Potential of densification of mango waste and effect of binders on produced briquettes

In Uganda, agro-processing of fruits produces large volumes of agricultural wastes, much of which are not utilized but disposed in the landfill. This study explored the possibility of producing biomass briquettes from mango waste (seed covers) that could be used for energy supply in small factories and for domestic cooking. Mangoes were selected because of their abundance throughout the country and its high fiber content which is a good property for a raw material for briquetting. Dried mango seed covers were crushed to particles of size 2 mm and bonded with three different binders; starch, starch-clay soil, and starch-red soil. The best mixing ratios for briquettes were; 4:1 (seed-cover: starch), 9:2:1 (seed cover: starch: clay soil), and 16:4:1 (seed-cover: starch: red soil). The formed briquettes were subjected to several standard methods to verify their suitability as fuels. The briquette properties tested were moisture content, volatile matter, ash content, fixed carbon content, calorific value, compressive strength, and gas emissions. Results showed that briquettes bonded with only starch had higher fuel properties (p≤0.05) with low: moisture content (11.9%), volatile matter (16.0%), ash content (2.8%) and emissions (0.178% CO, 0.0021% (CH)X , 1.14% CO2 and no NOx); higher fixed carbon (69.3%), breaking strength (maximum force, 34 N and compressive stress, 273 N/mm2) and calorific values (16,140 kJ/kg) compared to starch-red soil and starch-clay soil briquettes. But after a linear regression analysis, results further showed that maximum force (R2 = 0.636) and ash content (R2 = 0.520) were good indicators of energy content of a particular briquette. However, more research is needed on using other binder types rather than cassava starch which is considered as food.