Biomass Briquettes Research Articles

Optimization of Calorific Value of Densified Bush Mango Shell and Palm Pressed Fibre Briquettes

Energy value of biomass materials can be enhanced through composition, densification and process parameter manipulation. In this study, biomass briquettes of bush mango shell (BMS) and palm pressed fibre (PPF) compositions were evaluated and its calorific values optimized. The effects of biomass concentration, dwelling/compaction time and compression pressure on calorific value were investigated for briquette samples in the compositions of BMS: PPF ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100) as sample A, B, C, D and E respectively. An empirical prediction model of the combustion property of the briquettes was developed and optimized using response surface methodology. It was observed across the samples that as bush mango shell composition increased, the calorific value improved significantly from 12.4kJ/kg to 18.65kJ/kg. Increase in dwelling time and pressure also showed slight increase in calorific value of the briquette samples. An optimum calorific value of 19.03 kJ/kg for briquette sample B (75:25 biomass ratio) was realized at dwelling time of 40 minutes and pressure of 25MPa as adequately predicted by a reduced second order model. The model prediction accuracy was over 98% (Pred. R² of 0.9858) with Coefficient of Variance of 0.64% and Adeq. Precision value of 63.936. Thus, Sample B briquettes possess improved combustion properties with burning rate of 0.472g/min at optimum conditions hence suitable for adoption by investors in renewable energy sector.

Evaluation of chemical properties of organic briquettes developed from slaughterhouse waste

Service slaughter houses in the country generate large quantities of animal blood, manure and rumen contents as waste material. Eco-friendly disposal of such waste often requires long time or expensive equipment. The study was conducted to develop organic briquettes using biomass originating from slaughterhouse wastes and to investigate its chemical properties to be used as an organic nutrient source in crop cultivation. Dried rumen contents were mixed with fresh blood collected after bleeding of animals in different proportions and dried using tray drier. The dried rumen content-blood (RB) mixture was further mixed with commercially available coir pith in 12 different proportions. The rumen content-blood-coir pith (RBC) mixture was formed into briquettes using a hydraulic biomass briquetting machine. Each organic briquette was five centimetres in diameter and had an average weight of 30-40 grams. The treatments were analyzed for organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen and carbon: nitrogen ratio. The organic briquette that had rumen content with 100 per cent blood and 80 per cent coir pith (T10) recorded the highest total nitrogen (1.76±0.09 per cent) and lowest carbon: nitrogen ratio while highest organic carbon content (45.97±0.93 per cent) was noted in organic briquette that had rumen content with 80 per cent blood and 60 per cent coir pith (T8 ). The study showed that there is considerable potential for development of organic briquettes that are compact, easy to transport and market, and ideal for grow bag cultivation and garden nurseries by using slaughter house wastes as sources of organic nutrient.

Biobriquetting Experience of Nepal and Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)

Animal dung briquettes are widely used in rural Nepal as they are cheap, easy to make and based on local materials. But their combustion and use, have negative impact on the health of women and children. Likewise, fuelwood is also still widely used for cooking and heating, causing adverse impact on forest conservation, environment and climate change. Search for alternatives to dung and fuelwood is a continuous process andfuel briquettes based on agro-forest waste is an attractive option. NAST, since its inception in 1982, has been continuously working in this area, introducing different technologies through many projects. It extended R&D and financial support to different individuals and industries working on biobriquetting. It was able to establish a biomass laboratory and Briquette Training Centre with workshop facilities to extend R&D and pedagogic support to university, college students and private sector. Many trainings were conducted under the Biovillage program and different projects. NAST even deputed its staff as JICA expert on biomass briquetting, brought teachers and engineers from Rwanda to be trained in NAST briquette training center. Many projects on briquetting were accomplished making NAST a credible institution in the area of biobriquetting

Parameter optimization study based on co-briquetting tests of corn straw and potato residue

Corn straw and potato residue are common agricultural biomass. Although they have a wide range of applications, the disadvantages of low bulk density and high storage and transportation cost hinder their utilization. The densification of these biomass into briquettes facilitates their storage, transportation, and reuse. The rheological properties of corn straw and potato residue during co-briquetting were investigated in creep tests. The Four-element Burgers Model accurately and intuitively fit the creep curves of the mixed materials, with fitting coefficients above 0.99. The experiment used the relaxation ratio as an indicator, and the influence of compression speed, dwell time, feeding amount, loading force, mass ratio, and temperature were obtained. The response surface analysis indicated that all factors except compression speed had an effect on the relaxation ratio. The results suggested that compressing corn straw and potato residue in a feeding amount of 28 g with a mass ratio of 1:5 at 101 °C under 35 KN loading force and 918 s dwell time produces cost-effective agricultural biomass briquettes. This study provides a reference for improving the co-briquetting process of corn straw and potato residue.

