The Effect of Pyrolysis Temperature on Charcoal Briquettes from Biomass Waste

Abstract

Increasing people's energy needs requires alternatives, one of which is using agricultural waste materials. Charcoal briquette is a solid fuel made from charcoal with a pressing process so that it coagulates with a certain density, can be burned continuously, and has a high-calorie value. Conversion of various kinds of agricultural waste to charcoal briquettes needs to be done in order to meet the SNI requirements. In this research, briquettes will be made from raw materials of peanut shells,  rubber seed shells, and snorkeling wood because they have high cellulose content. The aim of this research is to produce charcoal briquettes and test their characteristics. The study was designed with 2 variables, namely the type of raw material (peanut shells, rubber seed shells, and snorkeling wood) and pyrolysis temperature: 300, 400, 500, and 600^oC. The size of the charcoal powder is -35 +50 mesh, 8% starch adhesive, and 100 kg / cm2 of pressing pressure. The parameters measured were moisture content (%), ash content (%), volatile matter content (%), and fixed carbon content dan calorific value (cal/g). The results showed that the best characteristic of charcoal briquettes was obtained from rubber seed shells, the temperature of pyrolysis of 600^oC, with the moisture content of 7.4%, ash content of 3.55%, volatile matter content of 13.44%, fixed carbon content of 75.92%  and calorific value of 7105 cal/g.