International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Experimental Analysis to Explore, Harness and

Conserve Energy from Areca Sheets and Coconut
Leaves by the Technique of Briquetting An
Alternative Energy.
Deepak K.B
Research Scholar,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Vivekananda College of Engineering & Technology,
2
Puttur,Dakshina Kannada,Karnataka, India.
deepak063@yahoo.co.in

Jnanesh N.A
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
K.V.G. College of Engineering, Kurunjibag, Sullia,
Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka,India.
jnanesh_na@yahoo.com

Abstract- In this work, investigations were carried out to

analyze the briquetting characteristics of briquettes produced
from areca sheets and coconut leaves; with a view to find out
which of them would make the best biomass fuel, when
compared with the commercial available sawdust briquette.
To determine the composition of biomass briquettes ultimate
and proximate analyses were carried out. A simple prototype
briquetting machine was fabricated to facilitate compaction of
this biomass into briquettes. Areca sheets and coconut leaves
were collected from a farm, dried, reduced and sieved into
sizes of 850. These biomass materials were mixed with
paper, sawdust and coconut coir, which acted as binders, in
1:2 ratios, and densified using a piston type briquette
machine. Results after analysis showed that, briquettes made
from coconut leaves using sawdust as a binder had a calorific
value of 3672.45KCal/ gm, which was higher than other
briquettes made from areca sheets, using paper, sawdust and
coconut coir as binders, though less than the commercially
available sawdust briquette (4451.37KCal/ gm). But there was
a decrease in percentage of moisture content, ash content and
increase in percentage of volatile matter, when compared with
the commercial sawdust briquette, which is of significant
importance. Other properties like percentage of fixed carbon,
hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen were approximately
same as that of commercial sawdust briquette. For the two
biomass material used, coconut leaves with sawdust as binder
exhibited most positive attribute.

Energy from biomass is one such alternative. Biomass is

the energy source derived from organic matter such as
plant materials, wood from the forest, agricultural process,
industrial and human or animal waste (David, 1978) [4].
One of the optimistic technologies for alleviating these
problems is briquetting, which has been studied by many
researchers [5]. Densification or briquetting is the process
of compacting the biomass residue into a uniform solid fuel
called briquettes. It has higher density and energy content
and less moist compared to its raw materials. Briquetting of
biomass can be done using various techniques, either with
or without binder addition [6].
Considerable amount of research is going on in the field of
biomass briquettes. Examples of biomass studies are
sawdust [7], waste paper and coconut mixture [8], cotton
stalk [9], spear grass [10], cashew nut shell [11], corn cobs
and rice husks [12], jatropha seed husks [13], coconut
shell, cocoa shell, and newspapers [14],and many others.
As per the Ministry of Agriculture, GOI, the area under
arecanut is around 4 lakh hectares with a production of
around 4.78 lakh metric tons in 2009-10 in India. Main
arecanut growing states are Karnataka and Kerala which
together account for 70 per cent of both area and
production in the country. Assam, West Bengal,
Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Mizoram are other minor
arecanut producing states in India. The Chikmagalur
district stands first in both area (19.91%) and production
(17.38%), Shimoga stands second followed by Davanagere
district. The top 7 districts viz. Chikmagalur, Shimoga,
Davangere, Dakshina Kannada, Tumkur, Chitradurga and
Uttar Kannada occupy 89 per cent of the area under
arecanut and contribute around 91 per cent of areca
produced in the state [15].

Keywords - Briquettes, proximate analysis, ultimate analysis,

areca sheet, coconut leaves, commercial sawdust briquette.

I. INTRODUCTION
In any part of the world, energy is essential for the
economic and social development and also to improve the
quality of life of the people [1]. The more comfortable
human life is, paid by excessive energy increase in all its
forms [2]. In the last four decades, researchers have been
focusing on alternate fuel resources to meet the everincreasing energy demand and to avoid dependence on
crude oil [3].

