TITLE:
Evaluation of Fuel Properties of Six Tropical Hardwood Timber Species for Briquettes
AUTHORS:
Stephen J. Mitchual, Kwasi Frimpong-Mensah, Nicholas A. Darkwa
KEYWORDS:
Ash Content; Briquette; Calorific Value; Elemental Composition; Species; Volatile Matter
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems,
Vol.4 No.1,
March
27,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The fuel potential of six tropical hardwood
species namely: Triplochiton scleroxylon, Ceiba pentandra, Aningeria
robusta, Terminalia superba, Celtis mildbreadii and Piptadenia africana were studied.
Properties studied included species density, gross calorific value, volatile
matter, ash content, organic carbon and elemental composition. Fuel properties
were determined using standard laboratory methods. The result indicates
that the gross calorific value (GCV) of the species ranged from 20.16 to 22.22
MJ/kg and they slightly varied from each other. Additionally, the GCV of the
biomass materials were higher than that of other biomass materials like; wheat
straw, rice straw, maize straw and sugar cane. The ash and volatile matter
content varied from 0.6075 to 5.0407%, and 75.23% to 83.70% respectively. The
overall rating of the properties of the six biomass materials suggested that Piptadenia africana has the best fuel
property to be used as briquettes and Aningeria robusta the worse. This study therefore suggests that a holistic
assessment of a biomass material needs to be done before selecting it for fuel
purpose.