Preparation and characterization of fuel briquettes made from dual agricultural waste: Cashew nut shells and areca nuts

The purpose of this work was fuel briquettes production from cashew nut shells (CNS) and areca nut shells (ANS) with the operating parameters of the compressed screw speed (70 and 90 rpm), the mixture of CNS, ANS, and cassava flour (binder) in the unit by weight percent (6 proportions), and the CNS size (small and large). The effects of these parameters on the production rate, mechanical properties (hardness and porosity), and fuel properties, i.e., moisture content (MC), calorific value (CV), volatile matter content (VM), ash content (AC), fixed carbon content (FC), and combustion rate (CR), were investigated. The fuel application for cooking was evaluated with the flame temperature (FT), water boiling test (WBT), thermal efficiency (TE), and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. Experimental results showed that the speed had the most effect on the production rate, while the CR got the least effect from all parameters compared to the other properties. The briquette should be produced using small CNS with the mixture of CNS 65%, ANS 25% and, cassava flour 10% (by weight) at speed of 90 rpm which provided the high production rate together with satisfying fuel properties, unless the CR was low. The fuel briquette showed the potential for cooking in acceptable level with the low GHG emission. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.