Abstract
In the context of the circular bioeconomy and cleaner production, the incorporation of the by-products of plant biomass production in the bioenergy chain is fundamental. However, lignocellulosic wastes have properties that hinder their use for the production of biofuels. This study aims to evaluate how blends of lignocellulosic wastes improve the physical, chemical, and mechanical quality of pellets destined to the industrial sector, and to identify the challenges associated with the use of agroforestry biomass as raw material for pelletizing. Pellets were produced from blends of soybean wastes, sorghum wastes, pine needles, rice powder, Eucalyptus sawdust, and charcoal fines. Additionally, pure pellets composed of soybean wastes, sugarcane bagasse, and pine wood were evaluated. The effect of biomass type on the energy density, ash content, net heating value, and ultimate analysis was significant. The pellets produced with soybean wastes presented high contents of N (3.5–4.9%) and ashes (16.4–26.7%), besides low mechanical durability (≤ 96%), hindering its commercialization for industrial purposes. Pellets with sugarcane bagasse presented N (1.5%), S (0.03%), ashes (5.6%), mechanical durability (96.6%), and net heating value (15.1 MJ kg−1), suitable for industrial energy use in accordance with ISO 17225-6. The high N and ash contents and the low mechanical durability are the greatest challenges for the energy use of pellets produced from Brazilian agroforestry wastes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are included in the article. Besides, the datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Akdag S, Yıldırım H (2020) Toward a sustainable mitigation approach of energy efficiency to greenhouse gas emissions in the European countries. Heliyon 6:e03396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03396
Alegría IM, Fernández-Sainz A, Alvarez I, Basañez A, Del-Río B (2017) Carbon prices: were they an obstacle to the launching of emission abatement projects in Spain in the Kyoto Protocol period? J Clean Prod 148:857–865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.01.154
Alola AA, Bekun FV, Sarkodie SA (2019) Dynamic impact of trade policy, economic growth, fertility rate, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on ecological footprint in Europe. Sci Total Environ 685:702–709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.139
Alves CA, Font O, Moreno N, Vicente ED, Duarte M, Tarelho LAC, Querol X (2019) Mineralogical, chemical and leaching characteristics of ashes from residential biomass combustion. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:22688–22703. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05231-w
Alves JLF, Silva JCG, Mumbach GD, Domenico MD, Silva Filho VF, Sena RF, Machado RAF, Marangoni C (2020) Insights into the bioenergy potential of jackfruit wastes considering their physicochemical properties, bioenergy indicators, combustion behaviors, and emission characteristics. Renew Energy 155:1328–1338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.04.025
ASTM - American Society for Testing Materials (2004) E711 - 87: standard test method for gross calorific value of refuse-derived fuel by the bomb calorimeter. ASTM International, Philadelphia
ASTM - American Society for Testing Materials (2007) D1762 - 84: standard test method for chemical analysis of wood charcoal. ASTM International, Philadelphia
Balraj A, Krishnan J, Selvarajan K, Sukumar K (2020) Potential use of biomass and coal-fine waste for making briquette for sustainable energy and environment. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10312-2
Bhatt BP, Todaria NP (1992) Fuelwood characteristics of some mountain trees and shrubs. Commonw For Rev 71:183–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/0144-4565(90)90067-T
Bonassa G, Schneider LT, Canever VB, Cremonez PA, Frigo EP, Dieter J, Teleken JG (2018) Scenarios and prospects of solid biofuel use in Brazil. Renew Sust Energ Rev 82:2365–2378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.08.075
Brand MA, Jacinto RC (2020) Apple pruning residues: potential for burning in boiler systems and pellet production. Renew Energy 152:458–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.01.037
Brand MA, Rodrigues TM, Silva JP, Oliveira J (2021) Recovery of agricultural and wood wastes: the effect of biomass blends on the quality of pellets. Fuel 284:118881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2020.118881
