Production and Characterization of Biomass Briquettes from Tannery Solid Waste

Abstract

The tannery industry is renowned for the huge amount of toxic solid and liquid waste generated from the cleaning, fleshing, splitting, tanning, shaving and buffing of raw materials. Biomass briquettes are a proven way of generating energy from waste. This study investigates the development and characterization of biomass briquettes from tannery solid wastes (TSWs). TSWs, which comprise hair, flesh, chrome shavings and buffing dust, were collected from a tannery in Kano, Nigeria, to formulate and characterize six briquettes. Scanning electron microscopy and proximate analysis were carried out on the samples. The six briquettes, comprising varying ratios of hair, flesh, chrome shavings and buffing dust, were molded and characterized. Thermal efficiency, durability and compressive strength, among other properties, were determined for the six briquette formulations. The briquettes developed had calorific values between 18.632 and 24.101 MJ/kg. Durability of the briquettes ranged from 98.12% to 99.77%. The energy values were within the range of 17.462–24.101 MJ/kg, which was comparable to other fuel sources such as sub-bituminous coal (20.000–24.730 MJ/kg). This study shows that TSWs can be used for fuel briquette production, which is a source of sustainable energy generation. It is environmentally friendly, cost effective and affordable compared to fossil fuel.

Keywords

• briquette
• biomass
• energy
• effluents
• fuel
• tannery solid waste