research article physical and combustion characteristics

Hindawi Publishing CorporationJournal of CombustionVolume 2013 Article ID 549894 7 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552013549894

Research ArticlePhysical and Combustion Characteristics of Briquettes Madefrom Water Hyacinth and Phytoplankton Scum as Binder

R M Davies1 and O A Davies2

1 Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering Niger Delta University PMB 071 Yenagoa Bayelsa State Nigeria2 Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Environment Rivers State University of Science and Technology PMB 5080Port Harcourt Rivers State Nigeria

Correspondence should be addressed to R M Davies rotimidaviesyahoocom

Received 29 March 2013 Accepted 20 August 2013

Academic Editor Essam Eldin Khalil

Copyright copy 2013 R M Davies and O A Davies This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work isproperly cited

The study investigated the potential of water hyacinths and phytoplankton scum an aquatic weed as binder for production of fuelbriquettes It also evaluated some physical and combustion characteristics The water hyacinths were manually harvested cleanedsun-dried and milled to particle sizes distribution ranging from lt025 to 475mm using hammer mill The water hyacinth grindsand binder (phytoplankton scum) at 10 (B

1) 20 (B

2) 30 (B

3) 40 (B

4) and 50 (B

5) by weight of each feedstock were

fed into a steel cylindrical die of dimension 143 cm height and 47 cm diameter and compressed by hydraulic press at pressure20MPa with dwell time of 45 seconds Data were analysed using analysis of variance and descriptive statistics Initial bulk densityof uncompressedmixture of water hyacinth and phytoplankton scum at different binder levels varied between 11386 plusmn 375 (B

1) and

15693 plusmn 482 kgm3 (B5) Compressed and relaxed densities of water hyacinth briquettes at different binder proportions showed

significant difference 119875 lt 005 Durability of the briquettes improved with increased binder proportion Phytoplankton scumimproved the mechanical handling characteristics of the briquettes It could be concluded that production of water hyacinthbriquettes is feasible cheaper and environmentally friendly and that they compete favourably with other agricultural products

1 Introduction

The Niger Delta of Nigeria is characterized by extensivenetwork of rivers and creekswhich discharge their waters intothe Atlantic Ocean As a result fishing is the major occupa-tion of its inhabitants [1]One of themost invasive and prolificaquatic weeds that devastate lakes canals rivers and pondsin the Niger Delta is water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)This aquatic weed blooms heavily in the Niger Delta due tofavourable climatic condition [2] In Niger Delta the averageweight or volume of fuelwood per day (1645 kg or 75m3)exceeds the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) aver-age allowance (046m3) [1]

The major source of energy in the rural community isfuelwood as other sources of energy are either not availableor grossly inadequate The demand for fuelwood is expectedto rise to about 2134times 103metric tonnes while the supplywill

decrease to about 284 times 103 metric tonnes by the year 2030[3] Increasing pressure on forest resources for energy has ledto what is called ldquoother energy crisis of wood fuelrdquo [4] Thishas led to environmental degradation deforestation andmis-use of soil forests and water resourcesThe uncontrolled levelof cutting of wood for firewood and charcoal for combustionand for other domestic and industrial uses is now a seriousproblem in Nigeria Total annual consumption of wood inNigeria is estimated about 50ndash55 million cubic meters ofwhich 90 is firewood while estimated shortfall of fuelwoodin the northern part of the country is about 5ndash8million cubicmeters [5] The annual deforestation of the wood lands in thenorthern part of Nigeria runs to about 92000 hectare a yearThe fuelwood extraction rate in the country is estimated to beabout 385 times the rate of regrowth or afforestation

Water hyacinth is an aquatic weed that grows at anextremely rapid pace and its production is about 2 tonnes of

2 Journal of Combustion

biomass per acre and population doubles every 5ndash15 days [6]The harvest frequency for aquatic plants tends to be in theorder of days whereas the frequency for trees and crops is inthe order of years and months The abundance availabilitylow cost and rapid growth of water hyacinths make theman ideal candidate for biofuel particularly in the developingcountries [7]The objectives of this study are to investigate thepotential of water hyacinths and phytoplankton an aquaticweed as organic binder for production of fuel briquettes andalso determine some physical and combustion characteristicsof the briquettes

2 Materials and Methods

This study involved collection of samples in Port HarcourtNiger Delta located between latitudes 40 210158401015840 and 60 210158401015840 northof the equator and longitudes 50 110158401015840 and 70 210158401015840 east of theGreenwichmeridian [2] Water hyacinth was harvested man-ually from the earthy fish ponds using drag net Phytoplank-ton scum was harvested from concrete fish pond using scoopnet and subsequently sun-dried It was ground to fine particlesize using plate mill and later sieved to particle size 0075mmwith Tyler sieve Water hyacinth sample was cleaned to bedevoid of foreign matters (stone dust and plant materials)prior drying It was sun-dried and finally milled to particlesizes distribution ranging from lt025 to 475mm usinghammer mill The particle size distribution was achievedby using particle size analysis equipment consisting of sieveshaker and Tyler sieves of various diameter or particles sizeopenings The percentages of binder used in the mixturewere 10 20 30 40 and 50 of residue weight The agitatingprocess was done in amixer to enhance proper blending priorcompaction A steel cylindrical die of dimension 143 cmheight and 47 cm diameter was used for this study The diewas freely filled with known amount of weight (charge) ofeach samplemixture and positioned in the hydraulic poweredpress machine for compression into briquettes