Bustos-Vanegas JD, Martins MA, Freitas AG, Mellmann J (2019) Experimental characterization of self-heating behavior of charcoal from eucalyptus wood. Fuel 244:412–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.01.136
Carrillo-Parra A, Contreras-Trejo JC, Pompa-García M, Pulgarín-Gámiz MÁ, Rutiaga-Quiñones JG, Pámanes-Carrasco G, Ngangyo-Heya M (2020) Agro-pellets from oil palm residues/pine sawdust mixtures: relationships of their physical, mechanical and energetic properties, with the raw material chemical structure. Appl Sci 10:6383. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10186383
Castellano JM, Gómez M, Fernández M, Esteban LS, Carrasco JE (2015) Study on the effects of raw materials composition and pelletization conditions on the quality and properties of pellets obtained from different woody and non woody biomasses. Fuel 139:629–636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2014.09.033
Chen H, Forbes EGA, Archer J, Priall OD, Allen M, Johnston C, Rooney D (2019) Production and characterization of granules from agricultural wastes and comparison of combustion and emission results with wood based fuels. Fuel 256:115897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.115897
Dashti A, Noushabadi AS, Raji M, Razmi A, Ceylan S, Mohammadi AH (2019) Estimation of biomass higher heating value (HHV) based on the proximate analysis: smart modeling and correlation. Fuel 257:115931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.115931
DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung (2010a) DIN EN 14774-1: determination of moisture content – oven dry method –part 1: total moisture – reference method. CEN, Berlin
DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung (2010b) DIN EN 15103: determination of bulk density. CEN, Berlin
DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung (2010c) DIN EN 14918: determination of calorific value. CEN, Berlin
DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung (2010d) DIN EN 15210-1: solid biofuels – determination of mechanical durability of pellets and briquettes – part 1: pellets. CEN, Berlin
DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung (2012) DIN EN 16127: determination of length and diameter of pellets. CEN, Berlin
EPE - Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (2019) Brazilian energy balance 2019: year 2018. EPE, Rio de Janeiro
Faria BFH, Lanvin C, Valette J, Rousset P, Carneiro ACO, Caldeira-Pires A, Candelier K (2020) Effect of leaching and fungal attacks during storage on chemical properties of raw and torrefied biomasses. Waste Biomass Valor. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-01081-7
Garcia DP, Caraschi JC, Ventorim G, Vieira FHA, Protásio TP (2019) Assessment of plant biomass for pellet production using multivariate statistics (PCA and HCA). Renew Energy 139:796–805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.02.103
García R, Gil MV, Rubiera F, Pevida C (2019) Pelletization of wood and alternative residual biomass blends for producing industrial quality pellets. Fuel 251:739–753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.03.141
González WA, López D, Pérez JF (2020) Biofuel quality analysis of fallen leaf pellets: effect of moisture and glycerol contents as binders. Renew Energy 147:1139–1150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.09.094
Hamedani SR, Colantoni A, Gallucci F, Salerno M, Silvestri C, Villarini M (2019) Comparative energy and environmental analysis of agro-pellet production from orchard woody biomass. Biomass Bioenergy 129:105334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2019.105334
Han K, Gao J, Qi J (2019) The study of sulphur retention characteristics of biomass briquettes during combustion. Energy 186:115788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.07.118
Huang Y, Finell M, Larsson S, Wang X, Zhang J, Wei R, Liu L (2017) Biofuel pellets made at low moisture content – influence of water in the binding mechanism of densified biomass. Biomass Bioenergy 98:8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.01.002
Hupa M, Karlström O, Vainio E (2017) Biomass combustion technology development – it is all about chemical details. Proc Combust Inst 36:113–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2016.06.152
ISO - International Organization for Standardization (2014a) Solid biofuels - fuel specifications and classes – part 2: graded wood pellets (ISO 17225-2: 2014). Ed 1; 9 pages
