The Effect of Carbonization on the Quality Characteristics of Empty Fruit Bunch Briquettes and Biomass Producer Gas

Developing a briquette made from empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers and using it as a source to produce biomass gas is one of the potential ways to solve the waste management issue of palm oil EFB in the palm oil industry. At the same time, it will also contribute to diversifying the alternative renewable energy sources in Malaysia as encouraged by the government through sustainable development goals (SDG) plans. However, briquetting raw EFB fibers is challenging due to the properties that contain lignin and cellulose content and lower combustion characteristics produced by the briquette. Therefore, thermochemical pretreatment of EFB through the carbonization process could remove this limitation. This study aims to evaluate the quality characteristics of carbonized EFB briquette and its effects on the quality of the biomass producer gas (BPG) produced. Experiments were conducted by carbonizing the raw EFB fibers with a temperature and heating time range of 350–400 °C and 40–60 min, blended with tapioca starch as a binder, and densified into a briquette. Briquettes were then combusted in the downdraft gasifier to produce the BPG. From the analysis of the carbonized EFB briquettes, results indicate the high heating value (HHV) ranged from 21.39 to 23.62 MJ/kg, and fixed carbon and ash content varied from 50.89 to 56.94% and 7.49 to 10.93%, respectively. This study also discussed the relationship of the HHV with fixed carbon and ash content in producing BPG. Overall, carbonization treatments reduce the generation of tar, and the quality of BPG increases when the carbonized EFB briquettes are gasified.