The piston was actuated through hydraulic pump at thespeed of 30mmmin of piston movement to compress thesample Compacted pressure was 20MPa A known pressurewas applied at a time to the material in the die and allowedto stay for 45 seconds (dwell time) before released and thebriquette formed was extruded A stopwatch was used for thepurpose of timing Prior to the release of applied pressure tothe maximum depth of piston movement was measured forthe purpose of calculating the volume displacement to enablethe determination of compressive density of the briquetteEach briquette was replicated three times according to thelevel of process variablesThemoisture content of the groundmaterial before and after compaction was determined usingASABE [8] standard Bulk density of the loose materials wasdetermined according to ASABE [8] standard

Compressed density was determined according to Bamg-boye and Bolufawi [9] and Olorunnisola [10] A steel cylin-drical die of 143 by 47 cm was filled with 50 g of each samplemixture and was hydraulically compressed A known pres-sure was applied through hydraulic at a time to the materialin the die and allowed for 45 secs (dwell time) before releasedThe pressure was monitored through dial gauge installed

on the machine A stopwatch was used for timing Aftercompression the height of briquette was measured and thevolume was calculated The briquette density was calculatedby dividing the average mass of the briquette by its volumeThe height and diameter of the briquette were consistentlymeasured until they were stable The stable height and diam-eter were used to calculate the new volume of the briquettesince the charge was known initially

Relaxed density and relaxation ratiowere calculated as theratio of compressed density to relaxed density according toBamgboye and Bolufawi [9] and Olorunnisola [10]

relaxation ratio =compressed densityrelaxed density

(1)

Percentage of water resistance capacity of dry briquette(103 wet basis) when immersed in cylindrical glass con-tainer containing distilled water at 29 plusmn 2∘C for 120 secondswas investigated Relative change in weight of the briquettewasmeasured Percentagewater gainwas calculated using thefollowing relationship

water gained by briquette = 1198722 minus11987211198721

(2)

where1198721is the Initial weight of briquette before immersion

and1198722is the Final weight of briquette after immersion

The equation becomes

water resistance capacity

= 100 minuswater absorbed(3)

See [11] Briquettes shattering index (durability index) wasdetermined according to ASTMD440-86 [12] of drop shatterdeveloped for coal using the following equation

shattering index

=

weight of briquettes retained on the screen after droppingweight of briquettes before dropping

(4)

The static coefficient of friction of briquettes was inves-tigated with respect to four test surfaces namely galvanisedsteel rubber plywood sheet and aluminium sheet A fiberbox of 75mm length 50mm width and 30mm height with-out base or lid was filled with sample and placed on anadjustable tilting plate faced with test surface The samplecontainer was raised slightly (10mm) so as not to touch thesurfaceThe inclination of the test surfacewas increased grad-ually with a screw device until the box just started to slidedown and the angle of tilt was measured from a graduatedscale For each replicate the briquettes in the container wereemptied and refilled with new briquettes The static coeffi-cient of frictionwas calculated as described byMohsenin [13]

Briquette burning rate was determined according to themethod used by Onuegbu et al [14] The insulator Bunsenburner tripod stand and wire gauze were arranged on thebalance and their weight was recorded Briquette sample of

Journal of Combustion 3

known weight was placed on wire gauze and the burnerignited This was positioned on top of a mass balance mon-itored to record instantaneous measurements of the massevery 10 seconds throughout the combustion process usinga stopwatch until the briquettes were completely burnt andconstant weight was obtainedTheweight loss at specific timewas computed from the expression

burning rate =total weight of the burnt briquette

total time taken (5)

Calorific value of the sample was determined using Gal-lenkamp Ballistic Bomb Calorimeter according to ASTME711-87 (2004)

Ignition time was determined according to Onuegbuet al [14] Each briquette was ignited by placing a Bunsenburner on a platform 4 cm directly beneath Bunsen burnerwas used to ensure that the whole of the bottom surface of thebriquette was ignited simultaneously after adjusting it to blueflame Caution was taken to avoid flame spread in the trans-verse directionsThe burner was left in until the briquette waswell ignited and had entered into its steady state burn phase

Thermal fuel efficiency of the energy was calculatedaccording to Oladeji [15]

TFE =119872119908119862119901(119879119887minus 119879119900) + 119872

119888119871

119872119891119864119891

times 100 (6)

The numerator gives the net heat supplied to the water whilethe denominator gives the net heat liberated by the fuel whereTFE is the thermal fuel efficiency of the energy 119872

119908is the

mass of water in the pot (kg) 119862119901is the specific heat of water

(kJkgK) 119879119900is the initial temperature of water (K) 119879

119887is the

boiling temperature of the water (K)119872119888is the mass of water

evaporated (kg) 119871 is the latent heat of evaporation (kg)119872119891

is the mass of fuel burnt (kg) 119864119891is the calorific value of the

fuel (kJkg)

3 Results and Discussion

The obtained values for initial density of uncompressed mix-ture of water hyacinth at different binder levels varied from11386 to 15693 kgm3 (Figure 1) The initial bulk densityincrease with increase in binder proportion This signifieda desirable development for the densification process Theobtained result is much lower than the corresponding valuesof uncompressed bulk densities of the residue materials asreported byOladeji [16] were 9533 and 9800 kgm3 for corn-cob from white and yellow maize The initial bulk density ofuncompressed rice husk and corncob and water hyacinth of138 kgm3 155 kgm3 and 40 kgm3 as reported [17 18]Thesevalues are higher than the minimum value of 40 kgm3recommended for wooden materials [19 20] Importance ofthese results indicated the actualization of volume reductionof the raw material which provides a technological benefitDensity is an important parameter which characterizes thebriquetting process If the density is higher the energyvol-ume ratio is higher too Hence high density products are

