2018 IJRAR Ijrar (E -ISSN 2348 1269, P ISSN 2349 5138 Physical .

2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Physical and Proximate Analysis of Bio-Pellets from Ficus religiosa (Peepal) Leaves Sunita Kumari1, Sheetal Thakur2, Riya Sharma2, Dalip Kumar3 1Department 2Department of Biotechnology, PGGCG-42, Chandigarh, India of Microbial Biotechnology, PGGCG-42, Chandigarh, India 3Department of Zoology, PGGCG-42, Chandigarh, India Abstract:Due to increase in industrialization, the consumption of non-renewable sources is increasing day by day. As a result, the availability of oil and gas is decreasing day by day which places burden on the economy. Shifting to renewable sources like biomass from non-renewable sources is the rapid solution to the above problem. Comparing biomass to fossil fuel, biomass supports the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and is the sustainable energy feedstock. Biomass as bio-pellet can be directly used as solid fuel. Bio-pellet is an alternative source that can substitute low grade coal and its derivatives. The main objective of this research is to produce Ficus religiosa leaves bio-pellet using a pellet producing machine. The result showed that the calorific value calculated for pellet produced from Ficus religiosa leaves was 3307kcal/kg indicating that leaf pellets can produce enough heat required for household cooking and small scale industrial applications. Keywords - Biomass, Renewable Energy, Greenhouse gas, Bio-pellet,Sustainable. 1. Introduction The uncontrolled resource utilization and waste generation led the world to face many environmental problems. These human activities have abrupt effect on environment such as resource depletion and environment pollution. The growing use of fossil fuel and high waste production are the main causes of current problems (Bergman and Zerbe., 2004; Birol., 2007; Dinica, 2009; Mamun et al., 2009; Periyasamy., 2011; Rofiqul et al., 2009; Bantacut et al., 2013). Meanwhile, with the population growth the demand for energy has been increased results in fast depletion of fossil fuel (Unpinit et al., 2015). For energy balance biomass resources utilization is seen as one of the viable option worldwide. In comparison to other form of renewable energy resources, biomass has certain advantages. It is an energy form that could be stored and not dependent on weather, season, daylight etc. (Siemers., 2006). The compiler component of biomass consists of Carbon 44-51%, Hydrogen about 5.5-6.7%, Oxygen 41.50%, Nitrogen about 0.12-0.6%, and small amount of Sulphur 0.2 % (Kusumaningrum and Munawar., 2014). Comparing biomass to fossil fuel, biomass supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and is the sustainable energy feedstock (Theerattananoon K et al., 2011; Unpinit et al., 2015). Biomass also contains very less amount of sulphur compounds so SOx pollution is negligible. It is also seen, that in comparison to fossil fuels, biofuels nitrogen content is less to 50%, which directly results in low NOx release to atmosphere. These are the reasons why biomass plays an advantageous role than the fossil fuels to bring back a healthy environment by limiting the Green House Effect, which is of great concern now a days (Singh and Misra., 2005). Biomass as bio-pellet can be directly used as solid fuel. Bio-pellet is an alternative source that can substitute low grade coal and its derivatives. In 1980 Sweden was the first to produce bio-pellet from wood particle and other wood industrial waste. The utmost consumers of bio-pellet are Europe, America, and Asia particularly Japan and Korea (Kusumaningrum and Munawara., 2014). In India, approximately 320 million tons of agricultural residues are produced out of which 100 million tones are burned directly. These residues are burnt directly in open field, which lead to enormous loss of heat(Jorapur and Rajvanshi., 1997). Apart from agro wastes, the dried leaves are disposed and burned in open field. In order to overcome this issue instead of managing waste by incineration process, process of biomass bio-pellet is an alternative way (Roy et al., 2015). IJRAR1904565 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 512

