Performance Optimisation of Fuel Pellets Comprising Pepper Stem and Coffee Grounds through Mixing Ratios and Torrefaction

Sunyong Park, Hui-Rim Jeong, Yun-A Shin, Seok-Jun Kim, Young-Min Ju, Kwang-Cheol Oh, La-Hoon Cho and DaeHyun Kim
Additional contact information
Sunyong Park: Department of Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Agriculture, Kangwon National University, Hyoja 2 Dong 192-1, Chuncheon-si 200-010, Korea
Hui-Rim Jeong: Department of Biosystems Engineering, Kangwon National University, Hyoja 2 Dong 192-1, Chuncheon-si 200-701, Korea
Yun-A Shin: Department of Biosystems Engineering, Kangwon National University, Hyoja 2 Dong 192-1, Chuncheon-si 200-701, Korea
Seok-Jun Kim: Department of Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Agriculture, Kangwon National University, Hyoja 2 Dong 192-1, Chuncheon-si 200-010, Korea
Young-Min Ju: Division of Wood Chemistry, Department of Forest Products, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, Korea
Kwang-Cheol Oh: Green Materials & Processes R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, 55, Jongga-ro, Jung-gu, Ulsan 44413, Korea
La-Hoon Cho: Department of Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Agriculture, Kangwon National University, Hyoja 2 Dong 192-1, Chuncheon-si 200-010, Korea
DaeHyun Kim: Department of Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Agriculture, Kangwon National University, Hyoja 2 Dong 192-1, Chuncheon-si 200-010, Korea

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: Agricultural by-products have several disadvantages as fuel, such as low calorific values and high ash contents. To address these disadvantages, this study examined the mixing of agricultural by-products and spent coffee grounds, for use as a solid fuel, and the improvement of fuel characteristics through torrefaction. Pepper stems and spent coffee grounds were first dried to moisture contents of <15% and then combined, with mixing ratios varying from 9:1 to 6:4. Fuel pellets were produced from these mixtures using a commercial pelletiser, evaluated against various standards, and classified as grade A, B, or Bio-SRF. The optimal ratio of pepper stems to spent coffee grounds was determined to be 8:2. The pellets were torrefied to improve their fuel characteristics. Different torrefaction temperatures improved the mass yields of the pellets to between 50.87% and 88.27%. The calorific value increased from 19.9% to 26.8% at 290 °C. The optimal torrefaction temperature for coffee ground pellets was 230 °C, while for other pellets, it was 250 °C. This study provides basic information on the potential enhancement of agricultural by-products for fuel applications.

Keywords: torrefaction; agricultural by-products; mixing ratios; solid fuel; pellet evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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