Production of Briquettes From the Composite of Sawdust, Banana Peels and Palm Fronds Using Cassava Starch as Binder.

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In Nigeria, over reliance on fossil fuels has led to environmental pollution and health problems which call for transitioning to a renewable energy system of which briquette is one of the sources. A manually operated briquettes machine was developed which was used to produce briquettes with the mixture of varying proportions of sawdust, banana peels and palm fronds content as a potential energy source and cassava starch as binder. The sawdust, palm fronds, banana peels  and binder were collected and prepared, they were then mixed at a ratio of 50:25:15:10 for sample A, 40:30:20:10 for sample B and 30:35:25:10 for sample C to produce briquettes. The briquettes were characterized after production to determine their combustion properties. Fabricated machine has nine mould with dimensions of 330 × 330 mm. The force required to compress nine briquettes was determine to be 1653.75 N and the maximum shear stress in the mould is 0.44 Mpa. The results from the analysis revealed that sample C, with the lowest sawdust content, exhibits the highest density of 0.152 g/cm³ and the highest ignition time of 40 seconds, while sample A with the highest sawdust content, demonstrates the shortest ignition time of 35 seconds and the highest calorific value of 24.5 MJ/kg. Sample B shows the lowest density of 0.146g/cm³ and moisture content of 10%, but the shortest burning time of 31 minutes. The most viable mixture of substrates was 50% sawdust, 25% palm frond and 25% banana peels due to its low ash content and high calorific value amidst many other properties. Briquettes with higher sawdust content provide better energy efficiency and burning performance, highlighting their suitability for domestic fuel applications.

Keywords:   Briquettes, Sawdust, Banana Peels, Palm Fronds, Cassava Starch.