Studies on Physical, Thermal and Chemical Properties of Wood Gliricidia sepium for Potential Bioenergy Production

Abstract

Price increase and combustion effects of conventional fuels on environmental health have caused a paradigm increase in demand for wood fuel. Hence, a study on the utilization potential of some woody biomass to serve as an alternative to fossilized fuel has become important. Moisture content, density, lignin content, Gross Calorific Value (GCV), proximate and ultimate analyses were determined following standard procedures. Moisture content was 13.39±1.07 while wood density, lignin content and gross calorific value were 992.95±21.40 kg m-3, 26.26±1.26%, 19.55±0.16% respectively. Acetone extraction reduced the GCV of G. sepium by 17.85%. Ash content (1.28±0.14%), volatile matter (73.138±0.145%), nitrogen content (0.48±0.01%), sulphur content (0.03±0.01%) of Gliricidia sepium reveals that it could be considered adequate and suitable for use as feedstock in bioenergy production. Keywords: Bioenergy, Calorific Value, Proximate Analysis, Ultimate Analysis, FTIR, Gliricidia sepium