Thermogravimetric Analysis of the Fuel Properties of Empty Fruit Bunch Briquettes

The thermochemical properties of biomass are largely influenced by the nature, yield and composition of the feedstock. In addition, the low moisture content, energy density and solid uniform structure of briquettes have been reported to improve heat and mass transfer during thermochemical conversion. Hence, this study is aimed at investigating the thermochemical properties of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) briquettes using Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The heating value (HHV), ultimate and proximate analysis was determined using standard ASTM techniques. Consequently, the thermal decomposition behavior of the fuel was determined by heating the sample from 50°C to 900°C in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) at 10°C per min heating rate. The ultimate and proximate analysis revealed that EFB briquette contains low moisture content, ash content and high fixed carbon, volatile matter content while the HHV was 17.57 MJ/kg. In addition, TGA results indicated thermal decomposition of the fuel occurs in four stages. Devolatization commenced at 206°C with a peak devolatization temperature (Tmax) of 325°C resulting in 70% weight loss.