Energy 24 (1999) 141–150
Properties of charcoal derived from hazelnut shell and the production of briquettes using pyrolytic oil Ayhan Demirbas¸* Black Sea Technical University, Science Education, 61335 Akc¸aabat, Trabzon, Turkey Received 6 March 1998
Abstract Hazelnut shells were converted to charcoal and to liquid, and gaseous products using pyrolysis at different temperatures. The chemical compositions and yields of the charcoals were determined as functions of the carbonization temperature. Higher heating values (HHVs) were estimated using both ultimate and proximate analyses. Hazelnut shells and the derived charcoal were densified to briquettes using pyrolytic oil or tar as binder. Briquette properties improved with an increase in briquetting pressures and percentages of binder materials. The best charcoal briquettes were obtained at 800 MPa pressure at 400 K. 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Hazelnut shell is a potentially important energy source for Turkey. Approximately 3 ⫻ 105 tons of hazelnut shells have been produced annually [1] and their properties investigated [2–7]. Utilization of agricultural residues for the production of biocoal (briquetted charcoal) is a novel procedure for the simultaneous disposal and partial substitution of biomass-derived charcoal for other energy sources. Considerable attention has recently been focused on briquetting of coal fines, peat, charcoal, biowaste, and other combustible wastes [8–15]. It has been shown that heating material to a predetermined temperature interval produces products that are more stable than the unheated materials [9,16,17]. The longer the cellulose fibres are, the stronger the briquette at a given paper to combustible waste ratio, and the lower the ratio of paper to combustible waste to maintain a minimum handling strength, damp and dry. Kraft paper, newsprint, and used paper could be utilized to bind coal dust or other particulate combustible wastes together to make a strong briquette, using processes * Corresponding author. Fax: ⫹ 90-0462-248-7344; e-mail: ayas@risc01.bim.ktu.edu.tr 0360-5442/99/$ - see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 3 6 0 - 5 4 4 2 ( 9 8 ) 0 0 0 7 7 - 2