Quality Assessment of Biofuel Briquettes Obtained from Greenhouse Waste Using a Mobile Prototype Briquetting Machine with PTO Drive

Abstract

Turkey has a large agricultural area and produces 55–60 million tons of biomass waste/year. This study aimed to obtain bio-briquettes from three types of dried greenhouse wastes and to determine their strength parameters. A prototype of a mobile briquetting machine driven by power take-off (PTO), with hydraulic pistons, and comprising a shredder and grinding or crushing unit with a briquetting pressure in the range of 0–190 MPa, was used. The physical parameters of the obtained briquettes were determined, including density, tumbler and shatter resistance, compression resistance, water intake capacity, and resistance to moisture-humidity. The results of physical and mechanical tests showed that the briquettes are of an extremely high quality. The maximum density, shatter and tumbler resistance were 1143.52 kg·m−3, 99.24% in pepper plant waste, and 98.52% in eggplant plant waste, respectively. Based on the analysis of compression tests obtained under 190 MPa (maximum compaction force of 450 kN), the maximum compression force, compression stress, and specific compression force were found in briquettes made from tomato plant wastes (3315 N, 69.43 N·mm−2, 40.09 N·mm−1, respectively). Overall, the results and variables affecting the strength parameters showed that greenhouse waste biomass is an excellent feedstock for the production of high quality bio-briquettes. The valorization of briquetted greenhouse waste with the proposed prototype contributes to the sustainability of the environment and to a reduction in energy costs for farmers.

Utilization of grape waste with different moisture content as fuel briquettes

“…Kaliyan and Morey reported that the durability value of briquettes obtained from corn cobs ground at 150 MPa compression pressure was between 88.2 and 92.3% 38 . Kabas determined the tumbler index value of briquettes obtained from nutshell fruit wastes between 95% and 97% and the tumbler index value of briquettes obtained from greenhouse wastes as 94–98% in their studies 18,19 …”

“…While determining the tumbler index and shatter index of the briquettes, the broken briquette pieces were sieved using a sieve with an opening of 20 mm and the particles remaining on the sieve were not considered as loss 17–19 …”

“…While determining the tumbler index and shatter index of the briquettes, the broken briquette pieces were sieved using a sieve with an opening of 20 mm and the particles remaining on the sieve were not considered as loss. [17][18][19] Briquette density was determined by the stereometric method based on the measurement of briquette dimensions using 50 briquettes in every replicates. In this method, the briquettes were first weighed with a digital scale accurate to 0.001 g and their mass was recorded.…”

“…38 Kabas determined the tumbler index value of briquettes obtained from nutshell fruit wastes between 95% and 97% and the tumbler index value of briquettes obtained from greenhouse wastes as 94-98% in their studies. 18,19 The shatter index is extremely important in determining the forces encountered during packaging, loading, and unloading of briquettes into transportation vehicles. Depending on the moisture content of the raw material, the shatter index values of the briquettes were found to be close to each other and had quite high values such as 94-98%.…”

Prediction of Briquette Deformation Energy via Ensemble Learning Algorithms Using Physico-Mechanical Parameters

“…Biomass boasts the capacity to be stored and subsequently utilized as needed. Moreover, the decreases in emissions of greenhouse gases, enhanced safety measures, and the progression of the indigenous economy are indeed a few of the advantages intrinsic to the utilization of biomass [5].…”