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

9010 8020 7030 6040 5050

Den

sitie

s of r

esid

ue an

d br

ique

ttes

Binder ratio ()

Bulk densityCompressed densityRelaxed density

Figure 1 Densities of water hyacinth residue and briquettes

desirable in terms of transportation storage and handlingand are more cost effective than the natural state

31 Compressed Density of Briquettes and Binder ProportionsCompressed densities of briquettes at the different binderproportions are presented in Figure 1 The recorded valuesshowed an increase in binder (10ndash30) with decreasedcompressive density (73961 (B

5) to 98765 kgm3 (B

1)) The

decline observed in compressed density with increasedbinder inclusion could be attributed to the binder occup-ing pores in-between the particles of water hyacinth Therecorded values of compressed densitywere higher than thoseof the initial bulk density (11386 to 15693 kgm3) of theuncompressed mixture of water hyacinth and binder It isclearly shown that compressed density is inversely propor-tional to binder proportions This trend was in disagreementwith the values reported for production of fuel briquettesfrom waste paper and coconut husk admixture ranging from81 to 112 kgm3 at different binder levels [10] The effect ofbinder proportion on compressed density was studied and itwas observed that the difference in binder type and blendingratio had significant effect on the compressed density of thebriquettes (119875 lt 005) [21] These values are higher than theinitial densities of the uncompressed mixture of corncobfrom white maize 151 to 235 kgm3 and 145 to 225 kgm3 forcorncob from yellow maize The values of compressed den-sities obtained are more than the minimum recommendedvalue of 600 kgm3 and for efficient transportation andsafe storage [20] The equation representing the relationshipbetween bulk density of mixture of water hyacinth andphytoplankton residue (119861

119889) compressed density (119862

119889) and

relaxed density (119877119889) of water hyacinth briquettes with binder

ratio (119861119903) and their coefficient of determination (1198772) are

presented as followsThe relationship existing between initialbulk density (119861

119889) and binder ratio (119861

119903) appears to be linear

and a strongly positive correlation Compressed and relaxed


Table 1 Feedstock particle size distribution for production of bri-quettes

Sieve size (mm) Percentage of material retained on the sieve ()475 130 320 410 1705 32025 28lt025 15

densities of the briquettes also showed linear relationshipwith very high coefficient of determination

119861119889= 47105119861

119903+ 10592 119877

2= 09189

119862119889= 3328119861

119903+ 10548 119877

2= 09409

119877119889= 13495119861

119903+ 43084 119877

2= 09764

(7)

The interaction between relaxed density andbinder levels var-ied from 46697plusmn791 kgm3 (B

1) to 57124plusmn1037 kgm3 (B

5)

(Figure 1) The relaxed density increased with the increasingbinder proportion It could be inferred that the optimumamount of binder required for densification was 50 (B

5) At

this level of binder the produced briquettes have the requiredstrength to withstand handling transportation and storageConversely the corresponding report revealed that the bindertypes and blending ratio had no significant influence (119875 gt005) on compressed density [21]The binder (phytoplanktonscum) used competed favourably with more than 50 organicand inorganic binders that have been reported for densi-fication A similar trend was reported on the relationshipbetween relaxed density and binder proportions [22 23]Those studies reported increased the relaxed density with theincrease in binder proportion for the production of sawdustand palm oil sludge briquettes Increase in relaxed densitywith increased binder proportion was equally observed forproduction of some briquettes from sawdust rice huskpeanut shell coconut fibre and palm fibre [24] (Table 1)

The effect of binder on the compaction ratio ranged from4713 (B

1) to 8684 (B

1) for all the five binder proportions

utilized (Figure 2) This is an indication that the volume dis-placement is high This is good for packaging storage andtransportation and above all it is an indication of goodquality briquettes This showed that void spaces are expelledat higher binder ratioThere was more resistance to compres-sion as the binder ratio increased

The values of compaction ratio obtained in this studycompare and compete favourably with other biomass resi-dues Compaction ratio of 380 for briquetting of rice huskwas observed [17 18] Compaction ratios of 35 and 42 werereported for densification of groundnut and melon shellsrespectively [25] Compaction ratio varied from 3194 to 9730for briquettes from Guinea corn (Sorghum Bi-color) residue[9] The compaction ratio of briquettes produced from whitecorncob increased with increasing binder ratio [16]

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

9010 8020 7030 6040 5050Binder ratio ()

Compaction ratioRelaxation ratioDensity ratio

Com

pact

ion

rela

xatio

n an

d de

nsity

ratio

s of b

rique

ttes

Figure 2 Effect of binder on compaction relaxation and densityratios of briquettes

The relaxation of the briquettes varied from 1569 plusmn 012(B1) to 2691 plusmn 007 (B

