Experimental Study Of Different Hot Flue Air Speed Effects On Young Coconut Grain Moisture Level And Resulting Retention Time At Fixed Hot Flue Air Temperature.

(1)

UNIVERSITI TEKNIKAL MALAYSIA MELAKA

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF DIFFERENT HOT FLUE AIR

SPEED EFFECTS ON YOUNG COCONUT GRAIN MOISTURE

LEVEL AND RESULTING RETENTION TIME AT FIXED HOT

FLUE AIR TEMPERATURE

This report is submitted in accordance with the requirement of UniversitiTeknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) for the Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Technology

(Maintenance Technology) with Honours

by

NUR HANISAH BINTI JASMI B071210565

911220-08-6262

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY 2015


(2)

UNIVERSITI TEKNIKAL MALAYSIA MELAKA

BORANG PENGESAHAN STATUS LAPORAN PROJEK SARJANA MUDA

TAJUK: : Experimental Study of Different Hot Flue Air Speed Effects on Young Coconut Grain Moisture Level and Resulting Retention Time at Fixed Hot Flue Air Temperature

SESI PENGAJIAN: 2015/16 Semester 1 SayaNUR HANISAH BINTI JASMI

mengakumembenarkanLaporan PSM inidisimpan di PerpustakaanUniversitiTeknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) dengansyarat-syaratkegunaansepertiberikut:

1. Laporan PSM adalah hak milik Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka dan penulis. 2. Perpustakaan Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka dibenarkan membuat salinan

untuk tujuan pengajian sahaja dengan izin penulis.

3. Perpustakaan dibenarkan membuat salinan laporan PSM ini sebagai bahan pertukaran antara institusi pengajian tinggi.

4. **Silatandakan ( )

SULIT

TERHAD

TIDAK TERHAD

(Mengandungimaklumat yang

berdarjahkeselamatanataukepentingan Malaysia sebagaimana yang termaktubdalam AKTA RAHSIA RASMI 1972)

(Mengandungimaklumat TERHAD yang telahditentukanolehorganisasi/badan di manapenyelidikandijalankan)

( ) AlamatTetap:

Lot 647 Lorong Haji Salim Batu 3 KampungBachang 75350 Melaka

Disahkanoleh:

( )

Cop Rasmi:

** JikaLaporan PSM ini SULIT at au TERHAD, sil al ampirkansurat daripadapihakberkuasa/ organisasiberkenaandenganmenyat akansekal isebabdant em


(3)

FAKULTI TEKNOLOGI KEJURUTERAAN

Tel : +606 234 6623 | Faks : +606 23406526

Rujukan Kami (Our Ref) : Rujukan Tuan (Your Ref) :

28JAN 2015 Pustakawan

PerpustakaanUTeM

UniversitiTeknikal Malaysia Melaka Hang Tuah Jaya,

76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka.

Tuan/Puan,

PENGKELASAN LAPORAN PSM SEBAGAI SULIT/TERHAD LAPORAN PROJEK SARJANA MUDA TEKNOLOGI KEJURUTERAAN PEMBUATAN

(COURSE NAME): AAA BIN BBB

SukacitadimaklumkanbahawaLaporan PSM yang tersebut di

atasbertajuk“Quality and Performance Investigation of TiAlN Coated Drill

Tools” mohondikelaskansebagai *SULIT / TERHAD untuktempohLIMA(5) tahundaritarikhsuratini.

2. Hal iniadalahkeranaIANYA MERUPAKAN PROJEK YANG DITAJA

OLEH SYARIKAT LUAR DAN HASIL KAJIANNYA ADALAH SULIT.

Sekiandimaklumkan.Terimakasih.

Yang benar,

________________

Tandatangandan Cop Penyelia

* Potong yang tidakberkenaan

NOTA: BORANG INI HANYA DIISI JIKA DIKLASIFIKASIKAN SEBAGAI SULIT DAN TERHAD. JIKA LAPORAN DIKELASKAN SEBAGAI TIDAK TERHAD, MAKA BORANG INI TIDAK PERLU DISERTAKAN DALAM LAPORAN PSM.