There is no set formula for biomass briquettes to be used as

biomass energy sources. Instead the briquettes are made
from available biomass, and this will change from area to
area. This allows for biomass energy generation that does

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

not require much transportation of purchased materials

from a distant location [16].
The briquettes made from biomass can be used for
domestic purposes (cooking, heating, barbequing) and
industrial purposes (agro-industries, food processing) in
both rural and urban areas. The end use of briquettes is
mainly for replacing coal substitution in industrial process
heat applications (steam generation, melting metals, space
heating, brick kilns, tea curing, etc) and power generation
through gasification of biomass briquettes. Being derived
from renewable resources, the briquette has superior
qualities as well as environmental benefits in comparison
with coal [17].
Fig.2 Briquetting machine

II MATERIALS and METHODS

Biomass materials, coconut leaves and areca leaves as
shown in fig 1, were utilized in this experimental analysis.
These were obtained from a farm. These materials were
choosen, as they are available aplenty in and around
Dakshina Kannada, and most of them are dumped, used to
make brooms, temporary roofing or flared, if burnt in loose
form resulting in environmental pollution.

Fig 3. Briquette using coconut leaves

Fig.1 Areca sheets and coconut leaves

Fig 4. Briquette using areca sheets

The selected biomass were individually chopped into small

pieces, sun-dried for a couple of days and then fed into a
mill having a sieve opening of 0.6mm. A particle size of
850 was choosen for the purpose of briquetting; the
choosen particle size was selected according to ASTM E11
[18].

After the wet briquettes were taken out of the mould cavity,
they were dried in the sun for 19 days [20]. The wet weight
and dry weight of the briquettes before and after drying are
as shown below in Table 1 and 2.
Table I
Wet Weight and Dry Weight of Coconut Leaves Briquette

In this work, paper, sawdust and coconut coir was used as

binding agents. These binders were mixed with biomass
materials in 1:2 ratios, i.e., 100gms of biomass and 50gms
of binders along with the required quantity of water. The
blend of biomass, binders and water were stirred rigorously
to ensure a proper mix. The blended mixture was kept in a
container for couple of days, so that the whole mixture
softens. After softening, the mixture was fed into a mould
of briquetting machine and compressed by a hydraulic
press.

Sl.No

The briquetting machine is as shown in fig 2. The machine

is based on hydraulic principle and consists of one mould,
where biomass feedstock is fed. Per batch, one briquette
was produced, as shown in fig 3 and 4. A holding time of 5
minutes (duration of load application) was observed, and
the briquettes were ejected after the holding time [19].

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Type of
briquette

Coconut
850

Coconut
850

Coconut
850

Wet
Dry weight
weight
(kg)
(kg)
Binder used: Paper
leaves
0.225
0.158
Binder used: Saw dust
leaves
0.230

0.152

Binder used: Coconut coir

leaves
0.217
0.152

International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Table II
Wet Weight and Dry Weight of Areca Sheets Briquette
Sl.No

Type of briquette

Wet
weight
(kg)
Binder used: Paper
Areca Sheets 850
0.267

Binder used: Saw dust

Areca Sheets 850
0.252

Binder used: Coconut coir

Areca Sheets 850
0.274
0.156

Table V
Coconut Leaves briquette, when Coconut Coir is used as Binder

Dry weight
(kg)

Sl.No

Parameters

Gross calorific value kcal/ gm

Proximate analysis
Moisture content, %
Ash content, %
Volatile matter, %
Fixed carbon, %
Ultimate analysis
Hydrogen, %
Nitrogen, %
Sulphur, %
Oxygen, %

0.153
1
2
3
4

0.160

1
2
3
4

III RESULTS and DISCUSSION:

Result of gross calorific value done as per IS1448-7 [21],
proximate and ultimate analysis done as per IS 1350 [22]
on biomass materials are presented in the Table 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, and 8.
Table III
Coconut Leaves briquette, when Paper is used as Binder
Parameters

Gross calorific value kcal/ gm

1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4

Proximate analysis
Moisture content, %
Ash content, %
Volatile matter, %
Fixed carbon, %
Ultimate analysis
Hydrogen, %
Nitrogen, %
Sulphur, %
Oxygen, %

Gross calorific value kcal/ gm

1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4

Proximate analysis
Moisture content, %
Ash content, %
Volatile matter, %
Fixed carbon, %
Ultimate analysis
Hydrogen, %
Nitrogen, %
Sulphur, %
Oxygen, %