Technical feasibility of producing binder-free water hyacinth briquettes for domestic energy use

Production of biomass briquettes of good strength and combustion characteristics usually requires the addition of a binder material to the feedstock. This study was aimed at developing a methodology for producing briquettes from water hyacinth at low compression pressures without using a binder material. Fresh water hyacinth was chopped to a maximum length of 3 cm, sun-dried to a moisture content of about 10%, mixed with shredded waste office paper in four water hyacinth to paper proportions on weight basis (100:0, 90:10, 80:20 and 70:30). The mixtures were soaked in water for three days and briquetted using a 6-cylinder screw briquetting machine. The resulting briquettes were subjected to standard strength and combustion tests. A Completely Randomized Design with four treatments replicated five times was used as the experimental design. Results from the study indicate no significant differences in compressed density, relaxed density, relaxation ratio and calorific value between the briquettes. The results further indicate that briquettes made without a binder material have significantly low but adequate shatter resistance, low ignition time, high burning rate and take a longer time to bring water to boil. It can be concluded that good quality water hyacinth briquettes can be produced at low compression pressures without using a binder material. This methodology can potentially increase adoption of water hyacinth briquettes in areas with poor access to binder materials. The originality of the research is the development of a water hyacinth briquetting methodology that does not use binder materials.

Influence of Molding Technology on Thermal Efficiencies and Pollutant Emissions from Household Solid Fuel Combustion during Cooking Activities in Chinese Rural Areas

Resident combustion of solid fuel has been widely acknowledged as a high potential for pollutant reduction. However, there is a marked asymmetry between more pollutant emission and less burned volatiles of biomass and coal in the combustion process. To study the solid fuel optimum combustion form in a household stove, both the pollution reduction and energy efficient utilization of crop straws and coals were investigated. Taking the molding pressure and clay addition ratio as variable process conditions, the research of bio-coal briquette (made from the mixture of anthracite and biomass) was implemented in the range of 15~35 MP and 5~15%, respectively. Biomass and coal work complementarily for each other’s combustion property development. In particular, the pyrolysis gas produced by biomass low-temperature devolatilization is featured with low ignition point and is distributed in the bio-coal briquette. Its own combustion provides energy for anthracite particle combustion. Consequently, a positive effect was identified when bio-coal briquettes were used as residential fuel, and further improvement manifested in reducing more than 90% of particle matter (PM) and achieving about twice the thermal efficiencies (TEs) compared with the mass-weighted average values of coal briquettes and biomass briquettes. 88.8 ± 11.8%, 136.7 ± 13.7% and 81.4 ± 17.7% more TEs were provided by wheat straw–coal briquettes, rice straw–coal briquettes and maize straw–coal briquettes. 93.3 ± 3.1% (wheat straw–coal), 97.6 ± 0.2% (rice straw–coal) and 90.4 ± 2.2% (maize straw–coal) in terms of PM2.5 emission factors (EFs) was reduced. For bio-coal briquette, a 25 MPa and 10% addition were determined as the optimum molding pressure and clay addition ratio. Bio-coal briquettes with higher TEs and lower PM EFs will bring about substantial benefits for air quality promotion, human health and energy saving.