ISO - International Organization for Standardization (2014b) Solid biofuels – fuel specifications and classes – part 6: graded non-woody pellets (ISO 17225-6:2014). Ed 1; 7 pages
Jamradloedluk J, Lertsatitthanakorn C (2017) Influences of mixing ratios and binder types on properties of biomass pellets. Energy Procedia 138:1147–1152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.10.223
Kaliyan N, Morey RV (2009) Factors affecting strength and durability of densified biomass products. Biomass Bioenergy 33:337–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2008.08.005
Karinkanta P, Ämmälä A, Illikainen M, Niinimäki J (2018) Fine grinding of wood – overview from wood breakage to applications. Biomass Bioenergy 113:31–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2018.03.007
Lê S, Josse J, Husson F (2008) FactoMineR: an R package for multivariate analysis. J Stat Softw 25:253–258. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v025.i01
Leontiev A, Kichatov B, Korshunov A, Gubernov V, Kiverin A, Medvetskaya N, Melnikova K (2019) The effect of an inhibitor on the torrefaction of pellets inside a quiescent layer of bentonite clay. Biomass Bioenergy 130:105381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2019.105381
Lima MA, Mendes LFR, Mothé GA, Linhares FG, Castro MPP, Silva MG, Sthel MS (2020) Renewable energy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: reaching the goals of the Paris agreement in Brazil. Environ Dev 33:100504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100504
Lisboa FJN, Scatolino MV, Protásio TP, Guimarães Júnior JB, Marconcini JM, Mendes LM (2020) Lignocellulosic materials for production of cement composites: valorization of the alkali treated soybean pod and Eucalyptus wood particles to obtain higher value-added products. Waste Biomass Valor 11:2235–2245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-018-0488-2
Liu Z, Mi B, Jiang Z, Fei B, Cai Z (2016) Improved bulk density of bamboo pellets as biomass for energy production. Renew Energy 86:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.08.011
Martinez CLM, Rocha EPA, Carneiro ACO, Gomes FJB, Batalha LAR, Vakkilainen E, Cardoso M (2019) Characterization of residual biomasses from the coffee production chain and assessment the potential for energy purposes. Biomass Bioenergy 120:68–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2018.11.003
Mendiburu F (2020) Agricolae: statistical procedures for agricultural research. R Package Version 1:3–2
Muñiz GIB, Lengowski EC, Nisgoski S, Magalhães WLE, Oliveira VT, Hansel F (2014) Characterization of Pinus spp needles and evaluation of their potential use for energy. Cerne 20:245–250. https://doi.org/10.1590/01047760.201420021358
Murtala MA, Zigan S, Michael SAB, Torbjörn AL (2020) Fuel pellet breakage in pneumatic transport and durability tests. Renew Energy 157:911–919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.04.116
Musule R, Acuña E, Osorio LSR-H, Domínguez Z, Bárcenas-Pazos GM, Pineda-López MR, Mendonça RT, González ME, Sánchez-Velásquez LR (2018) Growing up at different altitudes: changes in energy content of the Abies religiosa wood. BioEnergy Res 11:209–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-017-9889-5
Nguyen QN, Cloutier A, Achim A, Stevanovic T (2015) Effect of process parameters and raw material characteristics on physical and mechanical properties of wood pellets made from sugar maple particles. Biomass Bioenergy 80:338–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.06.010
Nielsen SK, Mandø M, Rosenørn AB (2020) Review of die design and process parameters in the biomass pelleting process. Powder Technol 364:971–985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2019.10.051
Picchio R, Latterini F, Venanzi R, Stefanoni W, Suardi A, Tocci D, Pari L (2020) Pellet production from woody and non-woody feedstocks: a review on biomass quality evaluation. Energies 13:2937. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13112937
Pradhan P, Mahajani SM, Arora A (2018) Production and utilization of fuel pellets from biomass: a review. Fuel Process Technol 181:215–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2018.09.021
Protásio TP, Scatolino MV, Araújo ACC, Oliveira AFCF, Figueiredo ICR, Assis MR, Trugilho PF (2019) Assessing proximate composition, extractive concentration, and lignin quality to determine appropriate parameters for selection of superior Eucalyptus firewood. BioEnergy Res 12:626–641. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-019-10004-x
