-products such as sawdust and chips into uniformly sized particles that are compressed into wood-based fuel products (pellets and briquettes). The main advantages are related to handling improvements of residual wood and energy generation opportunities when compared with wood chips from other forms of wood residues. The objective of this study was to evaluate the energy balance for production of briquettes from wood residues. This research involved determining the energy consumption required to perform the main manufacturing operations to produce wood briquettes: size reduction, drying, and densification of wood. The amount of energy that can be obtained from the combustion of wood briquettes was also measured. The effects of several factors such as wood species, material dimensions, and raw material moisture content on the energy requirements for manufacturing briquettes were studied. Four densification strategies were evaluated from an energy consumption ...