Gross calorific value kcal/ gm

Proximate analysis
Moisture content, %
Ash content, %
Volatile matter, %
Fixed carbon, %
Ultimate analysis
Hydrogen, %
Nitrogen, %
Sulphur, %
Oxygen, %

1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4

19.12
3.01
72.20
5.67

6.41
0.56
0.58
19.07

Binders: Paper
Arec sheets
850
3295.31
17.12
8.58
63
11.30
4.23
0.54
0.61
21.94

Table VII
Areca Sheet briquette, when Sawdust is used as Binder

5.60
0.66
0.63
22.67

Sl.No
1

Parameters

Parameters

Binders: Paper
Coconut leaves
850
3051.14

Table IV
Coconut Leaves briquette, when Sawdust is used as Binder
Sl.No

7.46
13.42
76.77
2.35

Table VI
Areca Sheet briquette, when Paper is used as Binder

Sl.No

Sl.No

Binders: Coconut coir

Coconut leaves
850
3243.13

1
2
3
4

Binders: Sawdust
Coconut leaves
850
3672.41

1
2
3
4

6.90
3.33
85.05
4.72

Parameters
Gross calorific value kcal/ gm
Proximate analysis
Moisture content, %
Ash content, %
Volatile matter, %
Fixed carbon, %
Ultimate analysis
Hydrogen, %
Nitrogen, %
Sulphur, %
Oxygen, %

Binders: Sawdust
Arec sheets
850
2835.31
11.64
3.58
78.99
5.52
6.59
0.52
0.57
21.69

Table VIII
Areca Sheet briquette, when Coconut Coir is used as Binder

7.31
0.40
0.59
20.92

Sl.No
1
1
2
3
4

The main purpose of conducting this experiment was to

compare the biomass briquettes made with paper, coconut
coir and sawdust as binders, with a commercially available
sawdust briquette. The analysis result of commercially
available sawdust briquette is as shown in table 9.

1
2
3
4

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Parameters
Gross calorific value kcal/ gm
Proximate analysis
Moisture content, %
Ash content, %
Volatile matter, %
Fixed carbon, %
Ultimate analysis
Hydrogen, %
Nitrogen, %
Sulphur, %
Oxygen, %

Binders: Coconut coir

Arec sheets
850
2835.31
11.64
3.58
78.99
5.52
6.59
0.52
0.57
21.69

International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Table IX
Analysis Result for Sawdust Briquette Available in Market
Sl.No
1

1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4

Parameters
Gross calorific value kcal/gm
Proximate analysis
Moisture content, %
Ash content, %
Volatile matter, %
Fixed carbon, %
Ultimate analysis
Hydrogen, %
Nitrogen, %
Sulphur, %
Oxygen, %

reduced the calorific energy of the briquettes by causing

what is called fuel-saving effect [24].

Saw dust
briquette

From the result of ultimate analysis, for coconut leaves

briquette, using sawdust as a binder, the percentage of
hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen were 7.31%,
0.40%, 0.59% and 20.92% respectively, while the
corresponding values for commercial sawdust briquette
were 7.03%, 0.43%, 0.58% and 21.77% respectively. The
amount of hydrogen content in the biomass briquette
examined is very satisfactory as they contribute immensely
to the combustibility of any substance in which they are
found, [25]. The low sulfur and nitrogen contents in are
welcome development as there will be minimal release of
sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere and that is
an indication that the burning of briquettes from the
examined in this work will not pollute the environment,
26].

4451.37

9.44
3.36
83.43
3.37
7.03
0.43
0.58
21.77

After comparing the analysis results, coconut leaves using

sawdust as binders showed the most promising one, when
compared with the commercial sawdust briquette.

IV COMPARISON GRAPHS

The gross calorific value calculated for briquettes produced

from coconut leaves with sawdust as binders was 3672.45
Kcal/gm, which was less than that of commercial sawdust
briquette 4451.37 Kcal/gm. These energy values are
sufficient enough to produce heat required for household
cooking and small scale industrial cottage applications.

