Optimising the combination of solid recovered biofuel, pellet and briquet, as an alternative energy source based on their physical properties

Climate change, increased greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, and energy security are some of the main drivers of using biomass fuels. Iran has abundant agricultural and biomass wastes, including large quantities of wood and other solid biomass residues that can be made available as an energy source. In this research, three main feedstock including Walnut Wood(WW), Citrus Wood(CW) and Pine Wood(PN), three additives including Coffee Silver Skin(SS), Spent Coffee Ground(SCG) and Palm Leaflet (LL) with ratios of ۱۰۰:۰,۸۰:۲۰ and ۵۰:۵۰ were selected and the final composition was optimized using Taguchi analysis method with the aim of maximizing bulk density and durability parameters. The techno economy assessment was then conducted with regards to the mentioned feedstock. Nevertheless, our data indicate that the blend of walnut wood and leaflet with the ratio of ۱۰۰-۰ has the highest bulk density and the blend of citrus wood and leaflet with the ratio of ۸۰-۲۰ creates the highest degree of mechanical durability. We also have shown that the selling price is the most sensitive parameters towards the Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return(IRR) in feasibility studies.

Keywords:

biomass pellet , techno-economic analysis , taguchi analysis , bulk density , Pellet durability index