Evaluation of Carbonization Process and Physicochemical

Characteristics in Peanut Shell Briquettes Production

Kamaruddin

, Irsan Rahman

, Nur Ichzan A. S.

and Jasruddin Daud Malago

Physics Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Muslim Maros, Indonesia

Physics Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia

Keywords: Briquettes, Peanut shells, Physic-chemical characteristics

Abstract: Briquettes were formed from peanut shells using starch as a binder with different formulations processes.

Their physic-chemical properties evaluated the briquettes product includes caloric value, ash and moisture

content, and fixed Carbon to consider an option for a potential application. As a result, the carbonized

briquette sample has a higher caloric value than the non-carbonization briquette. However, the former is a

relatively high moisture content that does not accept, where the latter was required for the Indonesian

Standards (SNI) of Wood Briquette. Furthermore, their ash contents were standard and qualified in the

production of further briquettes. The results will be considered to produce the peanut shell briquettes from

agricultural waste and developed for a green energy source for households and small industries.

1 INTRODUCTION

Agricultural and plantation solid waste or biomass

have a prospective alternative energy source,

generally made in charcoal briquettes (Napitupulu, et

al., 2020). There is a different process to formulate

raw materials into briquettes form. Some reports

produced briquette from biomass by densification

[(Oyelaran, et al., 2015), (Kalo, et al., 2020), (Oni K,

et al., 2020)] or carbonization [(Krylova &

Zaichenko, 2018), (Chiaramonti, et al., 2014),

(Aguko, et al., 2018)]. Densification offers the

conversion of biomass waste with low energy

characteristics and high bulk density (Kalo, et al.,

2020). In contrast, the carbonization process proposes

obtaining a high carbon content, decreasing or

removing moisture, and decomposing the highly

reactive organic matter components to increase the

caloric value (Krylova & Zaichenko, 2018). These

processes are still challenging because of their

advantages or disadvantages on a specific agricultural

waste like peanut shells. Besides, it may need

improvement and evaluation of particular conditions

on potential users.

Peanut shells waste is one of the most agricultural

wastes, and it has been produced throughout the year

in our region, especially in the district of Barru,

Indonesia. This biomass source has potential

sustainability for a green and renewable energy

source to supply households or small industries.

However, the peanut shells that had just been thrown

and burned will cause problems for the environment.

It may need an approach to improve the processing

and utilizing the peanut shell waste for more valuable

and valuable economic. This research aimed to

compare the different processes of briquette

production with their Physico-chemical

characteristics. This evaluation was proposed to

convert the initial biomass into solid fuel for the

essential (Krylova & Zaichenko, 2018) and

efficiency.

2 RESEARCH METHODS

2.1 Materials

The peanut shell charcoal briquette raw materials

were taken from agricultural waste at the Bacu-Bacu

village, district of Barru, South Sulawesi Province,

Indonesia. Starch was selected as a binder agent and

available at a traditional market. Starch was

commonly used (Aguko, et al., 2018), and the

previous report found that the starch can power output

and the burning rate (Ugwu & Ago, 2013).

Kamaruddin, ., Rahman, I., Ichzan A. S., N. and Daud Malago, J.

Evaluation of Carbonization Process and Physicochemical Characteristics in Peanut Shell Briquettes Production.

DOI: 10.5220/0010791700003317

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Science, Technology, and Environment (ICoSTE 2020) - Green Technology and Science to Face a New Century, pages 41-44

ISBN: 978-989-758-545-6

2.2 Preparation of Briquettes

The peanut shells briquettes were formulated in two

different processing. The first was produced from

charcoal that was carbonized at 250 0C for 2.5 hours,

called PSCB, and the second was fabricated

thoroughly for briquette productions PSPB. These

samples were respectively milled and filtered with a

particle size of around 100 mesh. The starch was

dissolved by the concentration of 24.6 wt% and

mixed with briquette samples in the ratio of 1:7.

Briquette samples mixture loaded into a cylindrical

mould (size 3/4 inch length 5 cm compression 276.8

Pa) to construct the briquettes at room temperature. A

simple apparatus was manually used to compress the

briquettes for 2 hours. The densified briquette was

pushed out and dried to obtain the briquettes (Moki,

et al., 2018) then characterized.

