Combustion and Emission Analysis of Pelletized vs. Raw Biomass Fuels

Biomass fuels, such as sawdust and groundnut shells, are increasingly recognized as sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. However, their high moisture content and loose structure result in low thermal efficiency. To improve performance, pellet forms of these fuels are often used. Naturally available raw and pellet forms of Sawdust, groundnut shell fuels have been utilized in this study. This study evaluates and compares the thermal efficiency of a gasifier cook stove and emissions from the combustion of raw and pellet forms of biomass fuels. It was found that the burning rate and firepower increase significantly with the use of pellet from of fuels. Sawdust pellets exhibited a highest thermal efficiency of 22.41%. The hydrocarbon (HC) levels for groundnut shell pellets were observed to range between 1 and 5 parts per million (ppm), while for sawdust pellets, it was observed to range from 1 to 6 ppm, indicating the preferable usage of pellets as fuel over raw form of biomass fuel.