Solid Fuel from Biomass and Plastic Blends as a Binder

• Grant number: 24/16158-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Forest Biomass Energy
• Principal Investigator: Andrea Cressoni de Conti
• Grantee: Kassio Lucas do Nascimento Amauro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia e Ciências (FEC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rosana. Rosana , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In order to facilitate the competitive integration of biomass into the domestic market, it is imperative to conduct studies that enhance its efficiency and encourage more suitable management practices, capitalizing on the utilization of waste materials that are frequently discarded. The limited utilization of agricultural waste in energy generation is attributed to inherent characteristics that render its use challenging, including low density, low calorific value, and high moisture content. However, the combination of briquetting processes and the composition of blends can address these issues, thereby rendering the utilisation of this waste more profitable as a source of biomass. Among the organic waste materials present in Brazil, coffee grounds, tree pruning, and municipal solid waste (MSW), including plastics, are widely available and, in many cases, disposed of improperly without added economic value. In this context, the project proposes to characterize and produce blends of tree pruning, coffee grounds, and plastic as a binder through the briquetting process over the course of a year. The objective is to enhance the energy density of this fuel. To ascertain the quality of the blends, a comprehensive physical and chemical characterization will be conducted, comprising bulk density analysis and tests, immediate chemical analysis, higher calorific value, apparent density, and an evaluation of the fuel's formation, durability, and resistance to humidity and impacts. The results will be statistically analyzed and compared with data available in the literature.