Characteristics of Wood Pellets from Sengon Tree (Albizia Chinensis) Waste Materials for Eco-Friendly Fuel

Abstract

The Sengon tree (Albizia Chinensis) presents a promising avenue for biomass utilization due to its inherent natural adhesives, namely lignin and hemicellulose, streamlining the pelletization process without additional adhesive materials. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of Sengon wood pellets' characteristics. To ensure high-quality pellets, minimizing inorganic elements such as alkali metals (K, Na), and reducing Cl, S, and Si content is essential to mitigate impurities, scale formation, and combustion boiler corrosion. Initial findings indicate that Sengon wood pellets exhibit a carbon content increase from 13.41% to 15.02% when dry, a slight sulfur content increase from 0.08% to 0.09%, and a calorific value of 4302 Kcal/kg. With a wood pellet density of 796 kg/m3 and a burning rate of 321.15 g/second, SEM-EDX testing confirms their suitability as fuel. These results underscore the potential of Sengon wood as a viable and sustainable biomass resource for thermal energy production, with implications for improving pellet quality and combustion efficiency.