Abstract
Fossil fuel dependency and global warming drive the need for an alternative and renewable energy source. The Bambara groundnut shell (BGS) is an underutilized biomass for energy applications. The physicochemical analysis of biomass is highly significant in understanding its energy potential, influencing technological processes and environmental concerns. This study focused on the physicochemical and thermogravimetric analysis of three genotypes of Bambara groundnut shells (BGS-G1, BGS-G4 & BGS-G5). Bambara groundnut shells (BGS): (Ex-Sokoto-Cream (BGS-G1), IPB Bam 6-Black (BGS-G4), Songkhla 1-Red (BGS-G5)) were collected from the Crop for The Future Field Research Centre, University of Nottingham Malaysia. The results showed that BGS-G1 had the highest HHV of 18.6 MJ/kg, with the lowest ash content (AC) of 6.8 ± 0.5 wt% and the highest volatile matter (VM) of 74.6 wt% among three genotypes. The ultimate (CHNSO) analysis recorded that the BGS-G1 had 43.9, 6.1, 1.3, 0.1, and 41.7 wt%. The BGS-G1 was the most suitable for pyrolysis or other thermo-chemical conversions among the three genotypes studied.
