Biomass pelletizing: Characterization of cow dung assisted solid recovered bio-fuel from agricultural waste

In this study preparation and characterization of four biomass pellets i.e. bamboo leaf, mustard straw, rice husk and wood mix were carried out with cow dung that is considered to be a potential binder to improve the physicochemical properties of pellets. Initially the samples were dried at 105°C to remove moisture content up to 15% and then pellets were prepared using biomass and cow dung in 1:1. The samples were characterized using FT-IR, compressive strength and TGA analysis during which their compositional, mechanical, thermal and physicochemical properties were analyzed. The energy density of biomass pellets was also calculated. Bamboo leaf being the promising candidate exhibited improved properties compared to other biomass pellets with maximum compressive strength of 11.6MPa and energy density of 19434.8 MJ/m3 along with enhanced structural properties. Whereas wood mix indicated the least compressive strength i.e. 3.73MPa but highest energy density i.e. 20456.5 MJ/m3 and good thermal characteristics. The lignin content present in cow dung is one of the main sources that makes it good biofuel. The experimental results revealed that cow dung is a most suitable binder as it is abundantly available and also increases the durability of biomass pellets comparative to other binders used in different studies.