Production and quality testing of fuel briquettes made from pongamia and tamarind shell

Abstract

Biomass is receiving greater attention, especially in developed countries, mostly as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy supply security and decreasing their heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels. However, the low bulk density of biomass is the major limitation in its usage but briquetting overcomes this limitation. This research was carried out to identify the optimum blending ratio for solid fuel briquettes produced by pongamia (Pongamia pinnata) shell (PS) and tamarind (Tamarindus indica) shell (TS) with pongamia cake (PC) (0, 10, 20, 30%) as an additive. The cylindrical briquettes were produced with diameter of 3.6 cm and length of 4.5 to 5.5 cm at a pressure of 100, 150 and 200 MPa. The produced briquettes were evaluated for different briquette properties like compressed density, relaxed density, relaxation ratio, compressive strength and shattering index. The results indicated that the use of pongamia cake creates an adverse effect on the properties of briquettes and hence use of pongamia cake as an additive is not recommended. Briquettes produced with blending ratio of PS:TS:PC = 60:40:00 at 200 MPa have better quality and met the briquette standards for commercial use. The proximate analysis, the ultimate analysis and the calorific value of briquettes produced with blending ratio of PS:TS:PC = 60:40:00 at 200 MPa were conducted and the results indicated that overall combustion properties of the briquettes were improved than the original raw materials; and better than the agro waste briquettes. Thus, this work proved that the blending of PS and TS gives better quality briquettes which can be used as fuel in several applications.

Production and Characterization of Hybrid Briquettes from Corncobs and Oil Palm Trunk Bark under a Low Pressure Densification Technique

“…The shatter index of a briquette shows its ability to produce fewer fines during handling. The higher the value of the shatter index, better the quality of briquette [83] and indicative of high durability to gravitational deterioration [56]. The shatter indices of the hybrid briquettes in this study reveals that they can be good for transportation and storage.…”

A Review of Technical and Economic Aspects of Biomass Briquetting

“…To gauge the strength of briquettes for the purposes of handling, transportation, and storage  It indicates briquette's ability to produce fewer fines during handling. [126] and high durability to gravitational deterioration [117] Digital • To determine the percentage ash content briquette may produce after combustion.  Ash content in the briquette causes increase in the combustion remnant in form of ash which lowers the heating effect of the briquette [134] and may cause slagging [86] Furnace with a temperature range of 550 ± 10 °C…”

“…It indicates briquette's ability to produce fewer fines during handling. [126] and high durability to gravitational deterioration [117] Digital weighing scale, Meter rule, Steel plate, Sieve…”

Harnessing pongamia shell hydrolysate for triacylglycerol agglomeration by novel oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula pacifica INDKK

“…It was estimated that one hectare of land can produce approximately 6.8 tons of seeds in shell which can generate 1.12 tons of oil, 1.9 tons of meal, 2.67 tons of pod shells and others [23]. The air-dried pongamia shells (PS) consist of 46.02% carbon, 0.23% nitrogen, 42.46% oxygen, 5.58% hydrogen and 5.7% ash [24]. However, the PS are generally discarded or burned after oil extraction from seeds.…”

“…However, the PS are generally discarded or burned after oil extraction from seeds. Recently, pongamia shells have been utilized as fuel briquettes [24], but their utilization as feedstock for biodiesel production remain unexplored. The compositional analysis of widely available waste PS unveils its potential application for lipid production by microbes.…”