EVALUATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MANGO WASTE (Mangifera indica L) FOR BRIQUET PRODUCTION

Much research has been carried out to encourage the use of renewable energy as well as the use of biofuels. Dependence on non-renewable sources of energy, such as fossil fuels - natural gas, oil, coal - has generated many concerns in recent years. Considering this perspective, the present study aimed at the production of a sustainable solid fuel - briquette - from a biomass with great availability in the Brazilian northeast, the mango. It is important to point out that although this fruit is highly consumed in the food and cooking sectors, it is not fully utilized, with parts that are almost always not used, and the endocarp is the most appropriate. The raw material passed through the following processes: drying, removal of the almond, grinding, characterization and compaction. The compaction process of the biomass studied was the briquetting, where a pressure of approximately 7.5 tons was used in the Marcon MPH-15 hydraulic press, with a rest time of 5 minutes. The parameters analyzed for the raw material characterization were: moisture (M), volatile materials (VM), ashes (A) and fixed carbon (FC) and superior calorification power (SCP).The averages found for the properties mentioned in relation to the biomass characterization are as follows: 10.00% for M, 87.307% for VM, 1.78% for A, 12.70% for FC and 4078.39 kcal / kg for SCP. The value obtained for D was 0.878/cm(3) and 4081.28 kcal / kg for the average SCP after the production of briquettes.