Bagasse from the mezcal industry as an alternative renewable energy produced in arid lands

In the mezcal industry, the xerophyte Agave salmiana is used to produce mezcal, and neither the plant nor its residues have been studied before as an alternative source of fuel. Bagasse and wasted fibers samples from alcoholic beverage production were collected in order to find out their properties as fuel. Another sample consists in pyrolyzed bagasse at 450 °C to produce carbon. DSC results revealed differences in the heat of combustion values, where pyrolyzed bagasse (19.36 MJ/kg) had a higher value than bagasse (9.55 MJ/kg) or the fiber (8.4 MJ/kg). SEM images showed the morphological changes in the fibers after their processing. TGA analysis showed the presence of different alcohols impregnated on the bagasse, which allows for an increase in heat of combustion. With these preliminary results it can be seen that it is possible to use the byproducts generated by the alcoholic beverage production as an alternative source of fuel.