Abstract
This work involved the production and thermal characterization of biomass briquettes produced by blending a major agricultural waste with coal dust. In the work, nine different compositions of coal dust/groundnut husk briquettes were produced using starch as the binder while Ca(OH2) was incorporated as the de-sulphurizing agent. The ash content, volatile matter, fixed carbon, moisture content, compressive strength, ignition time, calorific value, water boiling test and burning rate were carried out to determine the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of the briquettes produced. The results showed that moisture content values are in the range 2.43 - 6.44%, for compressive strength 7.72 - 10.85 N/mm3, for ash content 24.18 - 29.15 %, for calorific value 21714.17 - 25027.18 kJ/kg, for fixed carbon 16.77-53.22 %, for ignition time 22.23-45.20 s, for water boiling test 1.50-4.99 min and burning rate 16.10-28.32 g/min. These are appreciable values for the thermal properties of the bio-briquettes. Therefore, the agro-wastes briquettes are beneficial for heating purposes rather than open incineration of the wastes.