5) for the five studied binder levels

(Figure 2)Thedifference in the relaxation ratio of briquette atthe different binder proportions was significant (119875 lt 0001)The obtained range of relaxation ratio in this study is stillwithin the reported range of 18 to 25 and 165 to 18 [1026] Relaxation ratio values were 111 and 132 for briquettesproduced from charcoal and Arabic gum respectively butbriquettes made from charcoal and cassava starch had relax-ation ratio values of 117 and 134 [21] The obtained valuesof relaxation ratio signified that briquettes of low relaxationratio exhibited low elastic property and more stability whilebriquettes of high relaxation ratio exhibited high tendencyof elastic property and less stability A similar observationwas made for briquettes produced from hay material whichhad relaxation ratio of 168 to 18 [26] The lower values ratioindicates amore stable briquette while higher value indicateshigh tendency towards relaxation that is less stable briquette

The density ratio of the briquettes ranged from 0371 plusmn002 (B

1) to 0580plusmn007 (B


(Figure 2)The obtained range of relaxation ratio in this studyis within the reported range of 0173 to 0497 [9]

The result of water resistance property of the briquettesvaried from 52 plusmn 242 (B

1) to 971 plusmn 339 (B

5) for the

five studied binder levels (Figure 3) It was observed that thebriquette produced from binder (50) had good hygroscopicproperties as compared to the briquettes from the other fourcombinations The briquette from B

5exhibits the least water

absorption characteristic This is an indication that hygro-scopic property of briquettes at different binder propor-tions showed a decrease in water absorption capacity withincreased quantity of utilized binderThepercentages ofwaterresistance penetration of carbonized cashew shell rice huskand grass briquettes were investigated when immersed inwater at 27∘C for 30 seconds It was observed that the bri-quetted fuel fromcarbonized cashew shell had lowpercentage


e

d

cb

a

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

10 20 30 40 50

Wat

er re

sista

nce c

apac

ity (

)

Binder inclusion ()

Figure 3 Effect of binder on water resistance of briquette Means ofthe same letter are significantly different (119875 lt 005)

of water resistance penetration of less than 10 as comparedto the briquetted fuel from carbonized rice husk and grassthat had percentage of water resistance penetration of about35 and 45 The briquetted fuel from carbonized cashewshell requiredminimumenergy for production and lowwaterabsorption properties [11]

The effect of binder proportion on the shattering indexof the briquettes was conducted as shown in Table 2 Themean shattering index ranged between 059 plusmn 001 (B

1) and

098 plusmn 003 (B5) and variation of the values was significant

(119875 lt 0001) It could be inferred that the amounts of binderused have significant influence on the durability rating of thebriquettes (119875 lt 005) The mean values of shattering indexfor binders B

1(059plusmn 001) and B

2(074plusmn 003) were low and

showed significant difference (119875 lt 005) thus theymight notbe suitable for briquettes production

Meanwhile the mean values of shattering index of B4

(091 plusmn 001) and B5(098 plusmn 001) fall within the acceptable

range of DIN51731 [27] and Kaliyan and Morey [19] for pro-duction briquettesThis implies that B

5is the optimumbinder

level requirement to produce durable reliable and stable bri-quettes that stand mechanical handling and transportationwith economical feasibility and environmental friendlinessIt discovered that increase in binder proportion and types ofbinder have a significant effect on the durability rating of thebriquettes [21 22]

The effect of types of binders and quantity on the dura-bility of briquettes was reported [28] It was observed thatadding 10ndash25 (by weight) of molasses or sodium silicateor a mixture of 50 molasses and 50 sodium silicate withrice straw produced briquettes with 40ndash80 durability at aparticle size of 015mm and forming pressure of 294MPa[19] It was also found that the higher the amount of binderinclusion the higher the briquette durability rating Addition(byweight) of any of the following six binders did not improvethe alfalfa pellet durability over the control 4 bentonite15 Perma-Pel (lignosulfonate) 15 Lignosite 458 4 ofneutralized liquid Lignosite 4 of liquid molasses and 40of ground barley grain [19]

The interaction between crushing strength and binderlevels varied from 10400plusmn386N (B

1) to 26350plusmn576N (B

5)

(Table 2) The load required to rupture briquettes at different

Table 2 Mechanical handling characteristic of briquettes

Binder ratio Shattering index Crushing strength (N)90 10 059 plusmn 001 10400 plusmn 386

80 20 074 plusmn 003 13960 plusmn 417

70 30 089 plusmn 004 16400 plusmn 308

60 40 091 plusmn 002 22230 plusmn 526

50 50 098 plusmn 003 26350 plusmn 576

binder ratioswas significantly different (119875 lt 005)The crush-ing strength increased with increasing binder proportionThis is an indication that phytoplankton as binder has agood binding power that competed favourably with bindersfrom other biomasses It could be inferred that the optimumamount of binder required to produce high quality briquettesis 50 (B

5) At this level of binder the produced briquettes

have the required strength towithstand handling transporta-tion and storage

The coefficient of static friction of the water hyacinth bri-quette ranged from 035 (B

5) to 047 (B

1) for galvanized steel

as shown in Table 3This is an indication that at higher binderratio the briquette becomes more pliable and smoother dueto the glossy nature of phytoplankton The briquettes onaluminium and plywood sheet had the lowest and highestvalues for static coefficient of friction at different binderratio respectively The lowest static coefficient of friction wasrecorded for aluminium sheet 031 (B

5) The highest static

coefficient of friction corresponds to plywood sheet 056(B1) The coefficient of static friction of water hyacinth bri-

quette on plywood sheet at different binder ratios werestatistically different (119875 lt 005)

The obtained values of thermal fuel efficiency of waterhyacinth briquettes are shown in Table 4 The results showedthat increased binder subsequently increasing the thermalfuel efficiency of briquettes from 1967 plusmn 023 (B

