Physico-chemical and Thermal Properties of Fuel Briquettes Derived from Biomass Furnaces as By-Products

Abstract

Carbonized rice hulls (CRH) and carbonized corn cobs (CCC) obtained during the utilization of PHilMech designed biomass furnaces were used as raw materials in the production of fuel briquettes. Two types of briquetting machines were used in the experiments and cassava starch was applied as binding agent during the formulation of samples. The briquettes were evaluated in terms of their physical and thermal properties. Results showed that the average density of CRH briquettes produced in screw-type machine was higher than the briquettes produced in piston-type machine. This observation can be attributed to the higher pressure applied in the screw-type machine. However, the briquettes made from the piston-type machine were found to be more durable compared to the one produced in screw-type machine, which can be associated with the high concentration of binding agent as required when using the piston-type machine. The optimum formulation using piston-type briquetting machine is 10% binding agent for CRH and 12.5% for CCC. For screw-type briquetting machine, 2.25% binding agent is ideal for both CRH and CCC. The resulting energy values and combustion qualities of the briquettes produced from the carbonized based fuel briquettes were sufficient to produce the required heat for industrial application.