Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Comparative analysis of briquettes obtained from biomass and charcoal

J. Ajith Kumar, K. Vinoth Kumar, M. Petchimuthu, S. Iyahraja, D. Vignesh Kumar ⇑
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Engineering College, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: It is well known that there is a need for large amount of energy from alternate fuels due to the depletion
Received 4 November 2019 of fossil fuels and increased energy demand. This paper analyses the important properties of biomass,
Received in revised form 24 February 2020 charcoal with and without binder as alternate fuels. Also, the effect of solid and hollow briquettes on
Accepted 28 February 2020
ash, moisture contents and volatile matter of the briquettes are studied. The briquettes are made from
Available online xxxx
wood waste and charcoal. Starch has been used as binder with charcoal. The calorific value, moisture con-
tent, ash content and volatile matter were estimated. The investigation shows that the pure charcoal pos-
Keywords:
sesses higher calorific value than that with binder and biomass. However the addition of binder can
Biomass
Charcoal
reduce ash content, moisture content and volatile matter which may lead to the benefits of reduced cor-
Starch rosion effect.
Briquettes Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Calorific value Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International
Comparison Conference on Advances in Materials Research – 2019.

1. Introduction
In the modern world, there is a need for large amount of energy.
Presently fossil fuels are used to meet the increasing energy
demand. But, the availability of fossil fuel is going on decreasing.
There is a huge hike in the cost of conventional fuels and fuel also
increases the air pollution like unburnt carbon, oxides of nitrogen
and sulphur. Due to these pollutants, acid rain and the health prob-
lems like bronchitis, lung cancer, skin cancer, irritation of eyes,
vomiting are happening. So there is a need of alternate fuel which
can overcome these problems. Renewable energy sources are one
of the efficient methods to solve these problems. Energy from bio-
mass is one of the cheaply and easily available forms of renewable
source of energy which can be produced by decaying of the natural
waste. Biomass is a fuel which is obtained from waste organic
materials. It is a renewable and also a sustainable source of energy
which can be used to generate electrical energy or other forms of
energy like heat energy. Some of the examples of materials which
can be made as biomass fuels are forest debris, scrap lumber, man-
ure, certain crops, and agricultural waste residues. Through a reg-
ular supply of waste obtained from the construction as well as
demolition activities of the buildings which are not used in paper-
making and also municipal solid waste, production of green energy
can prolong indefinitely. Also, biomass is a pollution free environ-
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: vickynesh@nec.edu.in (D. Vignesh Kumar).
ment, easily available fuel. Biomass can be used to generate elec-
tricity and heat. The agro residues like rice husk, coir pith, saw
dust, leafs of different plants are easily available. The disadvan-
tages of using the agro residues as fuel are low bulk density, high
moisture content. Biomass can be easily compressed to convert
in to solid fuel. This process is called briquetting. The compressed
biomass is called as briquettes. The main advantages of these type
of briquettes are less volume, easy handling, low transportation
cost, complete combustion of fuel and easy to store. During han-
dling, storage and transportation, the briquettes will not be
damaged.
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue prepared by
eliminating water and other volatile elements from animal as well
as vegetation substances. Charcoal is generally produced by means
of slow pyrolysis. Slow pyrolysis is a process of heating of firewood
or any other substances containing carbon or hydrocarbons in the
absence of oxygen. The benefit of using charcoal rather than just
firing wood is the elimination of water and other constituents,
which allows the charcoal to burn to a higher temperature. Also,
the combustion of charcoal is nearer to complete combustion so
that the end products of combustion are mainly carbon dioxide
with a very little smoke. Charcoal consists of varying quantities
of hydrogen as well as oxygen in addition to ash along with other
impurities which, together with the structure, decide the proper-
ties of the charcoal. The approximate composition of charcoal for
gunpowder is sometimes empirically expressed as C7H4O. In order
to get a charcoal with high purity, raw material should be free from

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.918
2214-7853/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Advances in Materials Research – 2019.