1) to 3173 plusmn

093 (B5) The result of analysis variance showed that there

was a significant difference among the obtained values (119875 lt005) Binder B

4could be regarded as the optimum binder

level required to produce briquettes of acceptable thermalfuel efficiency and low smoke as compared to firewoodbriquettesThe consequent of selecting any other binder levelhigher than binder B

4amounted to energy and economic

losses In addition it could be inferred that any increase inbinder proportion beyond B

4has no significant influence on

the fuel efficiency of the briquettes However briquettes withbinder levels lower than B

4might not be acceptable

The effect of binder on ignition time of the briquettesvaried from 7354 plusmn 337 sec (B

1) to 12342 plusmn 347 sec (B

5)

as shown in Table 4 The obtained trend of the ignition timeindicated that ignition time increased with increasing binderproportion The recorded lowest ignition time (7354 plusmn337 sec) recorded for B

1could be attributed to high porosity

exhibited between inter- and intraparticles which enable easypercolation of oxygen and outflow of combustion briquettesdue to low bonding force The values were significantlydifferent at all levels of binder (119875 lt 005) Ignition time for100 coal briquette sample took 286 sec to ignite [15]


Table 3 Coefficient of static friction

Binder ratio Galvanised steel Rubber Plywood sheet Aluminium sheet90 10 047 (plusmn002) 048 (plusmn003) 056 (plusmn002) 043 (plusmn001)80 20 046 (plusmn001) 044 (plusmn002) 051 (plusmn003) 037 (plusmn001)70 30 041 (plusmn005) 044 (plusmn003) 049 (plusmn001) 038 (plusmn003)60 40 037 (plusmn003) 038 (plusmn001) 045 (plusmn004) 033 (plusmn005)50 50 035 (plusmn004) 034 (plusmn002) 043 (plusmn003) 031 (plusmn003)

Table 4 Combustion characteristics of water hyacinth briquettes and binder proportions

Combustion parameters Binder ratio10 20 30 40 50

Thermal fuel efficiency () 1967 plusmn 023d 2182 plusmn 035c 2367 plusmn 021b 3124 plusmn 048a 3173 plusmn 093aCalorific value (Kcalkg) 3563 plusmn 7694e 3791 plusmn 8315d 3864 plusmn 4103c 4195 plusmn 3296b 4281 plusmn 9078aIgnition time (min) 7354 plusmn 337e 8827 plusmn 123d 9354 plusmn 382c 11437 plusmn 412b 12342 plusmn 347aBurning rate (gmin) 225 plusmn 001a 201 plusmn 003b 189 plusmn 004c 171 plusmn 002d 163 plusmn 002eMeans with same letter along the column are not significantly different (119875 gt 005)

The effect of binder on the burning rate was studied FromTable 4 burning rate of water briquettes significantly variedbetween 163 plusmn 002 gminus1min (B

5) and 225 plusmn 001 gminus1min (B

1)

(119875 lt 005)The obtained burning rate values of the briquettesdecreasedwith increasing binder proportionThe implicationof this observation is that more fuel might be required forcooking with briquettes produced from B

1than from B

5

The calorific values of briquettes produced from mix-ture of water hyacinth and binder at different levels arepresented in Table 4 The calorific values of the briquettesranged between 3563 plusmn 7694 kcalkg (B

1) and 4281 plusmn

9038 kcalkg (B5) This showed that phytoplankton scum as

binder improved the calorific value of water hyacinth from3190 kcalkg (sample 100 0) The recorded values of calorificvalues were significant at the different binder levels (119875 lt005) Adegoke [29] reported an improvement in calorificvalue of briquettes of palm kernel shell mixed with saw-dust from 1991MJkg (47554 kcalkg) MJkg to 2054MJkg (49059 kcalkg) The calorific value of the briquettesis within the acceptable range for commercial briquette(gt41798 kcalkg) DIN 51731 [27] It was observed that bri-quettes produced from binder ratio B

1to B3are not be

suitable for the production of commercial briquettes

4 Conclusion

The optimum binder level required to produce the briquetteswith the highest durability strength is 50 binder ratio Thebest shatter anddurability indices showed that they have goodshock and impact resistance and are good for handling andtransportation They also have good density ratio Thereforecombination of water hyacinth and phytoplankton scumis very suitable for briquette production for domestic andindustrial uses The physical and mechanical handling char-acteristics of water hyacinth briquettes compete favourablywith other biomass briquettes Binder B

4could be regarded

as the optimum binder level required to produce briquettesof acceptable thermal fuel efficiency and low smoke as com-pared to firewood briquettes Water hyacinth only without

binder might not satisfy the minimum calorific value Uti-lization of phytoplankton scum an aquatic weed as organicbinder exhibits a good binding characteristic

Conflict of Interests

The authors declared that there is no conflict of interests

References

[1] O A Osi Survey of fish processing machinery in Bayelsa State[BSc Thesis] Niger Delta University Nigeria 2008

[2] C C Tawari Effectiveness of agricultural agencies in fisheriesmanagement and production in the Niger Delta Nigeria [PhDthesis] Rivers State University of Science and Technology PortHarcourt Nigeria 2006

[3] A O Adegbulugbe ldquoEnergy-environmental issites in NigeriardquoInternational Journal of Global Energy Issues vol 6 no 12 pp7ndash18 1994

[4] J-F K Akinbami ldquoRenewable energy resources and technolo-gies in Nigeria present situation future prospects and policyframeworkrdquo Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for GlobalChange vol 6 no 2 pp 155ndash181 2001