2.3 Determination of Physico-chemical

Characteristics

The samples that have been dried are then

characterized. The Physico-chemical parameters of

the briquette samples were volatile matter, caloric

value, ash content, moisture content, and fixed

Carbon. The calorific value was calculated using a

bomb calorimeter (AC-500) at the Laboratory of

Energy and Mineral Resource (ESDM), South

Sulawesi Province. The volatile matter (VM) and ash

contents (AC) were calculated using one gram of

briquette sample in a crucible and heated at the

furnace. The VM and AC were burned at a

temperature of 900°C for 7 minutes and 850°C for 2

hours. Similarly, the moisture content (MC) was

conducted at temperature 105°C in oven drying until

the sample's mass was constant. The weight change

determine the volatile matter (%VM), ash content

(%AC), and moisture content (%MC) using Equation

1 [(Moki, et al., 2018), (Nazari, et al., 2019)]:

%VM,%AC,and %MC=(W_i-W_f)/W_i ×100 %

(1)

where Wi is the initial weight, and Wf is the final

weight of the sample after processing the briquette

treatments. Furthermore, the percentage fixed Carbon

(%FC) was analyzed by the substitution of the value

of %VM, %AC, and %MC to Equation 2 [(Moki, et

al., 2018), (Nazari, et al., 2019)]:

%FC=100 %-(%VM+%AC+%MC) (2)

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The conversion of peanut or groundnut shells into the

briquette as fuel was successfully done, as reported in

many previous works [(Oni K, et al., 2020), (Wibowo

& Lestari, 2020), (Oyelaran, et al., 2015)] with

carbonization processing or directly into a pellet

form. The carbonization process of briquette is the

way to formulate the briquette from the charcoal by

thermal treatment. It was called in some definitions,

such as pyrolysis, torrefaction, and hydrothermal

carbonization, depending on the thermal

transformation of biomass (Krylova & Zaichenko,

2018). Meanwhile, the others have been processed by

compacting the groundnut shell biomass briquettes

with waste paper (Oyelaran, et al., 2015). This

process was proposed to define the improvement of

handling properties and volumetric with uniform

shape and sizes at a low cost (Oyelaran, et al., 2015).

However, considering the advantages and

disadvantages of these two different processes is an

important option to select and suitable for users.

Figure 1 shows the different processes of peanut shell

briquette production.

Figure 1: The Process of Production Briquette Samples

As shown in Figure 1, the briquette of peanut

shells formulated without carbonization is a

yellowish colour and has been called the Peanut

Shells Pellet Briquette (PSPB). Others with

carbonization processes have been famously named

Peanut Shells Charcoal Briquette (PSCB) is blackish.

According to the previous report, changing the colour

caused the heating process to obtain the charcoal of

peanut shells (Wibowo & Lestari, 2020), which

mainly contained solid Carbon (Krylova &

Zaichenko, 2018). The visual investigation by

touching the briquettes showed that both were

smooth; the PSPB has produced an odour and no

black mark in hand than the PSCB.

Furthermore, the comparison of the Physico-

chemical parameters has shown in Table 1. The

parameters are caloric value, moisture content, ash

ICoSTE 2020 - the International Conference on Science, Technology, and Environment (ICoSTE)

content, volatile matter, and fixed Carbon, confirmed

by the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) quality of

briquettes.

Table 1. The Characteristics of Peanut Shell Waste

Briquettes

No.

Para

meters

Briquettes of Peanut

Shells

Indonesian

National

Standards of

Briquette

Wood Bio-

Pellet (SNI

8021-2014)

[11]

Carbonizat

ion Process

(PSCB)

Non-

Carboniz

ation

Process

(PSPB)

Calorific

value (cal/g)

3736.82 3535.77 Min. 4000

Moisture

content (%)

14.44 6.28 Max. 12

Ash Content

(%)

2.72 3.05

Max. 1.5

Volatile

matter (%)

57.14 68.93

Max. 80

Fixed Carbon

(%)

25.70 21.74

Min. 14

Table 1 shows that the caloric value and the

percentage of fixed Carbon of PSCB are higher than

the PSPB. These results confirm that the briquette,

which has contained more Carbon, could utilize the

caloricity, similar to the previous report (Wibowo &

Lestari, 2020). The caloric value means how much

heat can be released from the briquette (Oyelaran, et

al., 2015), and when the caloricity is high, it will

deliver a product less prone to rotting and

spontaneous combustion (Krylova & Zaichenko,

2018). Also, both samples closely meet with

minimum caloric value requirements in Indonesia. It

is higher than other calorific values in equivalent

compared to rice husk briquette 12,600 kJ/kg, cowpea

14,372.93 kJ/kg, and soybeans 12,953 kJ/kg

(Oyelaran, et al., 2015).

The percentage of ash content and the volatile

matter was lower than the PSPB briquettes. It means

the temperature treatment affected the mineral

content and volatilization of organic compounds. The

low ash content and the volatile matter showed a good

quality of the briquettes. Both samples showed the

ash content was necessary reduced while their volatile

value was acceptable for the SNI. According to the

report (Philippe, et al., 2018), the ash content of the

peanut shells briquette is very high than wood,

affecting the briquette combustion. Whereas the

volatile matter content functioned as a starter (igniter)

to quickly burn in the initial ignition, their burning

rate would be faster.

