Production and Characterization of Solid Fuel Produced from Mahogany Wood Biomass Waste

Abstract

The global energy demand, combined with concerns about sustainable alternatives, has driven extensive research into renewable energy sources. This paper focuses on the production of solid fuel from mahogany biomass waste and carries out microstructural analysis of its energy content. The determination of moisture, volatile matter, ash, and fixed carbon was carried out at temperatures of 275 and 285 °C with retention times of 30 minutes and 1 hour using proximate analysis. The elemental analysis provided insights into the chemical composition changes induced by thermal treatment, with carbon content exhibiting significant alterations. The results revealed varying compositions across treatments, indicating the impact of thermal treatment on moisture, volatile matter, ash, and fixed carbon content. Higher temperatures and longer durations led to decreased moisture and volatile matter, increased ash content, and higher fixed carbon, suggesting enhanced carbonization. Bulk density results showcased the influence of treatment conditions on wood density. Thermal treatment decreased bulk density, highlighting the potential for altering wood density by varying treatment conditions. The findings suggest that thermal treatment can influence the suitability of mahogany wood for specific applications in biomass processing and energy generation. Calorific value results demonstrated that thermal treatment significantly increased both the higher heating value (HHV) and lower calorific value (LCV) of the mahogany wood chips torrefied in this study. The results of tests and energy analysis, conducted using Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM-EDX), provided valuable insights into the microstructural changes induced by thermal treatment in this study. This finding suggested that the torrefaction process influences the material's morphology. The longer the torrefaction duration, the higher the calorific values, indicating improved energy potential of the considered biomass sample for combustion or other energy conversion processes.