Life Cycle Assessment Model for Biomass Fuel Briquetting

Previous Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of biomass briquetting have shown wide variations in the LCA outcomes as a result of variations in LCA methodological parameters and briquetting technological parameters. An LCA model of biomass briquetting was therefore developed to enable transparent comparison of life cycle environmental impacts of briquetting with individual or blends of biomass feeds with a variety of technological options. The model was developed according to the standard LCA procedure of ISO14044. A comparative approach was utilised, and a set of integrated excel worksheets that describe process flows of material, energy and emissions across different units of the briquetting process was used in developing the model components. The main model components include materials and process inventory databases derived from standard sources, main process calculations, user inputs and results sections. The model is open-access in a user accessible format (Microsoft Excel). A representative case study with mixed rice husks and corn cobs was used in validating the model. Results showed that the briquetting unit made the largest contribution, 42%, to the total life cycle operational energy of the briquetting system. For all the blends of rice husks and corn cobs explored in this study, the total life cycle energy of briquetting was in the range 0.2 to 0.3 MJ/MJ. For the same blend ratios, a total life cycle energy of briquetting in the range 0.2 to 1.7 MJ/MJ was also obtained with change in other LCA input parameters, in a sensitivity test. An increase in rice husk content of the blend increased the environmental impact of briquetting in terms of global warming potential (kg CO2-eq), acidification potential (kg SO2-eq), human toxicity (kg 1,4-DB-eq), ozone layer depletion (kg CFC-11-eq), and terrestrial ecotoxicity (kg 1,4-DB-eq) per MJ briquette energy content, as it was associated with a lower briquette density, which increased the energy required for handling.

On the use of reference mass spectra for reducing uncertainty in source apportionment of solid-fuel burning in ambient organic aerosol

Abstract. Reference mass spectra are routinely used to facilitate source apportionment of ambient organic aerosol (OA) measured by aerosol mass spectrometers. However, source apportionment of solid-fuel-burning emissions can be complicated by the use of different fuels, stoves, and burning conditions. In this study, the organic aerosol mass spectra produced from burning a range of solid fuels in several heating stoves have been compared using an aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM). The same samples of biomass briquettes and smokeless coal were burnt in a conventional stove and Ecodesign stove (Ecodesign refers to a stove conforming to EU Directive 2009/125/EC), while different batches of wood, peat, and smoky coal were also burnt in the conventional stove, and the OA mass spectra were compared to those previously obtained using a boiler stove. The results show that although certain ions (e.g., m/z 60) remain important markers for solid-fuel burning, the peak intensities obtained at specific m/z values in the normalized mass spectra were not constant with variations ranging from < 5 % to > 100 %. Using the OA mass spectra of peat, wood, and coal as anchoring profiles and the variation of individual m/z values for the upper/lower limits (the limits approach) in the positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis with the Multilinear Engine algorithm (ME-2), the respective contributions of these fuels to ambient submicron aerosols during a winter period in Dublin, Ireland, were evaluated and compared with the conventional a-value approach. The ME-2 solution was stable for the limits approach with uncertainties in the range of 2 %–7 %, while relatively large uncertainties (8 %–29 %) were found for the a-value approach. Nevertheless, both approaches showed good agreement overall, with the burning of peat (39 % vs. 41 %) and wood (14 % vs. 11 %) accounting for the majority of ambient organic aerosol during polluted evenings, despite their small uses compared to electricity and gas. This study, thus, accounts for the source variability in ME-2 modelling and provides better constraints on the primary factor contributions to the ambient organic aerosol estimations. The finding from this study has significant implications for public health and policymakers considering that it is often the case that different batches of solid fuels are often burnt in different stoves in real-world applications.

An Overview of Banana Biomass as a Potential Renewable Energy Source in Malaysia

Electricity is a vital component necessary to stimulate the growth of a country whereby Malaysia relies upon nonrenewable fossil fuel for much of its needs. Since the 70’s oil crisis, Malaysia has attempted to preserve its oil resources and increase the contribution of renewable energy which subsequently has boosted the rapid increase of renewable energy supply, particularly in hydropower but under the 5th Fuel Diversification policy, the country prioritises to diversify its fuel sources. Banana waste has been identified as one of the potential sources due to its abundance in natural resources in Malaysia for being widely planted in agricultural sector. It has been used by neighbouring country, namely Thailand and also efficiently recycled by developed nations worldwide. This paper will discuss the potential biomass feedstock, and banana plant is chosen for the nature of its abundance, fast growth rate, and disposal after harvest. Conversion from biomass into energy can be done by direct combustion, solid biomass briquette, bioethanol, and biogas. Theoretically, all the methods except direct combustion are viable for energy generation but bioethanol and biogas suffer from compatibility issues with existing infrastructure designed for fossil fuel thus making solid fuel a topic that should be researched further to improve its uses in cogeneration and boilers. Hence, banana biomass is feasible for use as a source of renewable energy in Malaysia.

