Characterization and elemental composition of lignite and rubber wood sawdust pellets

Abstract

To meet the environmentally-friendly and sustainable global energy-sharing, lignite and rubber wood sawdust could be combined into a cylindrical pellet in order to reduce the amount of lignite used. In this study, the lignite/rubber wood sawdust-blend pellet properties are studied. The properties include the ultimate analysis, the proximate analysis, the calorific value, the elemental composition, and the particle size distribution, the density and the compressive resistance. The results show that combining 50%wt. of rubber wood sawdust and lignite leads to the decreasing of ash content by 50 %, the decreasing of N and S contents to 0.8 and 1.8 % (daf.), respectively. The calorific value is 17 MJ/kg (db.) with 0.71 g/cm³ of pellet density and 4,162 kN/m² of compressive resistance.  The combination of lignite and rubber wood sawdust as a pellet is an interesting approach for a long term extension of fossil fuel utilization and the reduction of greenhouse gas and heavy metals.