Effects of Binders on the Physical and Energetic Properties of Ecological Coal

The objective of this paper was to determine the effects of binders on the physical and energetic properties of briquettes as well as the economic aspect. Starch from cassava flour, bark of Grewia bicolor , black clay, gum arabic and cow dung are the binders used with groundnuts shells, rice husks and straws to make briquettes. Thus, Starch contains more LHV (19.082 ± 0.381 MJ/kg), followed by cow dung (17.088 ± 0.274 MJ/kg), Grewia bicolor bark comes last with 14.020 ± 0.272 MJ/kg, and black clay does not contain energy. The bark of Grewia bicolor gives a better hardness to the briquettes with a crushing limit load of approximately 22 kg, followed by gum arabic giving a crushing limit load of 19.5 kg, and cow dung comes with 14 kg, for a piece of briquette which weighs 20 g. Similarly, for the density, the bark of G. bicolor remains the best binder, followed by gum arabic. From an economic point of view, these binders could not be used in the manufacture of briquettes intended for sale. It is therefore important to promote Acacia senegalensis , Acacia seyal afforestation to produce gum arabic, and to search other less expensive binders.