Briquette quality assessment from corn husk, bagasse, and cassava roots using banana peels, wastepaper, and clay soil as binders

Abstract The study assessed quality of briquettes produced from bagasse (B), corn husk (CH), and cassava roots (CR) using banana peels (BP), wastepaper (WP), and clay soil (CS) as binders. Mixing ratios were established from carbonized materials, and briquettes physical and combustion properties were determined. Weak shatter resistance appeared in WP, CS briquettes had best tumbling resistances while WP briquettes had better water penetration. CS briquettes (3:1:1) had low (2.7%) moisture content (MC), and 1:3:1 had low (28%) volatile matter (VM) while the highest was 41% for 2:2:1. Ash content (AC) for 2:2:1 was the highest (41%) with highest heating value (HV). BP briquettes for 0:4:1 (CH:CR:BP) had the lowest MC (4.9%), whereas 2:2:1 (B:CH:BP) had the highest VM (41.5%). AC (15.5%) for 1:3:1 was the highest while 2:2:1 (CH:CR) had the highest HV. WP briquettes 1:3:1 (B:CH) had the lowest MC (2%) and 3:1:1 had highest VM (35%), while the highest AC appeared for 4:0:1. The 2:2:1 (B:CR:WP) briquette yielded the highest HV (25.5 MJ/Kg). All materials were suitable for briquetting, although their qualities are sensitive to weather conditions. Together with BP briquettes, WP briquettes 2:2:1 (B:CR:WP) produce the best results, especially when using CR and CH feedstocks.