Utilization of lignocellulosic wastes: The sugarcane bagasse case.

This work was stimulated by the fact that supplies of fossil fuels are finite, while there are abundant renewable forms of energy waiting to be tapped. The current fossil fuels store is reviewed before identifying usable forms of renewable energy which could replace or supplement fossil fuels. Bagasse - a solid byproduct in sugarcane milling - is then described in detail as a typical lignocellulosic waste which forms part of a larger class of renewable energy sources called biomass. The chemical and physical characteristics, as well as world-wide regions of production of bagasse are described. The research work therefore concerned itself with investigating various physical methods of conserving renewable energy by improving on the extraction efficiency of such energy from bagasse. The equipment used for carrying out the research work is described in detail in chapter two. The methods employed in carrying out the investigations are similarly described in the same chapter, detailing every step in the investigations, including any precautions which had to be taken. The crude results from the investigations are analysed in detail in chapter three so that fuel combustion, combustion oxygen demand, heat and mass balances for the process are considered. An analysis of the boiler system - the main equipment in the investigations - is also carried out in chapter three so that temperatures, gas flow patterns, particle elutriations and size distributions of the fuel in the system are established. Conclusions of the investigations are then drawn from the analyses of chapter three. As a prelude to the conclusion of the work, an industrial biomass survey carried out in Tanzania is analysed to show that bagasse is not the only lignocellulosic which is produced industrially, and that reasonable financial savings can be obtained from these other lignocellulosics. The work concludes by describing a few areas of related research interest for further investigation