A Comparative Evaluation of Combustion Characteristics of Araucaria cunninghamii, Intsia bijuga and Pometia pinnata for Bio-Energy Source

Abstract

Burning woody biomass for energy is gaining attention due to the environmental issues associated with fossil fuels and carbon emissions. The carbon released from burning wood is absorbed by plants and, hence, offsets pollution. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combustion characteristics (heat calorific values and ash contents) of three timbers: Araucaria cunninghamii, Instia bijuga, and Pometia pinnata to recommend for fuelwood. The test samples were sawdust particles (treatment) and solid woods (control) extracted from the heartwoods. The sawdust particles were oven dried, sieved, and pelletized into pellets using a hand-held pelletizing device, thus, forming a cylindrical dimension (volume 1178.57 mm3, oven-dry density 0.0008 g/mm3). Meanwhile, the solid woods were cubed and oven dried (volume 1000.00 mm3, oven-dry density 0.001 g/mm3). Prior to combustion in a semi-automatic bomb calorimeter, 90 test specimens (15 replicates per treatment and control per species) were conditioned to 14% moisture content (at a temperature of 105 °C) and weighed to a constant (unit) mass (1.0 g). The heat energy outputs and ash residues (of treatments) were analyzed statistically. The results indicated variability in heat energy outputs and ash residues between the test specimens of the three species. Comparatively, the treatment specimens of A. cunninghamii produced a higher calorific value (18.546 kJ/g) than the control (18.376 kJ/g), whilst the treatment specimens of I. bijuga and P. pinnata generated lower heat calorific values (17.124 kJ/g and 18.822 kJ/g, respectively) than the control (18.415 kJ/g and 20.659 kJ/g, respectively). According to ash content analysis, A. cunninghamii generated higher residues (6.3%), followed by P. pinnata (4.5%), and I. bijuga (2.8%). The treatment specimens of the three species could not meet the standard heat energy requirement (20.0 kJ/g) and, thus, were unsuitable for fuelwood. However, the control specimens of P. pinnata generated an equivalent heat energy (20.659 kJ/g) and could be a potential fuelwood.