Optimisation of Physio-chemical Properties of Blended Palm Kernel Shell and Decanter Cake Briquettes

In the age of circular economy, improving the physicochemical characteristics of waste-based briquettes will aid in the development of high-quality and reasonably priced briquettes. In the current study, composite briquettes are made by mixing decanter cake and oil palm kernel shell in different ratios. The physicochemical characteristics of the composite briquette that will produce the best calorific values (CV) were identified using response surface methodology (RSM). At 0.3 wt% moisture content (MC), 10 wt% fixed carbon (FC), 0.5 wt% ash content (AC) and 80 wt% volatile matter (VM), the briquette with 20 wt% cardboard waste binder registered an optimal CV of 30.35 MJ/kg. The CV for the bentonite clay binder was also 29.40 MJ/kg, and the corresponding MC, AC, VM, and FC values were 0.3 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 60 wt%, and 40 wt%. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been conducted that compare the physicochemical properties of the binary mixture of palm kernel shells (PKS) and decanter cake (PKDC) while using bentonite and cardboard waste as binders in the RSM optimisation model.