[5] Nigeria Environmental Action Team (NEST) ldquoNigeria Threat-ened Environment A Natural Profile lsquoAtmospherersquordquo NESTIbadan NigeriaPp 116ndash117 2001

[6] M A Olal M N Muchilwa and P L Woomer ldquoWater Hya-cinth Utilizations and the use of waste material for Handicraftproduction in Kenyardquo inMicro and Small Enterprises and Nat-ural Resource Use D L M Nightingale Ed pp 119ndash127 Micro-Enterprises Support Programme UNRP Nairobi Kenya 2001

[7] D Sophie ldquoA fast-Growing Plant Becomes mod furniturerdquo inConnecticut Cottage Gardens Cuttoges and Gardens NorwalkConn USA 2006

[8] American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering(ASABE) ldquoCubes pellet and crumbles definitions andmethodsfor determining density durability and moisture contentrdquoASAE DEC96 St Joseph Mich USA 2003

[9] A Bamgboye and S Bolufawi ldquoPhysical characteristics of bri-quettes from Guinea corn (sorghum bi-color) residuerdquo Agricul-tural Engineering International article 1364 2008


[10] A O Olorunnisola ldquoProduction of fuel briquettes from wastepaper and coconut husk admixturesrdquo Agricultural EngineeringInternational vol 1X article EE 06 066 2007

[11] SH Sengar AGMohod1 Y P Khandetod S S Patil andADChendake ldquoPerformance of briquetting machine for briquettefuelrdquo International Journal of Energy Engineering vol 2 no 1pp 28ndash34 2012

[12] American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM D440-86)ldquoStandard test method of drop shatter test for coalrdquo in AnnualBook of ASTM Standards vol 05 pp 188ndash191 West Consho-hocken Pa USA 1998

[13] N N Mohsenin Physical Properties of Plant and Animal Mate-rials Gordon and Breach Press New York NY USA 1986

[14] T U Onuegbu U E Ekpunobi I M Ogbu M O Ekeoma andF O Obumselu ldquoComparative studies of ignition time andwater boiling test of coal and biomass briquettes blendrdquo Inter-national Journal of Research amp Reviews in Applied Sciences vol7 pp 153ndash159 2012

[15] J T OladejiThe effects of some processing parameters on physicaland combustion characteristics of corncob briquettes [PhD the-sis] Department of Mechanical Engineering Ladoke AkintolaUniversity of Technology Ogbomoso Nigeria 2011

[16] J T Oladeji ldquoA comparative study of effects of some processingparameters on densification characteristics of briquettes pro-duced from two species of corncobrdquo The Pacific Journal of Sci-ence and Technology vol 13 no 1 pp 182ndash192 2012

[17] J T Oladeji ldquoPyrolytic conversion of sawdust and rice huskto medium grade fuelrdquo in Proceedings of the Conference of theNigerian Institute of Industrial Engineers (NIIE rsquo10) pp 81ndash86Ibadan Nigeria April 2010

[18] RM Davies andU SMohammed ldquoMoisture-dependent engi-neering properties water hyacinth partsrdquo Singapore Journal ofScientific Research vol 1 no 3 pp 253ndash263 2011

[19] N Kaliyan and R Morey ldquoDensification characteristics of cornstover and switchgrassrdquo in Proceedings of the ASABE AnnualInternational Meeting paper 066174 St Joseph Mich USA2006

[20] SMani L G Tabil and S Sokhansanj ldquoSpecific energy require-ment for compacting corn stoverrdquo Bioresource Technology vol97 no 12 pp 1420ndash1426 2006

[21] O A Sotannde A O Oluyege and G B Abah ldquoPhysical andcombustion properties of charcoal briquettes from neem woodresiduesrdquo International Agrophysics vol 24 no 2 pp 189ndash1942010

[22] OA Ajayi andC T Lawal ldquoHygroscopic and combustion char-acteristics of sawdust briquettes with palm oil sludge as binderrdquoJournal of Agricultural Engineering and Technology vol 5 pp29ndash36 1997

[23] W H Engelleitner ldquoBinders how they work and how to selectonerdquo Powder and Bulk Engineering vol 15 no 2 pp 31ndash37 2001

[24] OC Chin andKM Siddiqui ldquoCharacteristics of some biomassbriquettes prepared under modest die pressuresrdquo Biomass andBioenergy vol 18 no 3 pp 223ndash228 2000

[25] J T Oladeji C C Enweremadu and E O Olafimihan ldquoCon-version of agricultural wastes into biomass briquettesrdquo Interna-tional Journal of Applied Agricultural and Apiculture Researchvol 5 no 2 pp 116ndash123 2009

[26] M J OrsquoDogherty ldquoA review of the mechanical behaviour ofstraw when compressed to high densitiesrdquo Journal of Agricul-tural Engineering Research vol 44 no C pp 241ndash265 1989

[27] Deutsches Institut fur Normunge ldquoTesting on solid fuelscompresses untreated wood-requirements and testingrdquo V DIN51731 1996

[28] J P Singh T CThakur S Sharma and R K Srivastava ldquoEffectof manner of stacking on changes in nutritional value of treatedbaled paddy straw by dripping techniquerdquo Agricultural Mech-anization in Asia Africa and Latin America vol 42 no 4 pp84ndash87 2011

[29] C O Adegoke ldquoPreliminary investigation of sawdust as highgrade solid fuelrdquo Journal of Renewal Energy vol 1-2 pp 102ndash107 1999

