Res. Agr. Eng., 2022, 68(4):210-215 | DOI: 10.17221/74/2021-RAE

Viability of some African agricultural by-products as a feedstock for solid biofuel productionShort Communication

Musa Bappah2, Jiøí Bradna ORCID...*,1, Jan Mala»ák ORCID...1, Petr Vaculík1
1 Department of Technological Equipment of Buildings, Faculty of Engineering, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
2 Department of Sustainable Technologies, Faculty of Tropical AgriScience, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

As a source of renewable energy, agricultural by-products after pre-processing and cleaning in post-harvest lines can be used as a feedstock for the production of pellets or briquettes. This can be achieved by determining the physicochemical properties of the by-products. Groundnut pods, maize cobs and the husks of rice, millet and sorghum were considered, and their properties were determined, which were then compared with the standard properties of pellets and briquettes to ascertain their viability as a feedstock for the pellet or briquette production. The by-products were transported from Nigeria to the Czech Republic and the research was carried out at the Department of Technological Equipment of Buildings, the Faculty of Engineering, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. The moisture content, ash content, calorific value, nitrogen content and sulfur content were the properties considered of the by-products. Groundnut pods and maize cobs with a calorific value of 17.48 MJ.kg-1 and 16.25 MJ.kg-1, an ash content of 3.46% weight and 1.79% weight, a nitrogen content of 1.24% weight and 0.44% weight and a moisture content of 7.92 weight and 7.56% weight, respectively, were discovered to fulfill all the requirements for graded non-woody pellets A. With the exception of rice husks and millet husks, which were discovered to have high ash contents and low calorific values, all the by-products fulfilled the standard requirements for one or more grade of pellet/briquette. They can, therefore, be used as a good feedstock for pellet or briquette production.

