Structural integrity of bagasse-based fuel briquettes: Optimisation of compaction parameters and binder formulations in Western Kenya

Ishmael Maina Makanga; Barasa H. Masinde; Peter T. Cherop

doi:10.51867/ajernet.7.4.131

Authors

Ishmael Maina Makanga Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2831-0057
Barasa H. Masinde Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya
Peter T. Cherop Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.7.4.131

Keywords:

Compaction Pressure, Bagasse briquettes, Bulk Density, Mechanical Durability, Structural Integrity, Response Surface Methodology, Box-Behnken Design

Abstract

Briquettes are not sufficiently stable to withstand breakage during handling, transport and automated feeding, which negates the engineering advantages of biomass densification. The effect of compaction pressure, processing temperature and cassava starch binder ratio on the structural integrity of sugarcane bagasse briquettes produced from four sugar mills located in Western Kenya (Mumias, Nzoia, Kabras and Busia) was studied. The Box-Behnken Design (BBD) with three factors at three levels was employed in Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and 15 experimental runs were replicated three times (45 observations). Bulk density, compressive strength, mechanical durability and diametrical tensile strength were used to quantify structural integrity. The mean bulk density, mechanical durability, compressive strength and tensile strength of the briquettes were 1.05 ± 0.06 g/cm³, 93.33 ± 3.44%, 3.60 ± 0.49 MPa and 0.63 ± 0.12 MPa respectively across the 15 design points. The second-order RSM model for compressive strength demonstrated an excellent fit (R² = 0.993; Adjusted R² = 0.980; Predicted R² = 0.913; F(9,5) = 77.61; p < .001) with a non-significant lack-of-fit (p = .384). Compaction pressure and binder ratio were found to be the most important linear predictors, and all quadratic terms were highly significant (p < .001) with the highest strength occurring at intermediate levels. The optimum operating point predicted by the model was 12.17 MPa compaction pressure, 80.00 °C processing temperature and 10.25% cassava starch binder ratio, with a predicted compressive strength of 4.35 MPa (95% CI 4.25–4.45 MPa) and bulk density of 1.14 g/cm³ (95% CI 1.13–1.15 g/cm³). These predictions are at or just above the highest observed values and have not been verified by an independent experimental run, so should be considered as model estimates until verified. The results offer a statistically modelled baseline for scaling up bagasse briquette production in humid tropical conditions without the use of capital-intensive inorganic binders that impact combustion.

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