The comparison graphs obtained after the comparison

between coconuts leaves briquette, using sawdust as binder
and commercial available sawdust briquette are as shown:

4000

3000

Calorific Value
KCal/gm

The moisture content for coconut leaves briquette with

sawdust as binders was 6.90% and that for commercial
sawdust briquette 9.44%. High percentage of moisture in
biomass materials prevents their applications for thermochemical conversion processes including combustion
similarly the water content has an influence on the net
calorific value, the combustion efficiency and the
temperature of combustion was noticed.

2000

1000

Baxter (1993) stated: Ash behavior of agro-waste during

thermo chemical conversion is one of the most important
matters to be studied [23]. The percentage of ash content
for coconut leave briquettes with sawdust as binder was
3.33%, whereas that for commercial saw dust briquette
3.36%.

Commercial sawdust

Paper

Sawdust

Coconut coir

Binders used

Fig.5 Calorific Values of briquettes, with various binders

20

The amount of volatile matter strongly influences the

thermal decomposition and combustion behavior of solid
fuels. Fuels with lower volatiles, such as coal, need to be
burnt on a grate as they take a long time to burn out if they
are not pulverized to a very small size. From analysis
coconut leaves briquettes with sawdust as binder had
volatile matter of 85.05%, and commercial sawdust
briquette 83.43%.

18

% Moisture

16

14

12

10

The percentage of fixed carbon recorded for biomass

coconut leaves briquette, using sawdust as binder was
4.72% and that for commercial sawdust briquette 3.37%.
The low fixed content making it tend to prolong cooking
time by its low heat release (bake-oven effect)It also

Commercial Sawdust

Paper

Sawdust

Coconut coir

Binders used

Fig.6 Moisture Content of briquettes, with various binders

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

7.4

14

7.2
12

7.0
6.8

% Hydrogen

% Ash

10

6.6
6.4
6.2
6.0
5.8

5.6
2

5.4

Commercial Sawdust

Paper

Sawdust

Coconut coir

Commercial Sawdust

Binders used

Sawdust

Coconut coir

Binders used

Fig.7 Ash Content of briquettes, with various binders

Fig.10 Hydrogen Content of briquettes, with various binders

0.70

86

84

0.65

82

0.60

80

% Nitrogen

% Volatile Matter

Paper

78

76

0.55

0.50

0.45

74
0.40

72

Commercial Sawdust

Paper

Sawdust

Commercial Sawdust

Coconut coir

Paper

Sawdust

Coconut coir

Binders used

Binders used

Fig.11 Nitrogen Content of briquettes, with various binders

Fig.8 Volatile Matter of briquettes, with various binders

6.0

0.63
5.5

0.62

4.5

% Sulphur

% Fixed Carbon

5.0

4.0

3.5

0.61

0.60

0.59

3.0

2.5

0.58
2.0

Commercial Sawdust

Paper

Sawdust

Coconut coir

Commercial Sawdust

Binders used

Paper

Sawdust

Coconut coir

Binders used

Fig.9 Fixed Carbon of briquettes, with various binders

Fig.12 Sulphur Content of briquettes, with various binders

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

23.0

[6]
22.5
22.0

% Oxygen

21.5

[7]

21.0
20.5
20.0

[8]
19.5
19.0

Commercial Sawdust

Paper

Sawdust

Coconut coir

[9]

Binders used

Fig.13 Oxygen Content of briquettes, with various binders

[10]

V CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study have shown that, the briquettes
produced from coconut leaves, with sawdust as a binder
would make good biomass fuels and during comparison
with commercial sawdust briquette the following
observations were made:
percentage of moisture content is less, resulting in
favorable compaction process,

percentage of volatile matter more , aids in faster

combustion,
percentage of nitrogen content less, resulting in
less environmental pollution
and the value of other parameters like percentage
of oxygen, carbon, sulphur and ash were
approximately same.

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

The equipments used for fabrication of briquetting machine

are locally available, briquetting an appropriate technology
for production and use in rural areas. Finally the study also
concluded that large amount of biomass available in
Karnataka can be used to produce clean and cheap energy
at an affordable cost.

[15]

[16]

[17]

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