Purohit P, Chaturvedi V (2018) Biomass pellets for power generation in India: a techno-economic evaluation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:29614–29632. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2960-8
Qian C, Li Q, Zhang Z, Wang X, Hu J, Cao W (2020) Prediction of higher heating values of biochar from proximate and ultimate analysis. Fuel 265:116925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.116925
R Core Team (2019) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna
Rajput SP, Jadhav SV, Thorat BN (2020) Methods to improve properties of fuel pellets obtained from different biomass sources: effect of biomass blends and binders. Fuel Process Technol 199:106255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2019.106255
Rezaei H, Yazdanpanah F, Lim CJ, Sokhansanj S (2020) Pelletization properties of refuse-derived fuel - effects of particle size and moisture content. Fuel Process Technol 205:106437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2020.106437
Ríos-Badrán IM, Luzardo-Ocampo I, García-Trejo JF, Santos-Cruz J, Gutiérrez-Antonio C (2020) Production and characterization of fuel pellets from rice husk and wheat straw. Renew Energy 145:500–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.06.048
Ruiz B, Girón RP, Suárez-Ruiz I, Fuente E (2017) From fly ash of forest biomass combustion (FBC) to micro-mesoporous silica adsorbent materials. Process Saf Environ Prot 105:164–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2016.11.005
Said N, Abdel daiem MM, García-Maraver A, Zamorano M (2015) Influence of densification parameters on quality properties of rice straw pellets. Fuel Process Technol 138:56–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2015.05.011
Salgado MAH, Tarelho LAC, Rivadeneira D, Ramírez V, Sinche D (2020) Energetic valorization of the residual biomass produced during Jatropha curcas oil extraction. Renew Energy 146:1640–1648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.07.154
Salvador R, Puglieri FN, Halog A, Andrade FG, Piekarski CM, Francisco AC (2021) Key aspects for designing business models for a circular bioeconomy. J Clean Prod 278:124341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124341
Sarkodie SA, Strezov V, Weldekidan H, Asamoah EF, Owusu PA, Doyi INY (2019) Environmental sustainability assessment using dynamic autoregressive-distributed lag simulations—nexus between greenhouse gas emissions, biomass energy, food and economic growth. Sci Total Environ 668:318–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.432
Scatolino MV, Cabral Neto LF, Protásio TP, Carneiro ACO, Andrade CR, Guimarães Júnior JB, Mendes LM (2018) Options for generation of sustainable energy: production of pellets based on combinations between lignocellulosic biomasses. Waste and Biomass Valor 9:479–489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-017-0010-2
Shahzad U, Ferraz D, Doğan B, Rebelatto DAN (2020) Export product diversification and CO2 emissions: contextual evidences from developing and developed economies. J Clean Prod 276:124146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124146
Silva JCG, Alves JLF, Galdino WVA, Moreira RFPM, José HJ, Sena RF, Andersen SLF (2018) Combustion of pistachio shell: physicochemical characterization and evaluation of kinetic parameters. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:21420–21429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8945-1
Silva JE, Melo DMA, Melo MAF, Aguiar EM, Pimenta AS, Medeiros EP, Calixto GQ, Braga RM (2019) Energetic characterization and evaluation of briquettes produced from naturally colored cotton waste. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:14259–14265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04777-z
Silva SB, Arantes MDC, de Andrade JKB, Andrade CR, Carneiro ACO, Protásio TP (2020) Influence of physical and chemical compositions on the properties and energy use of lignocellulosic biomass pellets in Brazil. Renew Energy 147:1870–1879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.09.131
Silva-Martínez RD, Sanches-Pereira A, Ortiz W, Galindo MFG, Coelho ST (2020) The state-of-the-art of organic waste to energy in Latin America and the Caribbean: challenges and opportunities. Renew Energy 156:509–525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.04.056