PSCB’s moisture content was higher than the

PSPB briquettes sample. It was because the

concentration of the binder was relatively high.

Hence, the presence of the water on the PSCB might

be trapped and its hygroscopic characteristics. It

should be dried or more evaporated; consequently,

the PSCB may not consider Indonesia's commercial

briquettes. In contrast, the PSPB has qualified. One of

the most considerable disadvantages of biomass for

consuming as fuel is high moisture content [5]. The

moisture content is essential for briquettes' physical

conditions during storage and transport [3].

4 CONCLUSIONS

The evaluation of the carbonization process in the

production of briquettes made from the peanut shells

waste has been successfully done by comparing their

Physico-chemical characteristics. The briquette

formulation process illustrated an option to enhance

households' briquettes' production as a potential

alternative energy resource. As a result, the peanut

shells' charcoal briquette showed a higher caloric

value than the peanut shells' without carbonization or

pellet of peanut shells. On the other hand, the

percentage of the briquette's moisture content made

without the carbonization process confirmed

acceptable for the Indonesian Standard of Wood

Briquettes (SNI 8021-2014). In sum, the peanut shells

briquettes could be used as fuel for households and

reduce environmental problems.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was supported by the Directorate of

Research and Community Engagement of the

Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher

Education, the Republic of Indonesia, under the

Beginner Lecturer Research (PDP) Grant in 2020.

REFERENCES

Aguko Kabok P, Nyanga DM, Mbugua J M, Eppinga R,

2018, Effect of Shapes, Binders and Densities of Faecal

Matter-Sawdust Briquettes on Ignition and Burning

Times, Journal of Petroleum, Vol. 09, 1–5.

Chiaramonti D, Prussia M, Commission E, Nistri R,

Pettorali M, 2014, Biomass Carbonization: Process

Options and economics for small scale forestry farms.

Energy Procedia. 61 1515–8.

Kalo S Y, Zainuddin M F, Manaf L A, Roslan A M, 2020,

Production and Characterization of Hybrid Briquettes

Evaluation of Carbonization Process and Physicochemical Characteristics in Peanut Shell Briquettes Production

from Corncobs and Oil Palm Trunk Bark Under a Low

Pressure Densification Technique, Sustain, Vol. 12.

Krylova A Y, Zaichenko V M, 2018, Hydrothermal

Carbonization of Biomass: A Review, Solid Fuel

Chemistry, Vol. 52, 47–59.

Moki E C, Abubakar B Y U, Bayewa M A, Mu’azu M,

2018, Ignition and Burning Rate of Sheanut Shell

Briquettes Produced at Moderate Temperature and Die

Pressure, American Journal of Earth and Environmental

Science, Vol. 1.

Napitupulu R A M Ginting S, Naibaho W, Sihombing S,

Tarigan N, Kabutey A., 2020, The Effect of Used

Lubricating Oil Volume as a Binder on the

Characteristics of Briquettes Made from Corn Cob and

Coconut Shell, IOP Conference Series Materials

Science and Engineering, 1–4.

Nazari M M, San C P, Atan N A, 2019, Combustion

Performance of Biomass Composite Briquette from

Rice Husk and Banana Residue, International Journal

of Advance Science Engineering and Information

Technology, Vol. 9..

Oni K, Adeleke A E, Ogundana T O, Satimehin A A, 2020,

Fuel Characterization of Agro-wastes and Briquettes

Produced from Rice Husk, Groundnut Shell and

Corncob Blends, FUOYE Journal of Engineering and

Technology, Vol. 5, 17–21.

Oyelaran O A, Olalekan Bolaji B, Adekojo Waheed M,

Femi Adekunle M, 2015, Performance Evaluation of

the Effect of Binder on Groundnut Shell Briquette

KMUTNB International Journal of Applied Science

Technology, Vol. 8, 1–9.

Oyelaran O A, Bolaji B O, Waheed M, Adekunle M F,

2015, An Experimental Study of The Combustion

Characteristics of Groundnut Shell and Waste Paper

admixture briquettes. KKU Eng. J. 42 283–6.

Philippe B H, Lat G N, Alfredo N, Douma K, 2018,

Physicochemical and Mechanical Properties of

Biomass Coal Briquettes Produced by Artisanal

Method, African Journal of Environmental Science and

Technology, Vol. 12.

Ugwu K, Ago K, 2013, Evaluation of Binders in The

Production of Briquettes from Empty Fruit Bunches of

Elias Guinensis, International Journal of Renewable

and Sustainable Energy, Vol. 2.

Wibowo S and Lestari N 2018 Effect of Peanut Shell

Torrefaction on Qualities of The Produced Bio-pellet.

Reaktor. 18 183–93

ICoSTE 2020 - the International Conference on Science, Technology, and Environment (ICoSTE)