Sarah Esther de Lima Costa

1. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The macaúba palm (Acrocomia aculeata) is a palm-seed-oil producing tree of great economic value for its high productivity, and the broad range of possible uses for the different parts of the plant. This palm is one of the most promising species for the production of biodiesel, however, its use generates large amounts of waste. The aim of this work is to produce and evaluate the quality of briquettes made from the epicarp of the macaúba palm, in association with the waste of the Pinus sp. For the characterization of the residues, the following analyses were carried out: bulk density, immediate chemical composition, and higher calorific value. Different treatments were adopted in the production of the briquettes, namely: T1 (100% macaúba palm), T2 (75% macaúba palm + 25% pine), T3 (50% macaúba palm + 50% pine), T4 (25% macaúba palm + 75% pine) and T5 (100% pine). The briquettes were produced at a pressure of 1000 PSI, and at a temperature of 120-130 ºC, press and cooling times of 5 minutes, and an average humidity of 9.88% for the macaúba palm and 8.00% for the Pinus. In order to qualify the briquettes’ dimensions, the following were evaluated: apparent density, rupture load, lower calorific value, useful calorific value and energy density. In general, mixing at least 50% macaúba epicarp is recommended to produce briquettes, as this material provides increased strength and energy density to the product.

Pelletization is a technique used to compact biomass, generating a granulated material called pellets, with high energy density. The objectives of this work were to produce pellets made from Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) residuals and to evaluate its quality. Firstly, the residuals were characterized, followed by the production of the pellets. An experimental framework was adopted, entirely randomized with three treatments: T1 – 100% Sorghum, T2 – Sorghum + addition of wheat starch, and T3 – Sorghum with the addition of steam. There was also a comparison of the properties of the pellets with values determined by the European standard. It was concluded that Sorghum biomass (Sorghum bicolor) residuals are viable for pellet production; products obtained were homogenous and easy to handle; the treatment T1 presented the best results for pellet production; all treatments produced pellets within the specifications of the EN 14961-6 (DIN, 2012) standard for non-wood pellets.

This study aimed to estimate the biomass and energy of a clonal planting short rotation experiment with hybrids of Eucalyptus urophylla ST Blake x Eucalyptus grandis (Hill) Maiden, deployed in 3 m x 3 m spacing, at the Academic Unit Specialized in Agricultural Sciences, Macaíba/RN. The analysis were performed at the Laboratory Panels and Wood Energy, Federal University of Viçosa, in which the following ratings on wood three cultivars (GG100 ; AEC0144 and AEC0224) were performed: determination of basic density, high calorific power, chemical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and subsequent calculations for estimating the mass production and energy were performed. The base (10 cm from the ground), the third and two thirds of commercial tree height: composed for analysis, taken from three points along the stem samples were used. The design of the experiment was a completely randomized. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means were compared by Tukey test (a= 0.05). The clone who excelled in the first year of planting was the GG100 with 11,805 kW.h.ha^-1 of energy productivity, followed by clone AEC0224 (6,755 kW.h.ha^-1) and AEC0144 (4,405 kW.h.ha^-1). The performance of this clone was due to mainly the higher volumetric growth. The wood quality among clones showed little difference. It should stimulate the deployments of species of short rotation in the state of RN to supply the elevated energy demand of forest biomass in the region.