Characterization of Briquettes Produced from Groundnut Shell and Waste Paper Admixture

Desertification and deforestation are great problems facing developing nations. Adequate means ofdisposing wastes are also lacking, hence, converting them to other useful products such as briquettesfor domestic fuel is desirable. The purpose of this work is to study some properties of briquettesmade from groundnut shell and waste paper admixture with a view of addressing handling,transportation, and storage problems which is associated with biomass when used as fuels. Briquetteswere manufactured using a motorized briquetting machine using five groundnut shells, waste papermixing ratios (by weight), i.e., 10:90; 20:80; 30:70; 40:60; and 50:50. Obtained results showed thatbriquette produced using 10:90 waste groundnut shell - waste paper ratios exhibited the largest(though minimal) linear expansion on drying. While the compressed (maximum) density of thebriquettes ranged between 627.59 kg/m3 and 878.10 kg/m3. For the relax density ranged from 281.43kg/m3 and 499.38 kg/m3, there was little variation in the relax ratio of 2.22 or 2.23. The durabilityrating of the briquettes ranged in 55 and 91%. It was concluded that stable briquettes could beformed from waste paper mixed with groundnut shell of up to 20% groundnut shell admixture.

Keywords:

Groundnut Shell , Waste Paper , Density , Relaxation , DurabilityStability