Sugarcane bagasse pellets: characterization and comparative analysis

Resumo

This paper presents a study carried out in a Brazilian pellet industry in order to determine the main properties of sugarcane bagasse pellets. Materials and methods are in accordance with standards from the Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (ABNT), Agência de Proteção Ambiental (EPA) and European Pellets Standard. The pellet properties mean values found in this study are: diameter (9.70 mm), length (22.70 mm), bulk density (726.32 kgm^-3), mechanical durability (98.2%), moisture (5.49%), heating value (16.0 MJ kg^-1), ash content (8.70%), fixed carbon (14.03%), volatile matter (77.27%), nitrogen (0.28%), sulphur (0.02%) and chlorine (< 0.02 %). The results are compared with those obtained from the literature and discussed according to international standards for biomass pellets, wood pellets and solid biofuel. The comparative analysis showed that there are differences between the results found in our study in comparison with other studies and international standards. The paper also presents the production process energy consumption and cost analysis.