Improving the Physical, Mechanical and Energetic Characteristics of Pine Sawdust by the Addition of up to 40% Agave durangensis Gentry Pellets

Abstract

Agave durangensis Gentry biomass, as a residue from the mezcal production process, may be an interesting bioenergy alternative; however, its high ash content limits its application. In this study, pellets were generated with agave fiber mixed with Pinus species sawdust in the following six proportions (%): 100–0 (control), 80–20, 60–40, 40–60, 20–80 and 0–100 (control). The physical, chemical and energetic properties of the pellets were evaluated according to the UNE-EN ISO 17225-6, UNE EN ISO 17827-2, UNE-EN ISO 17828, UNE-EN ISO 18122, UNE-EN ISO 18123, UNE-EN ISO 18125, and UNE-EN ISO 18134-1 standards. The results showed significant statistical differences (p < 0.05) among the treatments tested. The percentage of volatile material and fixed carbon ranged from 86.53 to 89.96% and 4.17 to 8.16%, respectively; the ash content ranged from 0.27 to 10.06%, and the calorific value ranged from 17.33 to 18.03 MJ/kg. Bulk density ranged from 725.76 to 737.37 kg/m3 and the impact-strength index was in the range of 69.33 to 126.66. The mechanical hardness and compressive strength were found to be in the ranges of 50.5 to 68.4% and 0.90 to 36.65 N/mm, respectively. Pellets generated with Agave residue mixture ≤ 40% were identified as promising biobased resources for the sustainable production of renewable energy.

Transformation Processes for Energy Production Alternatives from Different Biomass Sources in the Highlands and Semi-Desert Areas of Mexico

“…Experimental results demonstrated that torrefaction and densification technologies were effective methods to obtain higher quality torrefied pellets compared to regular wood pellets [125,126]. The pelletization process was also used to revalorize the wastes from the mezcal industry [31], by using mixtures of Agave durangensis fiber and pine sawdust. The proportion of 80% of A. durangensis fiber: 20% pine sawdust registered: volatile material 86.2%, ash 6.5%, fixed carbon 7.3%, calorific value 14.1 MJ/kg, and bulk density of 726.0 kg/m 3 .…”

Estructura horizontal y diversidad de los bosques de Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb) Franco en México

“…Recientemente se han desarrollado numerosos estudios sobre la diversidad y estructura en masas forestales de coníferas y latifoliadas de interés comercial para un aprovechamiento sustentable como los generados por (López-Hernández et al, 2017;Monárrez-González et al, 2018;Ramírez-Santiago et al, 2019;Blancarte-Contreras et al, 2022;Chávez-Aguilar et al, 2022;Muñoz-Flores et al, 2022).…”

Assessment of the Physical and Energetic Properties of Fuel Pellets Made from Sage Waste Biomass with the Addition of Rye Bran

“…Atabani et al [52] produced and burned pellets made from spent coffee grounds and other waste biomass. Blancarte-Contreras [53] investigated the mechanical and energetic properties of pellets produced from agave fiber mixed with Pinus species sawdust in six different proportions. Chojnacki et al [54] added wastes from the production of apple, carrot, and red beet juice to barley straw and examined their influence on the density, hardness, ash content, and calorific value of pellets.…”