Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Agricultural-Plastic Wastes for Feasibility of Solid Fuel Briquette Production

Nurul Ain Ab Jalil (), Nur Asyikin Mokhtaruddin, Chin Hua Chia, Irfana Kabir Ahmad, Mohamad Jani Saad and Mahanim Sarif
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Nurul Ain Ab Jalil: Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia
Nur Asyikin Mokhtaruddin: Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia
Chin Hua Chia: Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia
Irfana Kabir Ahmad: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia
Mohamad Jani Saad: Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), Persiaran MARDI-UPM, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Mahanim Sarif: Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong 52109, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: In recent years, the world has witnessed an enormous effort to find a replacement energy source that is more environmentally friendly and renewable. Face masks that contain plastics lead to another management problem as they are non-biodegradable. Thus, by turning agricultural waste with plastic waste as an additive into beneficial products like briquettes, a solid waste problem can be minimized. In this study, Imperata cylindrica and mango peel commonly found in Malaysia were anticipated to boost the properties of solid fuel briquettes. Thus, the characterization of Imperata cylindrica , mango peel, and face mask waste as raw materials for the production of solid fuel briquettes is discussed in this paper. Proximate and ultimate analyses as well as Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) were conducted to obtain the properties of the raw materials. FTIR results showed that face mask waste contained a methyl type group (CH 3 ), and both agricultural wastes contained an oxygen type group (C–O–H). Based on the proximate analysis, face mask waste, mango peel, and Imperata cylindrica had low moisture contents, where mango peel had the highest moisture content (5.2%) followed by Imperata cylindrica (<1%) and face mask waste (<1%). Imperata cylindrica had the highest volatile matter content (94.6%) and the lowest ash content (2.3%), while mango peel contained the highest fixed carbon value, which was 16.1%. From the analyses conducted, face mask waste had the highest calorific value (26.19 MJ/ kg − 1 ) . Face mask waste contained 63.6% carbon and 10% hydrogen. Meanwhile, Imperata cylindrica and mango peel contained 44% and 40% carbon and 6.15% and 6.95% hydrogen, respectively. The characteristics and properties of face mask waste, mango peel, and Imperata cylindrica are significant for the contribution of the optimal ratio of these materials to form solid fuel briquettes.

Keywords: Imperata cylindrica; mango peel; plastic face mask; proximate analysis; ultimate analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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