Please cite this article as: J. Ajith Kumar, K. Vinoth Kumar, M. Petchimuthu et al., Comparative analysis of briquettes obtained from biomass and charcoal,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.918
2 J. Ajith Kumar et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig 1. (a) Die for Briquette. (b) Plunger for compression. (c) Base plate with rod for Hollow Briquette.

pressure and suitable binding agents. Briquetting methods can be

Fig 2. Assembled 3D View.
non-volatile compounds. Briquetting is a technology which is gen-
erally used to densify or compact the loose burnable materials into
a solid composite with different sizes and shapes by applying the
categorized as follows based on their mechanical properties and
the equipments used for the process viz. manual press densifica-
tion, piston press densification, screw press densification and roll
press densification. Briquetting of solid fuel like biomass and char-
coal plays a vital role in the properties and combustion of solid
fuels. Investigations have been carried to analyze the thermal
properties and combustion performance of the various solid fuels.
Bhattacharya et al. [1] proposed two technologies for the densi-
fication of wastes and carbonization of the densified product such
as briquetting-carbonization (BC) and carbonization-briquetting
(CB). In the BC techniques, the source material was initially densi-
fied and the densified product is then carbonized to make charcoal
briquette. In the CB technique, the raw material was initially car-
bonized and crushed if needed to get powered charcoal, which is
finally briquetted. Teixeira et al. [2] used sugar-cane bagasse fly
ash to prepare the briquette obtained which possesses a high
amount of charcoal (not more than 30% by weight) mixed with
starch extracted from cassava flour as a binder. The results showed
that sugar-cane bagasse fly ash (SCBFA) can be used to produce bri-
quettes with an average density of 1.12 g cm 3 and an average
calorific value of 25,551 kJ/kg. Barbara et al. [3], Xutao and Xingtao
[4], Njenga et al. [5] and Nwabue et al. [6] prepared the briquettes
with various materials using different technologies and studied
their thermal properties for their suitability as a solid fuel.

Fig 3. (a) Wooden briquette specimen. (b) Charcoal briquette specimen.

Please cite this article as: J. Ajith Kumar, K. Vinoth Kumar, M. Petchimuthu et al., Comparative analysis of briquettes obtained from biomass and charcoal,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.918
 J. Ajith Kumar et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx 3

Fig 4. TGA results of (a) Wood, (b) Charcoal, (c) Charcoal with resin.

Balasubramani et al. [7] explained the needs and elements of et al. [8] experimented the infrared radiation drying behaviour of
briquetting system and proposed the different techniques to four typical biomass briquettes such as spent coffee grounds, pop-
enhance the productivity of the biomass briquetting system by ulus tomentosa leaves, eucalyptus bark and cotton stalk on a labo-
overcoming the bottlenecks and promoting the processes. Chen ratory scale setup and reported that the average value of the

Please cite this article as: J. Ajith Kumar, K. Vinoth Kumar, M. Petchimuthu et al., Comparative analysis of briquettes obtained from biomass and charcoal,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.918
4 J. Ajith Kumar et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 1
Calorific values of biomass and charcoal.

Material Calorific Value (kJ/kg)

Sample 1 Sample 2‘ Sample 3
Biomass (Wood) 18,527 18,128 18,250
Charcoal 27,078 26,988 27,022
Charcoal with resin 20,769 20,525 21,025

Fig 7. Volatile matter.

combustion performance. Naomi et al. [17] prepared briquettes

containing 80% by weight molasses having different
charcoal/molasses ratios of 40:60, 30:70, and 20:80 and studied
the various characteristics in terms of bulk density, calorific value,
compressive strength, proximate analysis, micro-structure and
also flammable characteristics. In this junction, it is proposed to
analyse the properties of charcoal and biomass with starch as bin-
Fig 5. Moisture content.
der. Also, the effect of solid and hollow briquettes on ash, moisture
contents and volatile matter of the briquettes are studied.

2. Preparation of briquettes

Initially the biomass obtained from wood waste of Prosopis juli-

flora (Karuvelam tree) and charcoals are crushed into the form of
powder separately. Then the powdered raw materials are packed
in the die and pressed with the plunger in universal testing
machine (UTM) by applying the load from 3 to 7 Ton to get the bri-
quettes of the desired shape. The die and plunger used in the pre-
sent investigation are shown in Fig. 1(a) & (b). Similarly, the hollow
shape of charcoal and biomass briquette is prepared using the base
plate with rod shown in Fig. 1(b) along with the die and plunger by
following the same procedure. Also, the charcoal briquettes are
prepared by adding starch as resin with the mass proportions of
75% charcoal and 25% resin. Three samples of each briquette are
prepared for experimental analysis.
The assembled drawing of the die and plunger is shown in
Fig. 2.
The sample briquettes prepared with biomass and charcoal are
Fig 6. Ash content.
shown in Fig. 3(a) & (b).

