Production and Characterization of Charcoal Briquette from Oxytenanthera abyssinica, Arundinaria alpina, Acacia melifera and Prosopis juliflora

Production of sustainable and renewable energy source from locally available biomass feedstock’s provides great opportunities to achieve sustainable growth and development in economic, social and environmental aspects for all nations across the globe. This study focused on production and characterization of charcoal briquettes from forest biomasses such as, Oxytenanthera abyssinica, Arundinaria alpina, Acacia mellifera and Prosopis juliflora, which were collected from different regions of Ethiopia (Amhara, Oromia and Somali). The experiment was conducted to determine moisture content (MC), volatile matter (VM), ash content (AC), calorific value (CV), fixed carbon (FC) and sulfur content (SC). The results were analyzed by using Statistical Analysis System (SAS) software. The analysis indicated that the effect of parameters considered in the experiment (i.e. Temperature, Binder ratio, Number of press and pressure) on the four species type and sample types were significant at level of probability, P = 0.0001. Maximum amount of MC was recorded for P. juliflora samples (i.e. Sawdust, Charcoal and Briquette) with respective values of 7.95%, 6.70 % and 6.88 %. The minimum amount of moisture was recorded on A. alpina’s Sawdust with value of 5 % and A. mellifera Charcoal with value of 5.29 %. Moreover, the least amount of VM (17.31 %) was found in biomass briquettes produced from A. alpina species and have better fuel quality in comparison with the other species. The maximum CV was recorded on Densified Biomass Briquette (DBB) obtained from A. alpina and P. juliflora with the values of 7106.8 cal/gm and 6755.6 cal/gm, respectively. The study suggested that charcoal briquette produced from selected species exhibits good fuel characteristics (i.e. higher CV, less MC, and high level of FC, and low SC) in compliance with the international acceptable standard. Therefore, the obtained research output in the study encourages proper utilization of the biomass feedstock’s for consumers and insure healthier environment via the supply of renewable source of energy