DESIGN OF BRIQUETTES AS A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE TO FIREWOOD IN SAN PEDRO SULA, HONDURAS 2023.

Abstract

Briquettes were created as a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative, since 70% was composed of recycled solid waste. Data were collected for calorific value, ash percentage, temperature and burning time for the briquette: log ratio. The results for egg carton (Type 1) and newspaper (Type 2) briquettes were compared with the ISO 17225-7 standard for briquettes of non-woody origin, which was useful as a reference since there are no standards in the country for this type of artisanal briquettes. Significant data were revealed in all stages: the applied pressure obtained a value of 21.8kN to 26.2kN in Type 1 briquettes and 5.5kN to 6.2kN in Type 2 briquettes. The density and moisture content of the 10x25cm briquettes is between 0.24-0.28 g/cm3 with 21%-24% for egg carton briquettes and 0.22-0.26 g/cm3 with 17%-19% for newspaper briquettes. The ash percentage for the dimensions 10x25cm ranged between 12.35%-14.33% for egg carton briquettes and 10.49%-12.48% for newspaper briquettes and for 10x15cm the values obtained were 6%-8% for egg carton briquettes and 5%-6% for newspaper briquettes. The calorific value obtained was 2.479 MJ/kg for egg carton briquettes and 2.47MJ/kg for newsprint briquettes.