Thermal Characterization of Pine Sawdust as Energy Source Feedstock

Abstract

Pine sawdust was analyzed for thermal chemical conversion such as combustion, torrefaction, pyrolysis and gasification. The methods used to analyze involved performing proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, heating value and thermal decomposition for determining the biomass characteristics. Based on elemental composition, the pine sawdust exhibited lower energy content of 15.01 MJ/kg than bituminous coal that has about 31.8 MJ /kg. The kinetic parameters of pine sawdust described the individual component decomposition; the easiest component to decompose is hemicelluloses followed by cellulose and lignin. The heat released during thermal degradation of pine sawdust was -4380 J/g under inert condition, this shows pine sawdust potential for production of energy during combustion.

Keywords: Thermogravimentry, Kinetics, Pine Sawdust, Differential Scanning Calorimetry