Energy Potential and Properties of Agro Biomass Briquettes with Nano Kaolin Binder for Sustainable Environment

The utilization of Tanner's Cassia waste (T) and African Wonder tree waste (A) in the biomass production chain presents an opportunity for generating value-added products and enhancing productivity. Incinerating these wastes can pose environmental challenges; however, transforming them into briquettes offers a sustainable approach to produce high-energy fuel. This study investigated various mixtures of Tanner's Cassia and African Wonder Tree waste, denoted as TA1 (0:100), TA2 (25:75), TA3 (50:50), TA4 (75:25), and TA5 (100:0), with the addition of 20% nano kaolin as a binder. The resulting briquettes underwent thorough analysis including physical, SEM and elemental analysis. The density of the TA briquettes ranged from 836.38 to 1105.57 kg/m³. Key metrics evaluated include ash content, moisture content, volatile content, and fixed carbon content. The results for TA1 (0:100) are 11.22% ash, 5.73% moisture, 69.39% volatile, and 13.66% fixed carbon, while for TA5 (100:0), they are 14.17% ash, 9.87% moisture, 58.07% volatile, and 17.89% fixed carbon, showing a trend of increasing ash and fixed carbon content and decreasing moisture and volatile content across the samples. The SEM analysis of the briquettes reveals distinct characteristics for each mix ratio. Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis indicated carbon and oxygen as the major elements, with 54.48 wt.% and 37.92 wt.%, respectively. These findings highlight the potential of TA briquettes with a 20% nano kaolin binder as a viable alternative energy source due to their low moisture and ash content, coupled with a high calorific value.