Production of briquettes from dry Mopane leaves an alternative cooking solid fuel Hilaria Hakwenye, Chandrasekar Muthukameswaran Department of Civil, Mining and Process Engineering, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia This study aimed to assess the potential of Colophospermum mopane (Mopane) leaves and waste paper to produce briquettes that can be used as solid fuel for cooking. Briquettes from Mopane leaves can be used as a substitute for wood, coal, charcoal and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking and heating. It can contribute to research for renewable energy resources and reduce pollution as these leaves litter the environment as they decompose, polluting the surface and groundwater. Furthermore, using forest waste also conserves forest resources and reduces deforestation. Most importantly, the briquettes can help the communities faced with firewood scarcity. Two treatments were done: in treatment one, the briquettes were prepared using pyrolysed (carbonised) Mopane leaves, and in treatment two, the briquettes were made using mopane leaves as they were (non-carbonised). The effect of the ratios between the Mopane leaves material and the paper binder was studied: 70%: 30%, 60%: 40%, 50%: 50% (w/w) and the control sample was prepared from 100% leaves materials. The qualities of the prepared briquette samples were evaluated through proximate tests, namely, moisture content, volatile matter, ash content, fixed carbon, bulk density, burning rate and mechanical strength. The results obtained in this study revealed that with further modification, Mopane leaves briquette can be used as a solid fuel for cooking. On average, moisture content values recorded were within the range of briquettes' moisture values of 8-15% exhibited in literature. Volatile matter indicates the amount of biomass released during the burning process. Hence, carbonised briquettes are expected to have low values since some biomass was lost during pyrolysis. From this study, carbonised briquettes' carbonised volatile matter values were between 10 and 29.7%, while for non-carbonised were 69 to 74.3%. This indicates that non-carbonised may produce more smoke. On the other hand, ash content values were in the range of good quality (about 8%) for non-carbonised briquettes (7-12.5%) compared to carbonised (37-62.4). The high ash content can be a nuisance to the users and the environment. Fixed carbon values were lowfor non-carbonised briquettes, with the highest only at 16.82% for the 60%: 40% ratio. Bulk density was lower for carbonised briquettes, 0.34-0.38 g/cm 3, compared to non-carbonised briquettes, 0.97-1.38 g/cm 3 . Burning rates were lower for carbonised briquettes (0.033-0.0631g/min) than for non- carbonised briquettes (0.055-0.630g/min).Overall, the briquettes obtained from this study are of relatively good quality as a potential solid fuel for cooking. Further research should focus on using other binders, like cattle and donkey dung and improving densification by applying more pressure when moulding the briquettes. References 1. Fertahi, S., Elalami, D., Tayibi, S., Taarji, N., Lyamlouli, K., Bargaz, A., … Barakat, A. (2023). The current status and challenges of biomass biorefineries in Africa: A critical review and future perspectives for bioeconomy development. Science of the Total Environment , 870 2. Dulal, S., & Singh, R. M. (2020). fuel Briquettes from Sal (Shorea robusta) forest Litter as an Alternative Cooking fuel, 19 (2), 68–74.
P11
© The Author(s), 2023
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog