Blending Agricultural Residue as a Source for Biofuel Production

Abstract

Agricultural residue becomes a renewable energy source with potential and importance. When using agricultural residue for energy production, it is essential to study the properties and characterizations. Each biomass has different properties, characteristics, and availability during various seasons. This study aimed to examine the properties and characteristics of five biomass materials including rice stubble (RB), rice straw (RW), sugar cane leaves (SL), cassava leaves (CL), and cassava rhizome (CR). Material blending scheme was also investigated depeding on their seasonal availability to produce renewable energy fuels. RB, RW, and SL were categorized as the main materials in all season and the rest are supplement materials. The results showed that CL had the highest heat value (19.29 MJ/kg). SL contained the highest volatile matter (75.69 wt%), and CR had the highest fixed carbon (15.27 wt%), and lowest ash content (3.77 wt%). The two-type blending of main materials results showed that SL:RW at a ratio of 80:20 contained the highest heat value (16.08 MJ/kg). Three-type blending showed that SL:RW:RB at a ratio of 60:20:20 had the highest heat value (15.68 MJ/kg). The improvement of energy properties with supplement materials (CL and CR) showed that RW:CL (50:50) ratio had the highest heat value of 16.25 MJ/kg. The study shows that heat value increases with an increase of in the ratio of supplement materials (CL and CR), and the amount of ash tends to decrease.