(4)

i

DECLARATION

I hereby, declared this report entitled “Experimental Study of Different Hot Flue Air Speed Effects on Young Coconut Grain Moisture Level and Resulting Retention Time at Fixed Hot Flue Air Temperature” is the results of my own research except as

cited in references.

Signature :

Name : NurHanisahbintiJasmi Date : 09 December 2015


(5)

ii

APPROVAL

This report is submitted to the Faculty of Engineering Technology of UTeM as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology) (Hons.). The member of the supervisory is as follow:

………. (PN.NorainbintiIdris)


(6)

iii

ABSTRACT

The high demand on renewable energy nowadays is due to the fossil fuel depletion. Biomass is one of the renewable energy sources and coconut can be constituted by converting it into biomass pellets. However, the coconut that been used is only from old type because the moisture content that contains in virgin coconut type is too high and not suitable for biomass pellet production which need low moisture content. This paper reports the optimum moisture level of young coconut waste and hot flue air speed in drying that waste based on retention time and moisture level consistency with the constant temperature hot flue air of 53.3o C. The materials were crushed and sieved to get grain form with size below 0.08 mm before be dried with speed 7.40 m/s, 10.45 m/s and 12.54 m/s to obtain optimum moisture level that stipulated between 8% to 20% with a high moisture level consistency and low retention time. The samples of grain then were characterized by produce a pellet with compression method by hot press machine with temperature 120o C, 130o C and 140o C while pressure of 5 MPa, 7.5 MPa 10 Mpa and 12.5 MPa besides retention time of 3, 4 and 5 minutes. The 8 % is the optimum moisture level and the speed of 7.40 m/s is the optimum hot flue air speed that give low retention time and consistency moisture level besides low cost on electric energy consumption.With optimum value of hot flue air speed in drying process, the optimal and consistency of moisture level and retention time for new biomass pellet production that functions as a green fuel and burner has been achieved and indirectly overcome the issue of land side fulfilment and environment pollution besides accommodating the fossil fuel depletion and gain income from waste sources.


(7)

iv

ABSTRAK

Permintaan yang

tinggiterhadaptenagabolehdiperbaharuipadamasakiniadalahdisebabkanolehkekuranga nbahanapifosil. Biomass adalahsalahsatusumbertenaga yang bolehdiperbaharuidankelapaadalahsalahsatusumbernyadenganmenukarkannyamenjad ipeletbiomas.Walaubagaimanapun, jeniskelapa yang digunakanhanyalahkelapatuakeranakandungankelembapanpadakelapamudaadalahterl alutinggidantidaksesuaiuntukpengeluaranpeletbiomas yang memerlukankandungankelembapanrendah.Kertaskerjainimelaporkantahapkelembapa

n optimum

sisakelapamudadankelajuanudaraserombongpanassemasapengeringansisakelapamud aberdasarkanmasatahanandankonsistentahapkelembapandengansuhu malar udaraserombongpanas 53.3o C. Bahan-bahan yang telahdihancurkandandisaringuntukmendapatkanbentukbijirindengansaiz di bawah 0.08 mm sebelumdikeringkandengankelajuan 7.40 m / s, 10.45 m / s dan 12.54 m / s untukmendapatkantahapkelembapan optimum yang ditetapkan di antara 8% hingga 20% dengantahapkonsistenkelembapan yang tinggidanmasatahananrendah. Sampelbijirantelahdisifatkanmelaluipenghasilanpeletdengankaedahpemampatanoleh mesintekanpanasdengansuhu 1200 C, 130o C dan 140o C manakalatekanan 5 MPa, 7.5 MPa 10 Mpadan 12.5 MPaselainmasatahanan 3, 4 dan 5 minit. 8% adalahtahapkelembapan optimum dankelajuan 7.40 m / s adalahkelajuan optimum panasserombongudara yang memberimasatahanan yang rendahdantahapkonsistenkelembapanselainkosrendahkepadapenggunaantenagaelektri k. Dengannilaikelajuanudaraserombongpanas yang optimum dalam proses

