Charcoal briquettes from agricultural waste as alternative fuel -

Charcoal briquettes from agricultural waste as alternative fuel

Bio charcoal briquettes are one of the fuels that come from biomass. This study aims to know the characteristics of bio charcoal briquettes from maize cob with  compaction pressured (22.426 kg/cm² and 44.80 kg/cm²) and particle size variation (40, 50, and 60) mesh. Analysis  the characteristics of briquettes includes: density, moisture content, ash content, volatile matter, fixed carbon, heating value, ignition time and flame rate. The process of making briquettes was making charcoal from maize cob waste, and then it was crushed manually to produce charcoal particles. The composition of briquette mixture consisting of 60 % charcoal particles, 10 % sago flour and hot water as much as 30 % of the total weight of charcoal briquettes. The compaction tools using hydraulic jack to pressure the briquette.

Material

The tools used in this research were bomb calorimeter, charcoal furnace (carbonization drum), sieve size 40 to  60 mesh, The mold and press employed to produce  briquettes in this study are of cylindrical type (inner diameter 24 mm and height 60 mm), manual hydraulic  which has a capacity of 20 tons (compacting tools), oven  and digital scales (moisture content testing), ash content  testing using ovens and digital scales, fixed carbon  testing using digital scales, volatile matter testing using  stoves and digital scales. The materials used in this research were aluminium foil, sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃), MO indicator, water (H₂O), sago flour and maize cob.

The Process of Making Bio Charcoal Briquettes

a) Corn cob charcoal obtained from the results of the charcoal was mashed up manually to produce charcoal powder. The selected maize cob are inserted into charcoal maker container arranged in such a way that it is almost full, the drum was tightly closed then the fire is turned on through the ventilation hole at the base of tube until it reaches a temperature of  250 °C, the combustion process continues until all materials are burned. After being cooled, the charcoal produced was separated from the remaining ash for further processing. The crushed charcoal is sieved with a sieve size of 40 to 60 mesh.

b) Making briquettes, consisting of: charcoal amounting to 60%, sago flour 10% and hot water (98.6°C) as much as 30% of the total bio briquette weight of maize cob.

c) The adhesive from sago flour (10%) and hot water at 98.6°C, mixed with the charcoal particle manually.

d) After that the charcoal was pressured at various 22.426 kg /cm2 and 44.80 kg/cm² in the form of a hollow cylinder.

Briquette Quality Test

Analysis of the quality of corn cob charcoal briquettes includes density, moisture content, ash content, volatile matter, fixed carbon, calorific value, ignition time and flame rate were estimated by standard methods.

Conclusion

The proximate analysis is a standardized analysis procedure that attempts to quantify some characteristics of biomass briquettes which affect its combustion characteristics. The variation of pressured and particle size of briquettes give different effects on the characteristic of briquettes burning quality. This experimental work focuses on developing a method to manufacture briquettes of consistent quality at medium pressures by employing a wet technique. These techniques were used to carry out a study on cylindrical shaped briquettes, observing the result of variables (density, moisture content, ash content, volatile matter, and fix carbon) on briquette burn quality (calorific value, burning time, and flame rate) with different compaction pressured and particle roughness. Therefore, the products of briquetting can be compared with other materials from agricultural waste and also the results can formulated. The method to manufacture briquettes can offers employment for the rural communities. It also overcomes the demand of firewood and other fuels for various burning processes.

Reference:

Sunardi, S., Djuanda, D. and Mandra, M.A.S., 2019. Characteristics of charcoal briquettes from agricultural waste with compaction pressure and particle size variation as alternative fuel. International Energy Journal, 19(3):139-148.