International Journal of

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RoboticsJournal of

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Active and Passive Electronic Components

Control Scienceand Engineering

Journal of



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Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom

Journal ofEngineeringVolume 2014

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VLSI Design



Shock and Vibration


Civil EngineeringAdvances in

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The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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DistributedSensor Networks



biomass per acre and population doubles every 5ndash15 days [6]The harvest frequency for aquatic plants tends to be in theorder of days whereas the frequency for trees and crops is inthe order of years and months The abundance availabilitylow cost and rapid growth of water hyacinths make theman ideal candidate for biofuel particularly in the developingcountries [7]The objectives of this study are to investigate thepotential of water hyacinths and phytoplankton an aquaticweed as organic binder for production of fuel briquettes andalso determine some physical and combustion characteristicsof the briquettes

2 Materials and Methods

This study involved collection of samples in Port HarcourtNiger Delta located between latitudes 40 210158401015840 and 60 210158401015840 northof the equator and longitudes 50 110158401015840 and 70 210158401015840 east of theGreenwichmeridian [2] Water hyacinth was harvested man-ually from the earthy fish ponds using drag net Phytoplank-ton scum was harvested from concrete fish pond using scoopnet and subsequently sun-dried It was ground to fine particlesize using plate mill and later sieved to particle size 0075mmwith Tyler sieve Water hyacinth sample was cleaned to bedevoid of foreign matters (stone dust and plant materials)prior drying It was sun-dried and finally milled to particlesizes distribution ranging from lt025 to 475mm usinghammer mill The particle size distribution was achievedby using particle size analysis equipment consisting of sieveshaker and Tyler sieves of various diameter or particles sizeopenings The percentages of binder used in the mixturewere 10 20 30 40 and 50 of residue weight The agitatingprocess was done in amixer to enhance proper blending priorcompaction A steel cylindrical die of dimension 143 cmheight and 47 cm diameter was used for this study The diewas freely filled with known amount of weight (charge) ofeach samplemixture and positioned in the hydraulic poweredpress machine for compression into briquettes

The piston was actuated through hydraulic pump at thespeed of 30mmmin of piston movement to compress thesample Compacted pressure was 20MPa A known pressurewas applied at a time to the material in the die and allowedto stay for 45 seconds (dwell time) before released and thebriquette formed was extruded A stopwatch was used for thepurpose of timing Prior to the release of applied pressure tothe maximum depth of piston movement was measured forthe purpose of calculating the volume displacement to enablethe determination of compressive density of the briquetteEach briquette was replicated three times according to thelevel of process variablesThemoisture content of the groundmaterial before and after compaction was determined usingASABE [8] standard Bulk density of the loose materials wasdetermined according to ASABE [8] standard

Compressed density was determined according to Bamg-boye and Bolufawi [9] and Olorunnisola [10] A steel cylin-drical die of 143 by 47 cm was filled with 50 g of each samplemixture and was hydraulically compressed A known pres-sure was applied through hydraulic at a time to the materialin the die and allowed for 45 secs (dwell time) before releasedThe pressure was monitored through dial gauge installed

on the machine A stopwatch was used for timing Aftercompression the height of briquette was measured and thevolume was calculated The briquette density was calculatedby dividing the average mass of the briquette by its volumeThe height and diameter of the briquette were consistentlymeasured until they were stable The stable height and diam-eter were used to calculate the new volume of the briquettesince the charge was known initially

Relaxed density and relaxation ratiowere calculated as theratio of compressed density to relaxed density according toBamgboye and Bolufawi [9] and Olorunnisola [10]

relaxation ratio =compressed densityrelaxed density

(1)

Percentage of water resistance capacity of dry briquette(103 wet basis) when immersed in cylindrical glass con-tainer containing distilled water at 29 plusmn 2∘C for 120 secondswas investigated Relative change in weight of the briquettewasmeasured Percentagewater gainwas calculated using thefollowing relationship

water gained by briquette = 1198722 minus11987211198721

(2)

where1198721is the Initial weight of briquette before immersion

and1198722is the Final weight of briquette after immersion

The equation becomes

water resistance capacity

= 100 minuswater absorbed(3)

See [11] Briquettes shattering index (durability index) wasdetermined according to ASTMD440-86 [12] of drop shatterdeveloped for coal using the following equation

shattering index

=

weight of briquettes retained on the screen after droppingweight of briquettes before dropping

(4)

The static coefficient of friction of briquettes was inves-tigated with respect to four test surfaces namely galvanisedsteel rubber plywood sheet and aluminium sheet A fiberbox of 75mm length 50mm width and 30mm height with-out base or lid was filled with sample and placed on anadjustable tilting plate faced with test surface The samplecontainer was raised slightly (10mm) so as not to touch thesurfaceThe inclination of the test surfacewas increased grad-ually with a screw device until the box just started to slidedown and the angle of tilt was measured from a graduatedscale For each replicate the briquettes in the container wereemptied and refilled with new briquettes The static coeffi-cient of frictionwas calculated as described byMohsenin [13]

Briquette burning rate was determined according to themethod used by Onuegbu et al [14] The insulator Bunsenburner tripod stand and wire gauze were arranged on thebalance and their weight was recorded Briquette sample of








TFE =119872119908119862119901(119879119887minus 119879119900) + 119872

119888119871

119872119891119864119891

times 100 (6)


119908is the



119887is the




fuel (kJkg)