pengeringan, tahap optimum

danketekalankelembapandanmasatahananpadakelapauntukpengeluaranpeletbiomasba

ru yang


(8)

v gatasiisupemenuhantapakpelupusandanpencemaranalamsekitarselainmenampungpen guranganbahanapifosildanmenghasilkanpendapatandaripadasumbersisa.


(9)

vi

DEDICATIONS

To my lovely parents, my brother and sister who give me encouragement to success in my studies and not to forget special thanks to my project supervisor and all lecturers and friends that give me guideline and support during my study in UTeM.


(10)

vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful Alhamdulillah, all praises to Allah for the strengths and His blessing in completing this final year project.

Firstly I would like to forward my utmost gratitude to my supervisor, ENGR. NorainbintiIdrisbecause give me guideline and inducement to complete my PSM report. I would have been lost without her.Special thanks to En. MohdFarid bin Ismail as a co-supervisor who also guide me and gave me a lot of information to perform my project.

I would like to send my appreciation 12 people who are coconut shake entrepreneurship around Melaka because give corporation for me to complete my survey activity. Besides that, I would like to express my deepest thanks toall UTeMstaffs for their co-operations.

Lastly I would like to thanks to all person who involve directly and indirectly during the project research. I hope that my report will be source as reference in the future.


(11)

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ... i

APPROVAL ... ii

ABSTRACT ... iii

ABSTRAK ... iv

DEDICATIONS ... vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii

LIST OF FIGURES ... xi

LIST OF TABLE ... xii

LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS ... xiii

CHAPTER 1 ... 1

1.0 Introduction ... 1

1.1 Background ... 1

1.2 Problem Statement ... 5

1.3 Objective ... 5

1.4 Scope of Research ... 6

CHAPTER 2 ... 7

2.0 Introduction ... 7

2.1 Biomass ... 7


(12)

ix

2.1.2 Biomass Pellet ... 8

2.2 Method of Drying ... 8

2.2.1 Open Sun Drying ... 8

2.2.2 Solar Tunnel Dryer ... 9

2.2.3 Rotary Drum Dryer ... 10

2.3 Parameter Considered during Drying Process ... 11

2.3.1 Moisture Content ... 11

2.3.2 Speed of Hot Flue Air ... 12

CHAPTER 3 ... 17

3.0 Introduction ... 17

3.1 Survey ... 19

3.2 Material Purchasing ... 19

3.3 Crushing ... 22

3.4 Moisture Level Stipulation ... 23

3.5 Drying Using 3 Different Speed Level at Constant Temperature ... 24

3.6 Measuring Moisture Level Consistency by Using Moisture Meter and Measuring Retention Time by a Stopwatch ... 28

3.7 Pelletizing ... 30

3.8 Young Coconut Shell Coir Pellet ... 32

CHAPTER 4 ... 33

4.0 Introduction ... 33

4.1 Survey of Feasibility Young Coconut Pellet Production ... 33


(13)

x

4.2.1 Moisture Content of Young Coconut Grain ... 37

4.2.2 Moisture Level Consistency and Retention Time for 8% Moisture Content……… ... 38

4.2.3 Energy Consumption and Electric Cost ... 39

4.2.4 Compress the Young Coconut Grain with Different Pressure, Temperature and Retention Time ... 40

CHAPTER 5 ... 44

5.0 Introduction ... 44

5.1 Summary of Research ... 44

5.2 Achievement of Research Objectives ... 44

5.3 Significance of Research ... 45

5.4 Problems Faced During Research ... 45

5.5 Suggestion for Future Work ... 45

APPENDIX A ... 48

APPENDIX B ... 50

APPENDIX C ... 51

APPENDIX D ... 57

APPENDIX E ... 58

APPENDIX F ... 59

APPENDIX G ... 60


(14)

xi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Biomass Sources in Malaysia ... 2

