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To cite this article: I. Neethi Manickam & P. Subramanian (2006) Study of Physical Properties of Coir
Pith, International Journal of Green Energy, 3:4, 397-406, DOI: 10.1080/01971520600873384
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International Journal of Green Energy, 3: 397–406, 2006
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1543-5075 print / 1543-5083 online
DOI: 10.1080/01971520600873384
I. Neethi Manickam
Senior Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Engineering
College, Kovilpatti, India
P. Subramanian
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Professor & Head, Centre for Energy & Environmental Science And Technology
(CEESAT), National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli, India
Coir pith is a byproduct of the coir industry, producing more than 7.5 million tones annu-
ally in India. It can be used as fuel in loose form or in briquettes. This study investigates
different physical properties of coir pith with respect to its moisture content (10.1 to
60.2%w.b.) and particle size (0.098 to 0.925mm). Porosity and particle density varied from
0.623 to 0.862 and from 0.939 to 0.605 gm/cc respectively. Bulk density and static coeffi-
cient of friction against mild steel were in the range of 0.097 to 0.341gm/cc and 0.5043 to
0.6332 respectively. Models were developed for the above properties.
Keywords: Moisture content; Particle size; Bulk density; Porosity; Particle density;
Coefficient of friction
INTRODUCTION
With regard to the energy shortage and environmental issues, it is widely accepted
that renewable energy will play a major role in the foreseeable years. One of the most
important energy resources, particularly for developing countries, is biomass. It has been
reported that over 33 percent of energy consumption for developing countries can be sup-
plied from this kind of energy resource (Sayigh, 1999; Hall and House, 1995). Moreover,
its photosynthesis process will compensate the carbon dioxide generated during biomass
energy conversion.
Thus, a nearly zero net gain for carbon dioxide can be achieved from this process.
Agricultural residues account for the largest amount of biomass available worldwide.
Hence, for developing and agricultural-based countries, the utilization of the residues
from agricultural sectors as primary or secondary sources of energy is considerably attrac-
tive. The production of agricultural crop residues in India is estimated over 1300 million
tones per year, compared to about 1400 million tones of firewood. In total, the generation
of potential energy from the biomass is estimated to be in the order of 1.57 × 1012 MJ/year
and 1.51 × 1012 MJ/year respectively from the crop residues and the firewood (Srivastava
and Tomar, 1993). The residues are available as a free, indigenous and environmentally
397
398 I.N. MANICKAM AND P. SUBRAMANIAN
friendly energy resource. It is observed that several kinds of agricultural residues are
available and ready to be utilized as fuels. One of such agricultural waste material is coir
pith. The pith material forming non-fibrous tissues of the coconut husk is generally
referred to as coir pith and also coco-peat (Bhowmic and Debnath, 1985). It is a spongy
material obtained during the process of extracting fiber from coconut husks. It is also a
hydrophilic material, which means that moisture spreads readily over these surfaces.
When first produced, coir pith is a light tan color but darkens with age to a chocolate
brown.
The husk accounts for about 50 to 60 percent of the total weight of the nut and 70
percent of the husk constitute the coir pith. Coir pith obtained from the retted process con-
sists of low lingo-cellulostic material compared to the pith from the un-retted mechanical
process (Sathyanarayana et al., 1984). According to Arumugam and Dhamodaran (1993),
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there are about 84,000 retting and coir extracting units in Kerala producing white fiber.
There are about 500 coir factories in Tamilnadu for mechanical extraction of coir fiber
(Kamaraj, 1993). A considerable amount of coir pith—in the order of 7.5 million tonnes—
is produced annually in India and accumulated in the coir industrial yards, causing envi-
ronmental pollution and disposal problems (Kamaraj, 1994). Therefore, attempts are being
made to convert this waste material into useful products.
wastewater (Kadirvelu et al., 2001). Turbidity and color of distillery wastewater can be
removed by using Fe Cr impregnated coir pith as flocculent (Namasivayam et al., 1994).
Dyeing industry wastewater is treated using carbonized coir pith as adsorbent (Namasivayam
et al., 1994).
Attempts have been made to prepare particleboards using coir pith as raw material.
It has been found that extreme compressive pressure is required for production of the
stable boards (Jayadeep et al., 1991). Lightweight building bricks were produced; mixing
the pith with the clay and its applications for use has not been investigated in detail
(Natarajan, 1995).
Coir pith as an insulating material for Chula revealed that it serves as a heat absor-
bent medium. The coir pith in loose form does not burn well due to the high lignin content
and could not be used as an efficient fuel. It will burn without any flame, producing heat
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due to its own calorific value (12, 600 KJ/kg) (Devadas et al., 1993). It can be mixed with
finely ground shell charcoal at 90:10 and briquettes formed out of it are used as efficient
fuel (Thampan, 1991).
Though the utility of coir pith has been proved in different applications, an efficient
and accepted technology to its processing for optimum economic advantage is not yet
available to many of the promising entrepreneurs in the coir field. The situation calls for
economically sustainable technology for processing coir pith. In this study, the effect of
moisture content and particle size on porosity, bulk density, particle density and coeffi-
cient of friction were studied. The results may be helpful to study the combustion charac-
teristics and densification of coir pith.
PREPARATION OF SAMPLE
The coir pith available from coir industries is in loose form with high moisture
content and at different particle sizes. The moisture content and particle size play an
important role during the formation of briquettes. The experiments were conducted with
the coir pith obtained from different coir fiber industries located around Tenkasi, Tamil-
nadu. The coir pith was dried and sieved into different particle sizes. A certain amount of
coir pith from different particle sizes at different moisture levels was taken as the sample.