Pengaruh Kadar Perekat Terhadap Karakteristik Briket Arang Limbah Kayu Karet (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg)

The study aimed to determine the effects of adhesive content on rubber wood charcoal briquette characteristics. Wood charcoal was produced using a double-drum retort kiln at > 500°C. Wood charcoals were crushed into powder and then mixed with tapioca adhesive of 5%, 10%, and 15%. The charcoal-adhesive mix was then pressed using a hydraulic press machine. For comparison, rubber wood biomass briquettes were also produced using wood particle-adhesive mix with similar adhesive content. Biomass and charcoal briquettes characteristics as physical properties (density and water absorption), chemical properties (ultimate analysis, and FTIR analysis) and energy properties (calorific value) were evaluated. The results showed that density ranged between 0.52-0.56 g/cm3, water absorption of 6.54-7.47%, C content of 82.67-84.41%, H content of 3.28-3.60%, N content of 0.67%-0.74%, and calorific value of 30.76-32.86 MJ/kg. The results of FTIR analysis showed changes in the spectrum of the wave band on the functional groups OH, CH, C≡H, C=C, and C=O, indicating the decomposition of the chemical components of rubber wood due to pyrolysis. The results prove that increasing the adhesive content can reduce the quality of briquettes. Based on physical, chemical, and energy properties, charcoal briquettes with 5% adhesive showed better characteristics than briquettes with 10% and 15% adhesive content, showing water absorption of 6.54%, C content of 84.41%, H content of 3.28%, and heating value of 32.86 MJ/kg. Keywords: adhesive content, charcoal briquette, pyrolysis, rubber wood waste, tapioca starch

Prospect of biomass briquette as renewable energy source in Assam, India

Prospect of biomass briquette as renewable energy source in Assam, India

Improving the abrasive wear resistance of biomass briquetting machine components using cathodic arc physical vapor deposition coatings: A comparative study

Abrasive wear of biomass briquetting machine components, such as shedder blades, hammer blades, dies and rams, etc., is the primary limiting factor that affects the economic viability of the biomass briquetting process. In order to overcome this issue, attempts were undertaken in this work to evaluate the applicability of commercially well-established Ti-based metal nitride wear-resistant coatings to reduce abrasive wear. The TiN, TiCrN, and TiAlN coatings were deposited on D3 hard steel using the cathodic arc physical vapor deposition technique. A dry sand rubber wheel tester was used to assess the abrasive wear characteristics of the coatings and bare D3 hard steel. Coating properties, such as hardness, adhesion strength, surface roughness, and residual stress, were also evaluated. The results demonstrated that coating defects (microdroplets and pull-outs/craters), coating hardness, and elastic modulus play a major role in abrasive wear performance. The TiCrN coating has shown the highest abrasion resistance due to high H3/E2 ratio compared to other coatings. The abrasive wear mechanism of the TiAlN coating majorly followed coating spallation due to high compressive residual stress and low adhesion strength. The TiN coating exhibited the worst abrasive wear resistance among the three coatings due to localized ploughing at coating microdroplet and crater sites. Therefore, based on the results, the TiCrN coating has the potential to enhance the service life of briquetting machine components by orders of magnitude compared to uncoated ones

Preparation and characterization of biomass briquettes made from banana peels, sugarcane bagasse, coconut shells and rattan waste

Preparation and characterization of biomass briquettes made from banana peels, sugarcane bagasse, coconut shells and rattan waste

Analytical pyrolysis of bagasse and groundnut shell briquettes: Kinetics and pyrolysate composition studies

Biomass briquettes are expanding its reach from domestic stoves to giant power plants. This study aims to evaluate the effect of compositional heterogeneity of bagasse and groundnut shell briquettes on slow pyrolysis kinetics, fast pyrolysis product distribution and time evolution of pyrolysates. The average apparent activation energy of pyrolysis was low for 0.71–1.4 mm particles of bagasse (175.5 kJ mol−1) and 1.4–2 mm particles of groundnut shell (169.3 kJ mol−1). The production of phenolics, furan derivatives, monoaromatics and condensed ring aromatics exhibited marked changes with respect to particle size of biomass and temperature. The phenolic selectivity was more from large biomass particles. The production of aromatic hydrocarbons is correlated with the particle size of biomass, and the extent of secondary reactions is shown to be coupled with heat and mass transport of pyrolysates within the confined pores of the sample. The evolution rate of pyrolysis vapors increased with increasing temperature.

