Production and Characterization of Pellets from Carbonized Pinus Patula Sawdust

The low bulk density of wood wastes causes handling, storage, and transportation issues, limiting its large-scale application. Pelletization can solve this inherent problem by converting biomass into dense and compact pellets with a regular shape and size. In order to evaluate the effect of particle size and binding agents on the pellets of carbonized Pinus patula sawdust, the particle sizes of 0.6 mm, 1.18 mm, and 2.3 mm, and binding agents of cow dung, molasses, and wastepaper are used. The experimental results indicate that the addition of cow dung and molasses into the carbonized sawdust results in the increase of calorific value, decrease of the ash content, and increase of the fixed carbon. As a result, the maximum calorific value of 28.47 MJ/kg, ash content of 2.93%, and fixed carbon of 59.32% are obtained by using molasses. The calorific value of 25.8 MJ/kg, ash content of 6.03%, and fixed carbon of 52.77% are obtained by using cow dung, whereas addition of wastepaper into carbonized sawdust results in a lower calorific value of 22.3 MJ/kg, highest ash value of 8.35%, and low fixed carbon of 43.2%. Therefore, the use of cow dung and molasses as a binder can be considered as a sustainable approach to improve the physico-chemical properties of biomass pellets.