Evaluation of Fuel Properties of Blended Woody Biomass Using Bench-Scale Proximate Analysis
- Ogunwole O. B.1*, kuye A. O.2 and Dan-Jumbo F. A1
- DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19090409
- ISA Journal of Engineering and Technology (ISAJET)
As part of the efforts to meet the global energy requirement occasioned by population and economic growth, researchers from different parts of the world have explored various means of power generation in order to provide alternative sources of energy to the conventional fossil fuels and one of the most viable alternatives is the use of woody biomass and the feedstock used in this research is blended Ghana Obeche (Triplochiton Scleroxylon) softwood sawdust as a source of green energy. This research evaluated some fuel properties such as volatile matter (80.04 %wt.), ash content (0.38 %wt.), fixed carbon (8.30 %wt.), moisture content (11.28 %wt.) and heating value (29.65 MJ/Kg) using proximate analysis. Also examined was lignocellulosic composition of the feedstock which was performed using the BABAB, viscose, acid-insoluble test and Soxhlet extraction methods and the results for the cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin contents, water and ethanol soluble extractives of the studied sample were 32.3wt%, 13.2wt%, 20.5wt%, 2.045wt% and 0.918wt% respectively and the values fall within the Austria and Germany DIN51731 and IAEA-C3 standards for measuring wood fuel performance. Triodide-phosphoric acid stain test was used as a confirmatory test for cellulose and the effect of the test on the extracted samples at different time intervals confirmed the authenticity of the extracted cellulose samples as experimented. The percentage of the cellulose and other major constituents confirmed the suitability of the researched sample to produce high yield of bio-fuel during fast pyrolysis if used as feedstock.