Keywords: briquette; groundnut pods; maize cobs; pellet

Published: April 15, 2022  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Bappah M, Bradna J, Mala»ák J, Vaculík P. Viability of some African agricultural by-products as a feedstock for solid biofuel production. Res. Agr. Eng. 2022;68(4):210-215. doi: 10.17221/74/2021-RAE.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Akhmedov S., Ivanova T., Krepl V., Muntean A. (2017): Research on solid biofuels from cotton waste biomass - Alternative for Tajikistan's energy sector development. Agronomy Research, 15: 1846-1855.
    2. Bappah M., Bradna J., Velebil J., Malatak J. (2019): The potential of energy recovery from by-products of small agricultural farms in Nigeria. Agronomy Research, 17: 2180-2186.
    3. Bradna J., Malaȇk J. (2016): Flue gases thermal emission concentration during waste biomass combustion in small combustion device with manual fuel supply. Research in Agricultural Engineering, 62: 1-7. Go to original source...
    4. Bradna J., Mala»ák J., Hájek D. (2016): The properties of wheat straw combustion and use of fly ash as a soil amendment. Agronomy Research, 14: 1257-1265.
    5. Caraschi J.C., Goveia D., Dezajacomo G., Prates G.A. (2019): Evaluation of biomass properties for the production of solid biofuels. Floresta e Ambiente, 26: e20180433. Go to original source...
    6. Chen L., Xing L., Han L. (2009): Renewable energy from agroresidues in China: Solid biofuels and biomass briquetting technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13: 2689-2695. Go to original source...
    7. Èerný D., Mala»ák J., Bradna J. (2016): Influence of biofuel moisture content on combustion and emission characteristics of stove. Agronomy Research, 14: 725-732.
    8. Demirbas A. (2004): Combustion characteristics of different biomass fuels. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 30: 219-230. Go to original source...
    9. Díaz-Ramírez M., Sebastián F., Royo J., Rezeau A. (2014): Influencing factors on NOX emission level during grate conversion of three pelletized energy crops. Applied Energy, 115: 360-373. Go to original source...
    10. Gendek A., Aniszewska M., Malaȇk J., Velebil J. (2018): Evaluation of selected physical and mechanical properties of briquettes produced from cones of three coniferous tree species. Biomass and Bioenergy, 117: 173-179. Go to original source...
    11. Gürdil G.A.K., Selvi K.C., Malaták J., Pinar Y. (2009): Biomass utilization for thermal energy. Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa Latin & America, 40: 80-85.
    12. Hnilièka F., Hnilièková H., Hejnák V. (2015): Use of combustion methods for calorimetry in the applied physiology of plants. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 120: 411-417. Go to original source...
    13. Hnilièka F., Hnilièková H., Kudrna J., Kraus K., Kukla J., Kuklová M. (2020): Combustion calorimetry and its application in the assessment of ecosystems. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 142: 771-781. Go to original source...
    14. International Organization for Standardization (2015): ISO 18122:2015. Solid biofuels - Determination of ash content. Geneva, Switzerland.
    15. International Organization for Standardization (2020): ISO 1928:2020. Coal and coke - Determination of gross calorific value. Geneva, Switzerland.
    16. International Organization for Standardization (2021a): ISO 17225-2. Fuel specifications and classes - Part 2: Graded wood pellets. Geneva, Switzerland.
    17. International Organization for Standardization (2021b): ISO 17225-6. Solid biofuels - Fuel specifications and classes - Part 6: Graded non-woody pellets. Geneva, Switzerland.
    18. International Organization for Standardization (2021c): ISO 17225-3. Solid biofuels - Fuel specifications and classes Part 3: Graded wood briquettes. Geneva, Switzerland.
    19. International Organization for Standardization (2021d): ISO 17225-7. Solid biofuels - Fuel specifications and classes Part 7: Graded non-woody briquettes. Geneva, Switzerland.
    20. Ivanova T., Mendoza Hernández A.H., Bradna J., Cusimamani E.F., Montoya J.C.G., Espinel D.A.A. (2018): Assessment of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) wood biomass for briquettes' production. Forests, 9: 613. Go to original source...
    21. Jenkins B.M., Baxter L.L., Miles T.R. Jr., Miles T.R. (1998): Combustion properties of biomass. Fuel Processing Technology, 54: 17-46. Go to original source...
    22. Jenkins D. (2010): Wood Pellet Heating Systems: The Earthscan Expert Handbook on Planning, Design and Installation. London, Routledge. Go to original source...
    23. Johansson L.S., Leckner B., Gustavsson L., Cooper D., Tullin C., Potter A. (2004): Emission characteristics of modern and old-type residential boilers fired with wood logs and wood pellets. Atmospheric Environment, 38: 4183-4195. Go to original source...
    24. Juszczak M. (2016): Comparison of CO and NOx concentrations from a 20 kW boiler for periodic and constant wood pellet supply. Environment Protection Engineering, 42: 95-107. Go to original source...
    25. Kraszkiewicz A., Kachel-Jakubowska M., Niedzió³ka I. (2015): Analysis of selected physical and chemical properties of plant biomass of agricultural origin in terms of its energy use. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 21: 1295-1299.
    26. Lenerts A., Popluga D., Naglis-Liepa K. (2019): Benchmarking the GHG emissions intensities of crop and livestock- derived agricultural commodities produced in Latvia. Agronomy Research, 17: 1942-1952.
    27. Malat'ák J., Velebil J., Bradna J. (2018): Specialty types of waste paper as an energetic commodity. Agronomy Research, 16: 534-542.
    28. Malaȇk J., Bradna J., Velebil J. (2017): The dependence of COx and NOx emission concentrations on the excess air coefficient during combustion of selected agricultural briquetted by-products. Agronomy Research, 15: 1084-1093.
    29. Mala»ák J., Velebil J., Bradna J., Gendek A., Tamelová B. (2020a): Evaluation of CO and NOX emissions in real-life operating conditions of herbaceous biomass briquettes combustion. Acta Technologica Agriculturae, 23: 53-59. Go to original source...
    30. Malaȇk J., Gendek A., Aniszewska M., Velebil J. (2020b): Emissions from combustion of renewable solid biofuels from coniferous tree cones. Fuel, 276: 118001. Go to original source...
    31. McKendry P. (2002): Energy production from biomass (Part 1): Overview of biomass. Bioresource Technology, 83: 37-46. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    32. Nunes L.J.R., Matias J.C.O., Catalão J.P.S. (2016): Biomass combustion systems: A review on the physical and chemical properties of the ashes. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 53: 235-242. Go to original source...
    33. Obernberger I., Brunner T., Bärnthaler G. (2006): Chemical properties of solid biofuels-significance and impact. Biomass and Bioenergy, 30: 973-982. Go to original source...
    34. Obernberger I., Thek G. (2004): Physical characterisation and chemical composition of densified biomass fuels with regard to their combustion behaviour. Biomass and Bioenergy, 27: 653-669. Go to original source...
    35. Piêtka J., Gendek A., Mala»ák J., Velebil J., Moskalik T. (2019): Effects of selected white-rot fungi on the calorific value of beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.). Biomass and Bioenergy, 127: 105290. Go to original source...
    36. Pòakoviè ¥., Dzurenda L. (2015): Combustion characteristics of fallen fall leaves from ornamental trees in city and forest parks. BioResources, 10: 5563-5572. Go to original source...
    37. Szemmelveisz K., Szucs I., Palotás Á.B., Winkler L., Eddings E.G. (2009): Examination of the combustion conditions of herbaceous biomass. Fuel Processing Technology, 90: 839-847. Go to original source...
    38. Vassilev S.V., Baxter D., Andersen L.K., Vassileva C.G. (2010): An overview of the chemical composition of biomass. Fuel, 89: 913-33. Go to original source...
    39. Wang L., Hustad J.E., Skreiberg Ø., Skjevrak G., Grønli M. (2012): A critical review on additives to reduce ash related operation problems in biomass combustion applications. Energy Procedia, 20: 20-29. Go to original source...
    40. Winter F., Wartha C., Hofbauer H. (1999): NO and N2O formation during the combustion of wood, straw, malt waste and peat. Bioresource Technology, 70: 39-49. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content