Abstract
The production of cassava and tapioca flour are recognized as activities merged in family culture in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, which demand the use of firewood to feed the furnaces in the flour mills. Due to the small number of studies on this theme, this work aims to evaluate the quality of woody species commonly used as solid fuels in the production of manioc flour in the state of Sergipe, namely: Poincianella pyramidalis (“catingueira”), Cronton sonderianus (“marmeleiro”) and Piptadenia stipulacea (white “jurema”), as well as coconut shells (Cocos nucifera), as an alternative to the use of woody species. Representative samples of the materials were analyzed for parameters: total extracts, lignin, holocellulose, volatile materials, fixed carbon, ashes, higher (HHV) and lower (LHV) heating values, in addition to thermogravimetric analysis. The data were analyzed in a completely randomized design, with four treatments and three replications. The species Piptadenia stipulacea and Cocos nucifera showed high contents of total extracts (18.14%; 29.81%), lignin (29.14%; 28.18%) and fixed carbon (28.22%; 29.62%), and lower contents of holocellulose (52.72%; 42.01%) and volatile materials (70.60%; 66.14%), respectively. The species with the lowest ash content were Croton sonderianus and Piptadenia stipulacea, and the species with the highest HHV and LHV were Piptadenia stipulacea and Croton sonderianus, respectively. Regarding to the thermogravimetric properties, Cocos nucifera behaved like the other biomasses, with ignition temperature slightly lower and peak temperature higher than those for the other species. Among the species analyzed, Piptadenia stipulacea and Cocos nucifera showed the best results as combustibles for cassava flour production. Hence, dried Cocos nucifera shells can properly replace the conventional firewood.
Highlights
Vegetable biomass can be used both as a fuel for direct heating, and can be converted into solid, liquid or gaseous derivatives, for the generation of heat, electricity or fuels for use in various sectors of the economy
The higher heating value (HHV) of the samples was determined according to NBR 8633 (ABNT, 1984), using an Iiab C200 adiabatic calorimetric pump, in isothermal or static mode
The lower heating value (LHV) was predicted by the correlation: LHV = [HHV- (600×9H)⁄100], where LHV is the lower heating value; HHV is the higher heating value; and H is the percentage of hydrogen
Summary
Vegetable biomass can be used both as a fuel for direct heating, and can be converted into solid, liquid or gaseous derivatives, for the generation of heat, electricity or fuels for use in various sectors of the economy. (2013), about 97% of the world's bioenergy is produced by direct combustion of biomass - one of the techniques widely used for commercial and industrial use. One of the challenges for the development of this energy source is the conflict in land use between food production and biomass production (Wicke et al, 2011; Muscat et al, 2020). According to Jan (2012), a prominent issue is the dependence of part of the low-income world population on biomass, to meet their energy needs. The burning of vegetable biomass results in different health impacts, due to the high levels of exposure to air pollution in the domestic environment, due to the use of inefficient cooking stoves and bad ventilation conditions, besides the forest degradation due to removal of firewood, contributing to the global warming (Ahrends et al, 2010; Hosonuma et al, 2012; Quinn et al, 2018)
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