Figure 2.1: Open Sun Drying (Arun et al.,2014) ... 9

Figure 2.2: Solar Tunnel Dryer (Arun et al.,2014) ... 10

Figure 2.3: Rotary Drum Dryer ... 11

Figure 2.4: Moisture Content Formula ... 12

Figure 2.5: Moisture Content on Oil Palm Fronds ... 13

Figure 2.6: Moisture Content of Sawdust (Liu et al., 2014) ... 14

Figure 2.7: The Relationship between Hot Air Speed with The Percentage of Moisture Content and Time Retention at The Fixed Temperature of 50oC (a), 100oC (b), 150oC (c) and 200oC (d) for Wood Biomass (Yang, 2012) ... 15

Figure 3.1: Flow Chart of Methodology ... 18

Figure 3.2: Young Coconut Waste ... 20

Figure 3.3: Material that Purchased for Experimental Study ... 21

Figure 3.4: Young Coconut Waste that Cut into Small Size... 22

Figure 3.5: Crusher Machine... 23

Figure 3.6: Oven and Weighing Process ... 24

Figure 3.7: Anemometer ... 25

Figure 3.8: Thermocouple ... 25

Figure 3.9: Drying Process on Young Coconut Waste ... 26

Figure 3.10: Measuring Hairdryer Voltage ... 27

Figure 3.11: Measuring Hairdryer Current ... 27

Figure 3.12: Moisture Meter ... 28

Figure 3.13: Measuring Moisture Content Process ... 29

Figure 3.14: Sieving Process ... 29

Figure 3.15: Upright Light Microscope (AxioCam ERc 5s)... 30

Figure 3.16: Hot Press Machine ... 31

Figure 3.17: Mould for Grain Pelletizing Process ... 31

Figure 3.18: Young Coconut Waster Grain Pellets ... 32

Figure 4.1: Weekly Quantity of the Young Coconut Waste ... 34

Figure 4.2: Percentage of the Action Taken on Young Coconut Waste ... 35

Figure 4.3: Monthly Cost to Dispose Young Coconut Waste ... 36

Figure 4.4: Pellet with Compression Temperature of 130o C, Pressure of 5 MPa and Retention Time of 4 minutes ... 43


(15)

xii

LIST OF TABLE

Table 1.1: Category of Biomass Production and Estimation of The Biomass Energy

Productivity in Malaysia ... 3 Table 1.2: Coconut Production and The Potential Energy Generated from it during

2000–2009 ... 4 Table 3.1: Hairdryer Speed and Temperature ... 27 Table 4.1: Pellet with 5 Different Moisture Content... 37 Table 4.2: Retention Time for 3 Different Speeds of Hot Flue Air with Fixed

Temperature Level of 53.3oC in Drying the Young Coconut Waste Grain ... 38 Table 4.3: Data of Voltage, Current, Energy Consumption and Electric Cost for

AllSpeed and TemperatureLevel onHairdryer ... 39 Table 4.4: Pellet Physical Characteristics on Four Different Values of Pressure and


(16)

xiii

LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

EFB = Empty Fruit Brunch

RE = Renewable Energy

CO2 = Carbon Dioxide

OSD = Open Sun Drying STD = Solar Tunnel Dryer wt % = Weight Total Percentage

db = Dry Basis

wb = Wet Basis

MC = Moisture Content OPF = Oil Palm Frond

PFI = Pellet Fuel Institute

V = Voltage

I = Current

P = Power


(17)

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

Energy has always been an essential element for the socio-economic development of a country and it has been investigated since the last three decades (Saidur et al., 2007). According to Eddrief-Cherfi and Kourbali (2012), the energy consumption and economic growth were related to each other based on the results of research conducted by Yu and Choi on the Philippines in the year of 1985. In Malaysia, the largest consumer of energy is the industrial sector with 48% followed by commercial (32%), residential (19%) and others (1%) (Saidur et al., 2007 and Islam et al., 2009).

