Characterisation of Briquette Fuel Produced from Admixture of Coconut Coir and Sawdust Particles using Starch Gel Binder
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Date
2026-03-30
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Published by Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of compositional variation on the properties of
biomass briquettes produced from the admixture of coconut coir (CC) and
sawdust (S) using cassava starch as a binder. The materials were locally sourced
and processed to produce five formulations of briquette samples from 100:0 to
50:50 (CC:S) at compaction pressure of 5 MPa and curing temperature at 105 oC
for 1 hour. The characterization of the briquettes was done using proximate,
ultimate, physical and combustion analysis according to established ASTM
standards. Results showed the moisture content of the briquette samples varied
from 6.87 to 7.77%, ash content from 3 to 6%, fixed carbon from 11.51 - 14.07%
and volatile matter from 74.5 - 76.9%. The Higher Heating Value (HHV) was
found to vary from 15.88 - 16.71 MJ/kg. The statistical analysis with one-way
ANOVA confirmed significant differences (p < 0.05) between different
compositions. The briquette sample with 50:50 of coconut coir and sawdust ratio
was found to have superior combustion properties with the highest HHV and
lowest ash content. The findings demonstrated that optimizing composition and
minimizing ash content significantly improves briquette performance. The
produced briquette is recommended for both domestic and industrial
applications.
Description
Keywords
Biomass briquettes, Coconut coir, sawdust Particles, ultimate analysis, proximate analysis, calorific value
Citation
Ambali, I. O., Shuaib-Babata, Y. L., Busari, Y. O., Issa, A. M., Ajao, K. S., & Popoola, O. T