Comparative Assessment of Combustion Properties of Carbonized and Non-carbonized Briquettes from Sawdust

Sawdust is a by-product of woodwork operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planning and routing. It is mainly composed of fine chippings of wood. This study compares and contrast the properties of carbonized and non-carbonized briquettes made from sawdust. Eight (8) different briquettes samples were synthesized (four (4) for non–carbonized and four (4) for carbonized briquettes) with equal binder concentrations of 3.0, 5.0, 7.0 and 9.0 % w/w respectively. The briquettes produced were labelled A, B, C and D for the non–carbonized briquettes and E, F, G and H for the carbonized briquettes respectively. Tapioca starch was used as the binding agent. The combustion properties analyzed were ash content, moisture content and volatile matter. The fixed carbon content, calorific value, bulk density and briquettes yield were also determined. The carbonized briquette samples were found to have lower ash content, moisture content and volatile matter with average values of 16.95 %, 6.06 %, and 20.70 % w/w respectively, compared to that of the non-carbonized briquette with corresponding average values of 23.14 %, 7.94 % and 23.74 % w/w respectively. The carbonized briquettes were adjudged better fuel having higher carbon content, calorific value and bulk density with average values of 56.30 wt%, 26.26MJ/kg and 184.41kg/m3 respectively, compared to that of the non-carbonized briquette with corresponding average values of 45.29 wt%, 23.47MJ/kg and 173.61kg/m3 respectively. More also, the carbonized briquettes exhibit slightly a higher briquette yield than the corresponding non-carbonized briquettes produced. Generally, the results indicate that carbonized briquettes are better fuels than the corresponding non-carbonized briquettes. Furthermore, the results point to the viability of using waste sawdust for briquette manufacture as alternative energy source for domestic and local small-scale industries applications. Keywords: briquettes, sawdust, carbonize, non-carbonize, binder, tapioca DOI: 10.7176/CPER/64-05 Publication date: June 30 202