1.1 Background

The renewable energy (RE) which is demanded nowadays is due to the issues of global climate change and depleting fossil fuels, especially oil and natural gas which is finite in extent. Malaysia has announced renewable energy as the fifth fuel under the Eighth Malaysian Plan 2001-2005 (Choo et al., 2005). The available renewable energy (RE) sources in Malaysia are solar, wind, hydropower and biomass (Islam et al., 2009).

The statistics from Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (PusatTenaga Malaysia) has shown that biomass is one of the important renewable sources of energy in Malaysia with 50% of the total energy consumption (Lim, 2012). For the world statistics, biomass has contributed 10% to 15% of the total energy consumption (Ratnasingam et al., 2015). The main biomass sources come from plantation and agricultural waste. Globally, agricultural waste per annum is estimated


(18)

2

around 998 million tonnes and in Malaysia it is about 1.2 million (Tahir and Hamid, 2012).

In Malaysia, according to the equatorial climate of the nation, this plantation and agricultural wastage came from oil palm, rice husk, paddy straw, wood, sugarcane, rubber tree and tropical fruit such as banana, cacao, pineapples and coconut (Shafie et al., 2012 and Ratnasingam et al., 2015).Figure 1.1 shows the statistic data of biomass sources in Malaysia. The most sources of biomass are from oil palm (85.50%) followed by municipal solid waste (9.50%), wood industry (3.70%), rice (0.70%) and sugarcane (0.50%).

Figure 1.1:Biomass Sources in Malaysia

This biomass sources are used to produce energy. The total energy production produced from each source is dependable on the plantation area or wastage quantity. Commonly, different countries have different sizes and values of plantation area and wastage. Table 1.1 shows the quantity of biomass energy production for Malaysia from the wastage of oil palm, paddy rice husks, coconut husks, bagasse, logging residue and wood residue.

85.50% 9.50%

3.70% 0.70% 0.50%

Biomass Sources in Malaysia

Oil palm Municipal waste Wood industry Rice Sugarcane


(19)

3

Table 1.1: Category of Biomass Production and Estimation of The Biomass Energy Productivity in Malaysia

Crops / Activities Potential biomass energy production (PJ)

Oil Palm

Empty fruit bunches (EFB) 92.95

Fruit fibres 8.98

Palm shell 66.47

Paddy plant Rice husks 4.88

Coconut tree Coconut husks 2.97

Sugarcane Bagasse 1.47

Logging Logging residue 42.92

Wood industry Wood residue 59.17

The parts of coconut that can be used to produce biomass are its shell, husk and fronds (Shafie et al., 2012). Table 1.2 shows the coconut production and its potential value to be used as energy in the year of 2000-2009. From the table, it shows that the part that has the most potential to produce energy is husk. However, coconut is divided into two categories. They are old and young coconut. For old coconut type, the husk part is drier compared to young coconut which is full with moist. This abundant moist level does not fulfil the specification in producing biomass pellet with consistent optimal moisture. However, this issue can be faced by doing an extraction or a drying process by considering the parameters of grain size, speed and temperature.