3. Results and discussion

radiation heat transfer flux for the briquettes obtained from spent
coffee grounds is 1.1 times higher than that for the leaves, and also,
3.1. TGA results
1.2 times higher than the remaining two samples, which can be
attributed due to less surface temperature of the spent coffee
TGA results of biomass, charcoal and charcoal with resin are
grounds than the other three samples. Moreover, Florentino-
shown in Fig. 4.
Madiedo et al. [9] and also Rukayya and Julia [10] explored and
compared the effects of binders on different briquettes of charcoal
and biomass. Salema et al. [11], Reuben and Daniel [12] discussed 3.2. Calorific value
the different technologies for briquetting of solid fuels and their
behaviour. In addition, many authors such as Yudi Li et al. [13], The calorific values of each sample are measured using bomb
Swagat et al. [14], Seiji Nomura [15], Amarasekara et al. [16] ana- calorimeter. The calorific values of the sample briquettes are pre-
lyzed a variety of raw materials, briquetting processes and their sented in the Table 1.
applications. However, there is a need for more investigations to From the above table, it is observed that the calorific vale of
study the effect of different solid fuels with different briquetting charcoal higher than the biomass, and the addition of resin as bin-
techniques to arrive the confirmation on their properties and der reduces the calorific value of the charcoal.

Please cite this article as: J. Ajith Kumar, K. Vinoth Kumar, M. Petchimuthu et al., Comparative analysis of briquettes obtained from biomass and charcoal,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.918
 J. Ajith Kumar et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
3.3. Moisture content, ash content and volatile matter
The moisture content, ash content and volatile matter of the
sample briquettes were estimated following the standard proce-
dures. For the measurement of all the above parameters, 2 g of
mass from each sample of briquettes is taken. For measurement
of moisture, the sample was placed in wash glass and heated in
an oven for 2 h at 100 °C. The moisture content was evaluated by
calculating the difference in masses before and after the testing
as percentage of initial mass. Then, the test sample was kept in a
pre-weighed porcelain crucible and moved to a preheated muffle
furnace which was set on a temperature of 600 °C for 1 h after
which the crucible along with its contents were transferred to a
desiccator and then allowed to cool. The crucible as well as its con-
tent were weighed again and the new mass was noted. The per-
centage of ash content was calculated by finding the ratio
between mass of ash after cooling and original weight of dry
sample.
For the determination of volatile matter, the sample of the bri-
quette was heated to about 300 °C for 10 min in a partially closed
crucible inside the muffle furnace. Then, the crucible along with its
content were taken back and cooled in the desiccator. The differ-
ence in mass was recorded and the volatile matter was estimated
as percentage by the calculating the ratio of difference in mass
and the original mass of the sample. The moisture content, ash
content and volatile matter of the sample briquettes of biomass,
charcoal with and without resin are shown in the Figs. 5, 6 & 7
respectively.
From the above graphs, it is inferred that the ash content and
moisture ash content are lower for biomass briquettes compared
to charcoal briquettes, volatile matter is low for charcoal bri-
quettes. Also, it is observed that addition of resin in charcoal causes
a reduction in ash content, moisture content and volatile matter as
well as calorific value compared to the charcoal without binder.
Moreover, making briquettes as hollow shape instead of solid
shape also possibly reduces the ash, moisture and volatile matter
contents of charcoal. Decrease in calorific value may reduce the
efficiency of the furnace however reduction in ash content, mois-
ture content and volatile matter may cause the benefits of reduced
corrosion effect.
4. Conclusion
In the present investigation, the properties of charcoal and bio-
mass with starch as binder were analyzed. Also, the effect of solid
and hollow briquettes on ash, moisture contents and volatile mat-
ter of the briquettes are studied. The briquettes are made from
wood waste, pure charcoal and charcoal with starch as binder.
From the investigations, it is found that the pure charcoal pos-
sesses higher calorific value than that with binder and biomass.
However the addition of binder in charcoal as well as hollow shape
briquettes can reduce ash content, moisture content and volatile
matter which may lead to the benefits of reduced corrosion effect.
The results of this investigation will be more useful for the selec-
tion of suitable biomass briquettes for their particular applications.
Please cite this article as: J. Ajith Kumar, K. Vinoth Kumar, M. Petchimuthu et al., Comparative analysis of briquettes obtained from biomass and charcoal,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.918
5
CRediT authorship contribution statement
J. Ajith Kumar: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analy-
sis. K. Vinoth Kumar: Investigation, Methodology. M. Petchi-
muthu: Project administration, Resources, Software. S. Iyahraja:
Supervision, Validation, Visualization. D. Vignesh Kumar: Writing
- original draft, Writing - review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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