Souza HJPL, Arantes MDC, Vidaurre GB, Andrade CR, Carneiro ACO, Souza DPL, Protásio TP (2020) Pelletization of eucalyptus wood and coffee growing wastes: strategies for biomass valorization and sustainable bioenergy production. Renew Energy 149:128–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.12.015
Striūgas N, Vorotinskienė L, Paulauskas R, Navakas R, Dziugys A, Narbutas L (2017) Estimating the fuel moisture content to control the reciprocating grate furnace firing wet woody biomass. Energy Convers Manag 149:937–949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2017.04.014
Toscano G, Duca D, Pedretti EF, Pizzi A, Rossini G, Mengarelli C, Mancini M (2016) Investigation of woodchip quality: relationship between the most important chemical and physical parameters. Energy 106:38–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2016.03.037
Tumuluru JS (2018) Effect of pellet die diameter on density and durability of pellets made from high moisture woody and herbaceous biomass. Carbon Resour Convers 1:44–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crcon.2018.06.002
Vassilev SV, Vassileva CG, Vassilev VS (2015) Advantages and disadvantages of composition and properties of biomass in comparison with coal: an overview. Fuel 158:330–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2015.05.050
Vassilev SV, Vassileva CG, Song Y-C, Li W-Y, Feng J (2017) Ash contents and ash-forming elements of biomass and their significance for solid biofuel combustion. Fuel 208:377–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2017.07.036
Wang X, Zhu Y, Hu Z, Zhang L, Yang S, Ruan R, Bai S, Tan H (2020) Characteristics of ash and slag from four biomass-fired power plants: ash/slag ratio, unburned carbon, leaching of major and trace elements. Energy Convers Manag 214:112897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2020.112897
Weldemichael Y, Assefa G (2016) Assessing the energy production and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions mitigation potential of biomass resources for Alberta. J Clean Prod 112:4257–4264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.08.118
Xie T, Wei R, Wang Z, Wang J (2020) Comparative analysis of thermal oxidative decomposition and fire characteristics for different straw powders via thermogravimetry and cone calorimetry. Process Saf Environ Prot 134:121–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2019.11.028
Xing J, Luo K, Wang H, Gao Z, Fan J (2019) A comprehensive study on estimating higher heating value of biomass from proximate and ultimate analysis with machine learning approaches. Energy 188:116077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116077
Zeng T, Pollex A, Weller N, Lenz V, Nelles M (2018) Blended biomass pellets as fuel for small scale combustion appliances: effect of blending on slag formation in the bottom ash and pre-evaluation options. Fuel 212:108–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2017.10.036
Acknowledgments
The authors sincerely thank the technical help provided by team of Multi-User Biomaterials Laboratory of Federal University of Lavras (UFLA, Brazil), Wood and Materials Laboratory (LAMM) of Federal University of Jataí (UFJ, Brazil), and Panels and Wood Energy Laboratory (LAPEM) of Federal University of Viçosa (UFV, Brazil).
Funding
National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq - grant number 306793/2019-9), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES – Finance Code 001), and Research Support Foundation of Goiás state (FAPEG – grant number 201210267000887).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
DARS contributed with data collection and writing, specifically writing the initial version. MVS, MDRL, and DPG were major contributors with the review and editing of the manuscript. UOBJ analyzed and interpreted the datasets used in the current study. CRA, ACOC, and PFT contributed with supervision, search on new raw materials resources, funding acquisition, and project administration. TPP was a major contributor in writing the manuscript, specifically writing the initial version and review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Ta Yeong Wu
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Santana, D.A.R., Scatolino, M.V., Lima, M.D.R. et al. Pelletizing of lignocellulosic wastes as an environmentally friendly solution for the energy supply: insights on the properties of pellets from Brazilian biomasses. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 11598–11617 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11401-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11401-y