ENERGY ANALYSIS OF WOOD POWDER MATERIAL USED AS BIOPELLET FOR ALTERNATIVE FUEL

Energy consumption increases due to current development and population growth and it is primarily needed for industrial activities, service, transportation, and household; however, oil reserves continue to decrease. Alternative energy is an option to overcome the current energy crisis. One of the alternative energy sources that can be utilized is biomass which is potential to be renewable energy. This research was carried out to determine the characteristics of wood pellets starting from raw material preparation, mixing, printing, drying, and analysis stages. The study was aimed at determining the heat value, the value of bound carbon content, the rate of consumption of biopellet combustion. In this study, a comparison was made between sawdust of meranti, mahogany, and coconut with a ratio of 100, 50:50, 75:25. The tests included the detailed test of moisture content, ash content, flight substance content, bound carbon content, and heating value. The results show that moisture content is between 0 - 0.727%, ash content ranging from 10 - 22.2%, flying matter content from 50 - 70%, bonded carbon content from 17.5 - 30% and heating value ranging from 26156 - 29739 cal / gr.