2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Pellet formation is done by densification methods which help in increasing calorific value per volume with compression and also help in obtaining uniform shape that could help in proper storage and distribution (Singh and Misra., 2005; Kusumaningrum and Munawar.; 2014). Present work is based on ―Green Fuel produced from waste leaves fallen on the ground; therefore it could be considered as eco-friendly. The main objective of this research is to produce Ficus religiosa leaves bio-pellet using a pellet production machine. 2. Materials And Methods The general manufacturing process of these leafy pellets is in a way that the raw material, which is of different sizes, collected in polybags and arrives at a reception area, where it is weighed. In a first stage, the size of the material is reduced with a grinder. Since the raw material has different levels of moisture, it is necessary to dry it until its moisture is lower than 15%. The reduction in moisture content is achieved by sun-drying and oven-drying. The generation of hot air for the biomass drying process, composed of a combustion chamber. Screens are sometimes used to remove undesired particles from the dried material. The pellets are produced then by regulation of specific parameters. The pelletizing process involves high temperatures, and attention has to be paid to proper cooling and heat removal before pellets leave the production plant, especially with regard to the storage stage. 2.1. Raw Material: Leafy biomass was used to manufacture pellets in this study. The raw material used was Ficus religiosa (Peepal) leaves. The raw biomass material were autumn fallen leaves of Ficus religiosa tree from cricket stadium, Sector-16, Chandigarh. The estimated collection of the leaves was 30 Kilograms. Raw material was kept in cellophane bags under airtight conditions in the college greenhouse area and transported to the pelletizing plant where raw material is passed through standard pelletizing process, where the material was processed to obtain pellets. The creation of the pellets is only a small step in the overall process of manufacturing fuel pellets. These steps involve feedstock grinding, moisture control, extrusion, cooling, and packaging. Each step must be carried out with care if the final product is to be of acceptable quality. 2.2. Physical Properties of Pellets: Pellet Dimensions: The length (L) and diameter (d) of 10 randomly selected pellets were measured using a vernier caliper. The mass of pellet was weighed using a precision digital balance. Unit Density: Unit density (ρu) of pellets was determined by weighing the individual pellet and calculating its volume based on its length and diameter as per the following equation, Vu π r2h ρu mu/Vu Bulk Density: Bulk densities (ρb) were calculated as the ratio of the material mass to the container volume. The pellets were leveled to the top surface of the container and were weighed using a digital balance. The container volume was calculated by measuring its length and diameter, ρb mb/Vb Vb is the volume of the container (cm3); mb is the total mass of the pellet (gm.) Pellet Durability (pd): Pellet in a test tube is tested over a vibratory shaker. Initial and final mass of pellet is tested after shaking continuously for 10min. Pd 100-(mi-mf)/mi 100% Where, mi is the initial mass of pellet, mf is the final mass pellet. Pellet Quality:The pellet quality was determined by two ways. First place a pellet in a glass of water. If the pellet sinks to the bottom of the container, it has a high density and was formed under sufficient pressure. However if the pellet floats, it will be a poorer quality pellet with a lower density, lower IJRAR1904565 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 513

2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) mechanical durability and more likely to crumble and produce fines. Second take a vessel, which can hold at least 100 ml of water and weight it. Fill the container to the top with pellets and weigh again, now fill the container with water and weigh. Pellet quality Weight of pellets / Weight of the water 2.3. Proximate Analysis of Biomass Leaf Pellets:Proximate analysis is a standardized procedure that gives an idea of the bulk components that make up a fuel, was done to determine the average of the percentage volatile matter content, percentage ash content, percentage moisture content, percentage fixed carbon & calorific value of the bio-pellet formed. Percentage Volatile Matter (PVM): The high volatile content signifies easy ignition of the pellets. The PVM was then calculated using the Equation below: PVM 𝐴 𝐵/𝐴 100 Where A is the weight of the oven dried sample and B is the weight of the sample after 10min in the furnace at 550 C. Percentage Ash Content (PAC): Ash is produced during the combustion process of fuel and consists of minerals which left after incineration process. The PAC was determined using the Equation below: PAC 𝐶/𝐴 100 Where A is the weight of the oven dried sample and C is the weight of ash. Percentage Moisture Content (PMC): The moisture content has an influence on the net calorific value. The PMC was determined using the Equation below: PMC 𝐷/E 100 Where E is the weight of pellet and D is the initial mass-mass after 60min of oven drying. Percentage Fixed Carbon (PFC): Fixed carbon is the carbon fraction that is bonded in the material besides water, volatile matter & ash. The fixed carbon gives a rough estimate of the heating value of a fuel. Percentage Fixed Carbon 100 % ( PAC PVC) Where PAC is the percentage ash content and PVC is the percentage volatile content. Calorific Value: Calorific value is the amount of energy produced by the complete combustion of a material or fuel. The calorific value/heating value of the biopellet produced was examined using an apparatus known as Bomb Calorimeter. The testing was done at IDMA Laboratories Ltd., Panchkula. 3. Results & Discussion: All the results obtained have been summarized in Table 1 & 2. TABLE 1:PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF LEAF PELLETS:Parameters VALUES Length (cm) 3.59 Diameter (cm) 1.1 Mass of the pellet (g) 3.66 Volume (cm3) 3.415 Unit density (g/cm3) 3 1.073 Bulk density (g/cm ) 0.98 Color DARK BROWN Texture SMOOTH Pellet durability (%) 99.91 Pellet quality (g/ml) 0.689 IJRAR1904565 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 514

2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) TABLE 2: PROXIMATE ANALYSIS OF LEAF PELLETS:PARAMTERS VALUES Volatile matter (%) 81.99 Ash content (%) 16.02 Moisture content (%) 15.10 Fixed carbon (%) 1.99 Calorific value (kcal/kg) 3307 Figure 1: Manufacturing process of Biomass leaf pellets. The pellet durability was 99.91% therefore the test pellet was durable with specific hardness and crushing resistance. The pellet quality was 0.689 g/ml this value was within the quality range that varies within (0.6-0.7g/ml).Hence formed pellet was of good quality. The volatile content of Ficus religiosa leaves bio-pellet is comparable to the volatile content of mixture of dry leaves, saw dust and wheat straw pellet i.e. 80% (Roy et al., 2015) and bamboo sawdust pellet i.e. 80.36% (Unpinit et al., IJRAR1904565 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 515