Extruded solid biofuels of rice straw plus oriented strand board residues at various proportions

Abstract

Disposal of vast agricultural residues has been a nerve-wracking social problem in many agriculture-intensive regions. Open-field combustion both squanders those biomass resources and causes severe atmospheric pollution and hazards. In addition, wood industries yield residues such as sanding powders without value application. Production of biofuels out of these biomass provides a multiple beneficial solution. To that end, this work focused on fabrication of biomass fuels using rice straws (Calorific value: 14.7 MJ/Kg) and wood residues from OSB industries (Calorific value: 17.3 MJ/Kg). Biofuel sticks from various proportions of biomass residues were made using an 18.5 KW industrial biomass extruder without adding bonding agents, achieving densities of 1.0 1.6 g/cm3 and comparative calorific values. The biofuel sticks exhibit moisture sensitivity when subjected to a ten-day conditioning. Release of residual stresses that were created during the densification process led to structural destruction of the products under moisture aggression. It s highlighted that combination of rice straw particles with OSB residues gives sound extrusion process ability and high combustibility. The blend of rice straws and OSB residues are proven practically feasible for making solid biofuels. It s suggested to promote the waste-to-wealth technological scheme in addressing the energy crisis worldwide, especially in those regions rich in agricultural residues while poor in non-renewable energy sources.