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Study of influence of starch as binder material for Ecuadorian cocoa pod husk pellets

Abstract:

In Ecuador, there is a constant need to pursue energy independence and global warming caused by increased emissions of greenhouse gases and the pursuit of energy independence have created a new industry focused on energy generation by harnessing renewable sources. Biomass is established as the third leading source for producing electricity as the main source for the generation of thermal energy. However, the problems related to the low density of the different types of biomass and the difficulty in carrying and storing have caused the need to generate solids with higher density and stronger hardness known as pellets and briquettes. This paper develops an analysis of the use of starch as binder material for the Ecuadorian cocoa pod husk (CPH) pellets and its use as biofuel. Several pellet configurations were proposed based on the added amount of starch. An experimental setup was established to crush and screen the cocoa pod husk in order to obtain less than 1.5 mm particle size. Then the pellets were made using a small scale pellet machine and finally burned in a combustion chamber for evaluation of the energy potential by means of the high heat value and ash content. Finally, the selection of the most energy efficient pellet configuration is made taking into consideration international pellet quality standards. Among the tested configurations (10, 20 and 30 percent of starch and the rest CPH), pellets with a composition of 90% CPH and 10% starch, showed best results in terms of friability, high heat value and ash content, which turns out so that while starch addition increases, overall performance of the pellets decreases. However, after comparing these results to previous references, the overall performance is better for pellets made of 100% CPH. Therefore, adding starch as a binder material for cocoa pod husk fuel pellets decreases the overall performance in terms of physical and chemical parameters from international standards.