The use of forest biomass in the manufacture of briquettes

ABSTRACT The importance of using alternative sources of energy, which are renewable and cause less damage to the environment, such as lower atmospheric pressure and carbon cycle stability, highlights a forest biomass. In this context, the production of briquettes, produced from forest residues found in the various production phases of pulp mills, was evaluated and chemically analyzed, as well as their physical and mechanical properties. Ten treatments were performed from four sampled residue classes, their analysis was performed by a completely randomized design, with 10 repetitions per treatment. For the statistical analysis, Tukey's test of comparison of means and analysis of main components was performed to explain the structure of variance. Treatments 4 and 10 showed higher calorific power due to its higher lignin percentage, as well as obtained the best energy density results. Regarding the density and mechanical strength, the values found were adequate and consistent with the literature, and the last variable did not differ statistically among the treatments. The principal components analysis was adequate, with the contents of extractives, moisture, lignin, and energy density the most important variables in the analysis, with the highest coefficients of the main component 1, which represents 70.9% of the total variance explained. Treatment 4, containing only Pinus Taeda bark, stood out for its best characteristics for energy.