Development of Organic Briquettes from Slaughterhouse Waste as Nutrient Source for Plant Growth

A study was conducted to develop organic briquettes using biomass originating from slaughterhouse wastes and to investigate its potential as a nutrient source for plant growth. Dried rumen contents were mixed with fresh blood collected after bleeding of animals in different proportions and dried using tray drier. The dried rumen content-blood (RB) mixture was further mixed with commercially available coir pith in 12 different proportions. The rumen content-blood-coir pith (RBC) mixture was formed into briquettes using a hydraulic biomass briquetting machine. Each organic briquette was 5 cm in diameter and had an average weight of 30–40 g. The treatments were analyzed for pH, moisture content, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen, carbon: nitrogen ratio, total phosphorus and total potassium. Organic briquette having rumen content with 100% blood and 80% coir pith (T10) recorded the highest total nitrogen, total phosphorus and total potassium content. The treatments for plant growth studies were selected based on the criteria that each treatment had highest values for at least two of the three primary nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The treatments T5, T7, T8, T10 and T12 were selected for plant growth studies. Pot experiment using selected briquettes was carried out to determine the effect of selected briquettes on growth parameters and yield attributes of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus). Nutrient release pattern of the selected organic briquettes was also studied. The best desirable growth parameters and yield attributes of okra was observed in T10. Availability of nutrients in the medium were relatively less during first 2 months of planting (MAP), however, it significantly increased between 3 and 4 MAP, which resulted in better plant growth and fruit yield. The study showed that there is great potential for development of organic briquettes using slaughter house wastes as an eco-friendly process, which are compact, easy to transport and market, and ideal for grow bag cultivation and garden nurseries.Graphic Abstract

Design and Improvement of Existing Briquette Making Machine

There has been a recent push to replace the burning of fossil fuels with biofuel. The replacement of this non-renewable energy resources with biological waste lowers the overall pollution of the world. The waste biomass similar to dry leaves, sawdust, rice husk, coffee husk etc. are gathered and compressed into the briquettes, these briquettes can also transport and used as fuel to generate heat and energy. It is a time to take initiative to turn Biomass into a source of energy. Hence here we are taking responsibility in converting agricultural and forestry wastes into useful biomass briquettes, which can also be used as a substitute for Coal and other non-renewable resources. Biomass briquettes are a biofuel substitute or replacement to a coal and charcoal. Biomass briquettes can be manufactured by using agricultural and forestry waste. The low-density biomass Is converted into high density biomass briquettes with the help of a briquetting machine that Uses binder or without binder i.e., binder less technique, as there is no any type of chemical is used so it is 100% natural. The mostly used raw material for biomass briquettes, Mustard Stalks, Sawdust, Groundnut Shell, Coffee Husk, Coir Pitch, Jute Sticks, Sugarcane Bagasse, Rice Husk, Cotton Stalks, Caster Seed Shells / Stalk, Wood Chips, Paddy straw, Tobacco Waste, Tea Waste, maize stalks, bajra Cobs, Arhar stalks, Bamboo Dust, Wheat Straw, Sunflower Stalk, Palm Husk, Soya bean Husk, Veneer Residues, Barks & Straws, Leaf’s, Pine Niddle, Seeds Cases etc. are used. Biomass Briquette are largely used for any type of thermal application, like steam generation in Boilers, in furnace & foundries (It can be used for metal heating & melting where melting point Is less than 1000d/cel.), for heating purpose (Residential & Commercial Heating in winter, Heating in Cold areas and Hotels, Canteens, Cafeterias and house hold kitchen appliances, restaurants etc.), There are several machines available in market but those machines are bulky and are costly, hence here we have developed a portable, low-cost briquetting machine, which makes use of simple mechanism to convert the biological waste into useful briquettes. Any waste or any proportion of Agri waste can be used but with proper binding agent. Some raw materials doesn’t require any binding material high pressure compression is used. The paper presents the results of a project focused on the development of briquettes from the sawdust (Waste Wood) resulting from the primary waste from timber companies. This sawdust currently lacks a useful purpose, and its indiscriminate burning generates CO and CO2 emissions which are harmful to nature. Sawmill Agri waste is a huge problem specially in urban cities. These wastes are burnt openly which is causing environmental pollution and also becomes reason for human health care.