EXPERIMENT
Determination of Moisture Content
The moisture content of the material was investigated by adapting the ASAE
S358.2 DEC99 moisture measurement method. 30 gram of coir pith was taken as a repre-
sentative sample. The weight of the sample and container was evaluated by using an elec-
tronic balance. Next, the sample was dried in a laboratory oven cabinet at 103°C for 24 h.
After the removal, the material and its container were placed in desiccators to cool down
to room temperature. The sample was then re-weighed in order to calculate its moisture
content.
Three samples of the same type were tested at a time and the average value of
moisture content was recorded. The electronic balance used will measure to the near-
est 0.001gm. Thermocouple, having an accuracy of +/−0.5°C, was used to measure
the temperature and a digital clock with an error of 1 sec per year was used to measure
the time.
400 I.N. MANICKAM AND P. SUBRAMANIAN
particle size. Coir pith was placed on the top sieve and shaken for 20 min. By that time the
coir pith on the smallest sieve reached equilibrium. The fractions retained on all sieves
were weighed.
The sieves were calibrated to an accuracy of 1 μm. The electronic balance was used
to measure the weight fractions. The experiment was carried out three times and the aver-
age values were taken.
Determination of Porosity
Porosity is defined as the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume (voids plus
solid). The porosity of the coir pith was determined by pressure bottle method (Mohsenin,
1978) and the apparatus used for this purpose is shown in Figure 1. The bottle-1 was com-
pletely filled with the coir pith of particular particle size. The valves 2, 3 and 4 were
closed. By opening the valve-1, air was blown into the bottle-2 and the valve-1 was
closed. The air pressure inside the bottle-2 was measured by ‘U’ tube manometer fitted to
this experimental set up by opening the valve-2 and the value is noted as ‘P1’. Then the
valve-4 was opened and sufficient time was allowed for the air in bottle-2 to fill the porous
space available in bottle-1. Now the pressure shown by the manometer was noted as ‘P2’.
The porosity (Po) was calculated by the following equation.
The difference in liquid level of the manometer was measured using a digital height
gauge with an accuracy of 0.01mm. The experiment was repeated three times and the
average values were recorded.
Po = (P1 − P2 ) / P2 (1)
0.40
0.35
0.30
Bulk Density (gm/cc)
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Moisture Content % (w.b.)
Particle Size, mm
Figure 3 Effect of Moisture Content and Particle Size on the Bulk Density of Coir Pith.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COIR PITH 403
particle size. Sreenarayanan and Chattopadhyay (1986) reported that the bulk density was
increasing with an increase in moisture content for rice bran. When the particle size of coir
pith was reduced to a lower level its porosity decreased and hence the bulk density of the
coir pith was increased with a decrease in the particle size. A relationship between the
bulk density of coir pith, the moisture content and particle size was developed and
furnished below. The correlation coefficient for the proposed model (R2 value = 0.9314)
indicates that the model has good fit.
0.9
0.85
0.8
Po ro si ty
0.75
0.7
0.65
0.6
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Moisture Content % w.b.
Particle Size mm
Figure 4 Effect of Moisture Content and Particle Size on the Porosity of Coir Pith.
404 I.N. MANICKAM AND P. SUBRAMANIAN
A relationship between the porosity of coir pith, the moisture content and particle
size was developed and furnished below. The correlation coefficient for the proposed
model (R2 value = 0.9214) indicates that the model has good fit.
where Po = Porosity
M = Moisture Content in % w.b.
P = Particle Size
of Coir Pith
The particle density of coir pith of different particle sizes under different levels of
moisture content is shown graphically in Figure 5. It was seen that the particle density of
the coir pith was higher as the particle sizes decreased, and it decreased with an increase in
moisture content. A similar trend was observed by Sreenarayanan and Chattopadhyay
(1986) for rice bran particles.
A relationship between the particle density of coir pith, the moisture content and
particle size was developed and furnished below. The correlation coefficient for the pro-
posed model (R2 value = 0.9) indicates that the model has good fit.
(5)
(Pd / Pd max ) = 1.0152 × 0.9987M × 0.6649( P / Pmax)
1.00
0.95
0.90
Pa rti cl e Densi ty g m/cc
0.85
0.80
0.75
0.70
0.65
0.60
0.55
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Moisture Content % w.b.
Particle Size mm
0.925 0.655 0.39 0.231 0.098
Figure 5 Effect of Moisture Content and Particle Size on the Particle Density of Coir Pith.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF COIR PITH 405
size. When the particle size was reduced, the frictional coefficient also reduced. This
behavior may be due to the reduction of pore space inside the particle heap as the particle
sizes were reduced.
A relationship between the static coefficient of friction of coir pith, the moisture
content and particle size was developed and furnished below. The correlation coefficient
for the proposed model (R2 value = 0.9497) indicates that the model has good fit.
0.66
0.64
Co effi cient o f Fricti o n
0.62
0.6
0.58
0.56
0.54
0.52
0.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Moisture Content % w.b.
Particle Size mm
Figure 6 Effect of Moisture Content and Particle Size on the Coefficient of Friction of Coir Pith.
406 I.N. MANICKAM AND P. SUBRAMANIAN
CONCLUSION
The experimental results show that the bulk density of coir pith increased with an
increase in moisture content and decreased with an increase in the particle size. The poros-
ity of coir pith was higher as the particle sizes increased and decreased with an increase in
moisture. The particle density of the coir pith was higher as the particle sizes decreased
and decreased with an increase in moisture content. The coefficient of friction of coir pith
particles against milled steel decreased when its moisture content was increased. When the
particle size was reduced, the frictional coefficient was also reduced.
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