Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Agricultural-Plastic Wastes for Feasibility of Solid Fuel Briquette Production

Abstract

In recent years, the world has witnessed an enormous effort to find a replacement energy source that is more environmentally friendly and renewable. Face masks that contain plastics lead to another management problem as they are non-biodegradable. Thus, by turning agricultural waste with plastic waste as an additive into beneficial products like briquettes, a solid waste problem can be minimized. In this study, Imperata cylindrica and mango peel commonly found in Malaysia were anticipated to boost the properties of solid fuel briquettes. Thus, the characterization of Imperata cylindrica, mango peel, and face mask waste as raw materials for the production of solid fuel briquettes is discussed in this paper. Proximate and ultimate analyses as well as Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) were conducted to obtain the properties of the raw materials. FTIR results showed that face mask waste contained a methyl type group (CH3), and both agricultural wastes contained an oxygen type group (C–O–H). Based on the proximate analysis, face mask waste, mango peel, and Imperata cylindrica had low moisture contents, where mango peel had the highest moisture content (5.2%) followed by Imperata cylindrica (<1%) and face mask waste (<1%). Imperata cylindrica had the highest volatile matter content (94.6%) and the lowest ash content (2.3%), while mango peel contained the highest fixed carbon value, which was 16.1%. From the analyses conducted, face mask waste had the highest calorific value (26.19 MJ/kg−1). Face mask waste contained 63.6% carbon and 10% hydrogen. Meanwhile, Imperata cylindrica and mango peel contained 44% and 40% carbon and 6.15% and 6.95% hydrogen, respectively. The characteristics and properties of face mask waste, mango peel, and Imperata cylindrica are significant for the contribution of the optimal ratio of these materials to form solid fuel briquettes.