&lt;b&gt;Sugarcane bagasse pellets: characterization and comparative analysis

Leonardo Ferreira Pedroso De Almeida,Jhon Jairo Ramirez Behainne,Antonio Vanderley Herrero Sola

doi:10.4025/actascitechnol.v39i4.30198

<b>Sugarcane bagasse pellets: characterization and comparative analysis

Leonardo Ferreira Pedroso De Almeida, Jhon Jairo Ramirez Behainne + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascitechnol.v39i4.30198

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Abstract

This paper presents a study carried out in a Brazilian pellet industry in order to determine the main properties of sugarcane bagasse pellets. Materials and methods are in accordance with standards from the Associacao Brasileira de Normas Tecnicas (ABNT), Agencia de Protecao Ambiental (EPA) and European Pellets Standard. The pellet properties mean values found in this study are: diameter (9.70 mm), length (22.70 mm), bulk density (726.32 kgm -3 ), mechanical durability (98.2%), moisture (5.49%), heating value (16.0 MJ kg -1 ), ash content (8.70%), fixed carbon (14.03%), volatile matter (77.27%), nitrogen (0.28%), sulphur (0.02%) and chlorine (< 0.02 %). The results are compared with those obtained from the literature and discussed according to international standards for biomass pellets, wood pellets and solid biofuel. The comparative analysis showed that there are differences between the results found in our study in comparison with other studies and international standards. The paper also presents the production process energy consumption and cost analysis.

Highlights

The use of traditional unprocessed biomass tends to decline in the decades, while the consumption of bioenergy tends to increase worldwide, regarding the high global primary energy demand (International Energy Agency [IEA], 2012)
Besides other biofuels, fuel pellets play an important role in the bioenergy market
This factory produces around 1,200 tons of pellets a month, but there is a Sugarcane bagasse pellets plan to increase four times the pellets production in the following years

Summary

Introduction

The use of traditional unprocessed biomass tends to decline in the decades, while the consumption of bioenergy tends to increase worldwide, regarding the high global primary energy demand (International Energy Agency [IEA], 2012). In this scenario, besides other biofuels, fuel pellets play an important role in the bioenergy market. The carbon from pellets could be used in many other applications, such as filtering, pharmaceutical and chemical areas (Sousa, Pereira, Silva, & Ferro, 2012). The main consumers of pellets are Western Europe and North America.

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