Briquette of Rice Husk and Bagasse Mixture with Variation on Adhesives Type and Mass Ratio of Raw Materials

Abstract

The abundance of agricultural waste of rice husk and sugarcane bagasse brings the environmental problem whereas this waste can be converted into alternative energy to solve energy depletion problem. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of the briquettes: moisture content, ash content, volatile matter content, fixed carbon, calorific value, and combustion test. The briquette (1,1.5,2) was produced with variation of adhesives type of tapioca flour (TF) and durian seed flour (DSF) with ratio of rice husk (RH) to sugarcane bagasse (SB) charcoal and conducted by carbonization method at 300 °C for 1 h. The briquettes with DSF adhesive gave the best result of briquettes with the lowest ash content value of 20.78 % and the lowest moisture content of 5.21 % was achieved in ratio RH:SB of 2. All samples met the Indonesia National Standard of moisture content (< 8 %) with the result in range 5.9 – 7.42 % and all samples with DSF adhesive met the ASTM D 1542-02.2003 the calorific value (> 15 MJ/kg) that the result in range 15.90 – 21.35 MJ/kg. The ignition time of all samples was in range 30 - 58 s, which was faster than ignition time of coal in range 286 s. Ash content, volatile matter and fixed carbon still did not meet the standard, but the addition of SB successfully decreased the ash content and increased the fixed carbon compare with the RH briquette. The ash content of RH:SB briquettes declined in the range of 20.78 – 37. 43 % from 34.86 – 48.37 % in RH briquettes and the fixed carbon of RH: SB briquettes improved in the range of 27.71 – 35.25 % from 25.35 - 25.94 %. The result indicated that the addition of SB on RH charcoal for briquette raw material could increase the calorific value and improve the briquette quality that fulfill the standards for commercial sales.