0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

9010 8020 7030 6040 5050

Den

sitie

s of r

esid

ue an

d br

ique

ttes

Binder ratio ()





5) to 98765 kgm3 (B

1)) The



119889) and











119861119889= 47105119861

119903+ 10592 119877

2= 09189

119862119889= 3328119861

119903+ 10548 119877

2= 09409

119877119889= 13495119861

119903+ 43084 119877

2= 09764

(7)



5)


5) At



1) to 8684 (B




0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

9010 8020 7030 6040 5050Binder ratio ()


Com

pact

ion

rela

xatio

n an

d de

nsity

ratio

s of b

rique

ttes










1) to 971 plusmn 339 (B

5) for the





e

d

cb

a

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

10 20 30 40 50

Wat

er re

sista

nce c

apac

ity (

)

Binder inclusion ()




1) and














5)




80 20 074 plusmn 003 13960 plusmn 417

70 30 089 plusmn 004 16400 plusmn 308

60 40 091 plusmn 002 22230 plusmn 526

50 50 098 plusmn 003 26350 plusmn 576





5) to 047 (B







1) to 3173 plusmn












5)












1)


1than from B

5


1) and 4281 plusmn



1to B3are not be


4 Conclusion


4could be regarded





References

































RoboticsJournal of





Journal of



RotatingMachinery





VLSI Design



Shock and Vibration







Journal of



Volume 2014


SensorsJournal of





Propagation
















TFE =119872119908119862119901(119879119887minus 119879119900) + 119872

119888119871

119872119891119864119891

times 100 (6)


119908is the



119887is the




fuel (kJkg)



0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

9010 8020 7030 6040 5050

Den

sitie

s of r

esid

ue an

d br

ique

ttes

Binder ratio ()





5) to 98765 kgm3 (B

1)) The



119889) and











119861119889= 47105119861

119903+ 10592 119877

2= 09189

119862119889= 3328119861

119903+ 10548 119877

2= 09409

119877119889= 13495119861

119903+ 43084 119877

2= 09764

(7)



5)


5) At



1) to 8684 (B




0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

9010 8020 7030 6040 5050Binder ratio ()


Com

pact

ion

rela

xatio

n an

d de

nsity

ratio

s of b

rique

ttes










1) to 971 plusmn 339 (B

5) for the





e

d

cb

a

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

10 20 30 40 50

Wat

er re

sista

nce c

apac

ity (

)

Binder inclusion ()




1) and














5)




80 20 074 plusmn 003 13960 plusmn 417

70 30 089 plusmn 004 16400 plusmn 308

60 40 091 plusmn 002 22230 plusmn 526

50 50 098 plusmn 003 26350 plusmn 576





5) to 047 (B







1) to 3173 plusmn












5)












1)


1than from B

5


1) and 4281 plusmn



1to B3are not be


4 Conclusion


4could be regarded





References

































RoboticsJournal of





Journal of



RotatingMachinery





VLSI Design



Shock and Vibration







Journal of



Volume 2014


SensorsJournal of





Propagation













119861119889= 47105119861

119903+ 10592 119877

2= 09189

119862119889= 3328119861

119903+ 10548 119877

2= 09409

119877119889= 13495119861

119903+ 43084 119877

2= 09764

(7)



5)


5) At



1) to 8684 (B




0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

9010 8020 7030 6040 5050Binder ratio ()


Com

pact

ion

rela

xatio

n an

d de

nsity

ratio

s of b

rique

ttes










1) to 971 plusmn 339 (B

5) for the





e

d

cb

a

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

10 20 30 40 50

Wat

er re

sista

nce c

apac

ity (

)

Binder inclusion ()




1) and














5)




80 20 074 plusmn 003 13960 plusmn 417

70 30 089 plusmn 004 16400 plusmn 308

60 40 091 plusmn 002 22230 plusmn 526

50 50 098 plusmn 003 26350 plusmn 576





5) to 047 (B







1) to 3173 plusmn












5)












1)


1than from B

5


1) and 4281 plusmn



1to B3are not be


4 Conclusion


4could be regarded





References

































RoboticsJournal of





Journal of



RotatingMachinery





VLSI Design



Shock and Vibration







Journal of



Volume 2014


SensorsJournal of





Propagation










e

d

cb

a

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

10 20 30 40 50

Wat

er re

sista

nce c

apac

ity (

)

Binder inclusion ()




1) and














5)




80 20 074 plusmn 003 13960 plusmn 417

70 30 089 plusmn 004 16400 plusmn 308

60 40 091 plusmn 002 22230 plusmn 526

50 50 098 plusmn 003 26350 plusmn 576





5) to 047 (B







1) to 3173 plusmn












5)












1)


1than from B

5


1) and 4281 plusmn



1to B3are not be


4 Conclusion


4could be regarded





References

































RoboticsJournal of





Journal of



RotatingMachinery





VLSI Design



Shock and Vibration







Journal of



Volume 2014


SensorsJournal of





Propagation

















1)


1than from B

5


1) and 4281 plusmn



1to B3are not be


4 Conclusion


4could be regarded





References

































RoboticsJournal of





Journal of



RotatingMachinery





VLSI Design



Shock and Vibration







Journal of



Volume 2014


SensorsJournal of





Propagation
































RoboticsJournal of





Journal of



RotatingMachinery





VLSI Design



Shock and Vibration







Journal of



Volume 2014


SensorsJournal of





Propagation









research article physical and combustion characteristics

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