Experimental investigation of heating values and chemical compositions of selected fuel woods as bio-fuel sources in developing countries
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Agro-waste disposal is a serious environmental problem in developing countries like
Nigeria since there are insufficient waste management systems in place. However, it is
possible to produce sustainable energy from these biomass wastes, which will lessen
environmental damage. The heating value of biomass determines its energy content.
The aim of this study was to determine experimentally the higher heating value (HHV) of
five selected indigenous fuelwood sawdust and to assess the chemical composition of
the pyrolysis yield products using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS)
analyzer. Results of the experimental analysis show that the HHVs of the selected fuel
woods: Adansonia digitata (Ad), Terminalia ivorensis (Ti), Khaya ivorensis (Ki),
Mansonia altissima (Ma), Okoubaka aubrevillei (Oa) are respectively, 21.02, 20.78,
20.75, 19.95, 19.80 and 20.46 MJ kg−1. According to ultimate analysis-based correlation
equation, the HHVs were found to be 18.56, 18.48, 18.42, 18.39 and 18.36 MJ kg−1 for
Ad, Ti, Ki, Ma and Oa, respectively. While the proximate analysis-based correlation
equation gave HHVs of 18.08, 18.12, 18.25, 18.16 and 18.37 MJ kg−1 for Ad, Ti, Ki, Ma and Oa, respectively. The mean square error (MSE) was used to compare the deviation
of the computed results from the experimental data. The statistical analysis indicates
comparative agreement between the computed HHVs and the experimental data. The
GC–MS analysis shows the presence of phenolic, ketone, fatty acid, ester, and alcohol
compounds in the sawdust samples which is evidence that they have chemical and fuel
compositions suitable for use as feedstocks in the pharmaceutical and dye industries as
well as for the production of biodiesel for internal combustion engines. It can be inferred
that the woody biomass residues can be useful sources of biofuels for developing
nations' sustainable energy development if adequately processed with suitable
technologies.
Keywords
TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery, TP Chemical technology