Investigation of mechanical properties of briquette product of sawdust-charcoal as a potential domestic energy source

Abstract

This research investigated the relaxed densities of biomass briquettes produced from combination of sawdust and charcoal.  Cassava starch gel and orange waste were used as binder for briquetting. Five sizes; 0.2 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.8 mm and 1.0 mm and mixing ratios 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20 and 90:10 of biomass materials, sawdust and charcoal were used with 16.6% binder. The ignition time, water boiling test, afterglow time and shattered index of the briquettes were analyzed. Descriptive tools were used to determine the optimum sizes and mixing ratios for effective production of briquette biomass. The results showed that the relax density of 663.33 kg/m3 and 589.31 kg/m3 were obtained for Cassava starch gel binder and orange waste at size 1.0 mm and mixing ratio of 90:10 while Ignition time of 12 sec and 19 sec were obtained for cassava starch gel and orange waste at size 0.2 mm and mixing ratio 50:50 respectively. Also water boiling time of 18.05 minutes and 15.00 minutes were obtained for cassava starch gel and orange waste at size 0.2 mm and mixing ratio 50:50 while the afterglow time of 321.00 sec and 318.00 sec at size 0.2 mm and mixing ratio 60:40 were obtained for cassava starch gel and orange waste respectively. The highest retention of shattered index of 98.21% and 96.71% were respectively recorded for cassava starch gel and orange waste at size 0.2 mm and mixing ratio 50:50.

Keywords: Biomass, Terminalia superb, Briquette, Cassava starch gel, Orange wastes, Afterglow time, Shattered index.