Study of Combustion Characteristics and Kinetics of Agriculture Briquette Using Thermogravimetric Analysis.

The present paper was aimed to investigate the physicochemical properties and combustion characteristics of corn straw briquette as a fuel energy. The results of physicochemical properties displayed that corn straw briquette has higher volatile matter, lower ash content, and higher heating value. Combustion characteristics and kinetic analysis were investigated using thermogravimetry analysis at various heating rates of 10, 15, and 20 °C/min. It was observed that the maximum burning rate shifted to a higher temperature as the heating rate increased. In addition, a lower heating rate would help in better heat transfer, leading to less mass residual. In contrast, the combustion characteristic index showed a nearly 2-fold increase under a higher heating rate, indicating a good combustion performance. The combustion kinetics were expressed using isoconversional methods with Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose and Ozawa–Flynn–Wall methods, which authenticated the average activation energy at 108.85 and 114.42 kJ/mol, respectively. These results can provide a theoretical basis and data support for further utilization of agriculture biomass briquette.

Combustion characteristics of biomass fuel briquettes from onion peels and tamarind shells

Rising worldwide demand and consumption of fossil fuels have elevated wealth creation, improved undesirable impacts on climatic change from emission of greenhouse gases, and endangered communal health. In developing nations, biomass wastes, which include but are not limited to agricultural residues, are generated in huge quantities yearly. During the disposal of biomass, incomplete combustion causes people to get exposed to elevated indoor concentrations on health-damaging pollutants including particulate matter and carbon monoxide. Inefficient usage or disposed biomass wastes may cause toxic impacts on higher levels of pollution, the consequent degeneration of public health and ecological contamination. It is possible to convert these wastes into energy-efficient briquettes through densification. In this research work, the combustion characteristics were identified from biomass briquettes which were produced from Onion Peels (OP), Tamarind Shells (TS) and Cassava Starch. OP-TS were mixed sequentially and conversely with different proportions. From the total weight of biomass, 10% of cassava starch was added and briquettes were produced under 200 kN pressure from the compressed hydraulic system within the dwell time of 60 seconds. The proximate characteristics such as the presence of water content, amount of fixed carbon, ash and volatile matter were determined by using the standard procedures of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The ultimate parameter, which is inclusive of Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H) and Oxygen (O) were diagnosed in all produced biomass briquettes and calorific values were identified for all the produced biomass briquettes as well. OP-TS have better fuel properties in comparison with pine, cotton stalk (CS), wood sawdust (WS), municipal solid waste (MSW) and cotton straw biomass briquettes (CSB). Therefore, the produced biomass briquettes could bring substantial environmental and socio-economic benefits to rural communities and are potentially worthy fuels derived from agricultural wastes.

Development of a dually operated biomass briquette press

Development of a dually operated biomass briquette press

Assessment of the potential of charred briquettes of sawdust, rice and coconut husks: Using water boiling and user acceptability tests

Charred briquettes production is a sustainable way of producing cooking fuel from waste. Unsustainable harvesting of wood for fuel production has contributed immensely to the rapid deforestation in Ghana. This study determined the potential of charred briquettes of sawdust, rice and coconut husks in meeting cooking energy needs of households. In a further step, the acceptability of biomass users in the study to replace their current fuels with charred briquettes was established. The calorific value of the charred briquettes was found to be 24.69 MJ/kg. The highest combustion efficiency of briquettes was determined as 34.7% when a multi-feed gasifier stove (MFGS) was used. There were 14% and 80% reduction in particulate matter and carbon monoxide emissions, respectively when briquettes was used instead of charcoal in the MFGS. The analysis of the production cost of briquettes revealed that 1 kg of briquettes should be sold at Gh¢ 2.48 in order to make a 10% profit. The user acceptability survey indicated that about 40% of respondents are ready to patronize briquettes should it be sold at Gh¢ 2.48. This study established that briquette is a suitable replacement for wood and charcoal, if its full potential is harnessed and the energy utilization efficiency of biomass (sawdust, rice and coconut husts) briquettes is confirmed.