EFFECTS OF CROP RESIDUE-BASED BINDERS ON THE HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER LILY BRIQUETTES

Abstract

Water lilies, commonly found in shallow water bodies, are found in the Niger Delta region because of the presence of 
rivers and streams. The study investigated the effect of binder type and concentration on the handling characteristics 
of water lily briquettes, produced using crop residues, namely, Cassava peels (CA), yam peels (YA), and banana peel 
(BA) as binders. A dwell time of 20 minutes was observed during the production of the sample briquettes, while a 
pressure level of 5 MPa was applied for the compaction. Based on the results, the durability of CA-bonded fuel 
briquettes ranged from 78.21% to 94.24%, while CA bonded and BA bonded fuel briquettes recorded durability value 
ranges of 77.93% – 93.03% and 75.63% – 90.29%, respectively. The relaxed density of the CA bonded fuel briquettes 
ranged from 0.522g/cm3 to 0.548 g/cm3, while YA bonded fuel briquettes and BA bonded fuel briquettes recorded 
relaxed density range of 0.521 g/cm3 to 0.533 g/cm3 and 0.513 g/cm3 to 0.518 g/cm3, respectively. A general 
improvement of handling properties was recorded with increment of binder concentration.  Fuel briquettes with less 
than 90% durability are not recommended for production as they do not meet threshold strength for handling, by 
standard (DIN 51731:1996-10).