(20)

4

Table 1.2: Coconut Production and The Potential Energy Generated from it during 2000–2009

Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Coconut

(Mt) 0.73 0.71 0.71 0.58 0.62 0.57 0.51 0.50 0.46 0.46 Husk

(Mt) 0.27 0.26 0.26 0.21 0.23 0.21 0.19 0.18 0.17 0.17 Energy

(PJ) 4.32 4.18 4.18 3.41 3.67 3.36 3.01 2.96 2.68 2.70 Shell

(Mt) 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.93 1.00 0.91 0.82 0.81 0.73 0.74 Energy

(PJ) 2.11 2.04 2.04 1.67 1.80 1.64 1.47 1.44 1.31 1.32 Empty

bunches

(Mt) 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 Energy

(PJ) 0.55 0.54 0.54 0.44 0.47 0.43 0.39 0.38 0.34 0.35 Frond

(Mt) 0.17 0.16 0.16 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.10 Energy

(PJ) 2.64 2.56 2.56 2.09 2.25 2.06 1.85 1.81 1.64 1.66 Total

energy

(PJ) 9.62 9.32 9.32 7.60 8.17 7.48 6.72 6.60 6.00 6.02

Malacca, which is located in the south of Malaysia, is a popular state with its coconut shake business. The young coconuts are used in making this coconut shake. Due to the high demand from customers, the use of coconut is increased and this means that the quantity of waste from young coconut shells will also increase and contribute to the fulfilment of the landfill. This occurs because the waste is assumed useless since the content of moisture on coconut coir will not be able to produce source of biomass like old coconuts which have dry shells. This fulfilment landfill issue does not correlate with the vision of ‘MelakaMajuNegerikuSayang, Negeri Bandar TeknologiHijau’. This study is about the development of young coconut as a

pellet for biomass sources by varying speed and retention time to obtain consistent moisture content.


(21)

5

1.2 Problem Statement

Nowadays, the energy demand has increased due to the social, economic and population development. Due to depletion of fossil fuel, the strategies to search variable renewable energy sources should be planned to stabilize this growth. The survey shows that young coconut waste which is known as agricultural waste is high due to its commercial usage in making coconut shake food products. This waste is one of the factors that contribute to landfill which has caused pollution issues. Therefore, it is reasonable to reuse this young coconut waste that it becomes something useful for supporting fuel sources such as producing a biomass pellet, similar to the one applied on old coconut waste. Pellets should have low moisture content and high bulk density to make them easier to transport and store. However, the characteristics of the young coconut coir waste which has high moisture content and is still attached to its shell compared to old coconut or copra will be the problem. This characteristic will cause the shredding process of young coconut waste coir into grains to be difficult besides being an obstruction in producing it as good pellets, which needs low moisture content to enable it to function as fuel. Thus, the drying method by hypothesizing the speed and retention time is one of the ways to produce biomass pellets with consistent optimal moisture and high quality.

1.3 Objective

The objectives of this experimental study are as follows:

a. To find the optimum moisture level of young coconut waste grain.

b. To achieve the optimum hot flue air speed in drying young coconut waste grain based on retention time and moisture level consistency.


(22)

6

1.4 Scope of Research

The scope of this experimental study embraces finding the optimum moisture level of young coconut waste grain by using a device of moisture meter, as well as achieving the optimum hot flue air speed in the drying process of young coconut grain waste based on retention time moisture level consistency, through the uses of the hair dryer with three variable speed controller and a fixed temperature value. This experimental study scope is important to enable the young coconut waste grain to be used in manufacturing quality biomass pellets which can function as a fuel.


(23)

7

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter will discuss mainly on the theory of drying method on biomass sources phase and parameter of moisture content and hot flue air speed that have been considered during drying process.

2.1 Biomass

Biomass is an organic material that comes from living organisms without contamination from others substances. This biomass resource comprises of forest and mill residue, agricultural crops and waste, wood and wood wastes, municipal solid waste, aquatic plants and algae, animals waste and waste from food processing (Ciubota-Rosie et al. 2008). The basic of biomass building block is caused by carbohydrates derived from the reaction between carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, water and sunlight, via photosynthesis process. There are several uses of biomass such as for energy and chemical feedstock application.

2.1.1 The Uses of Biomass

The uses of biomass can be classified into three main products. Two out of three are related to energy that is used for power generation and transportation fuel such as generating electricity, heating homes, fuelling vehicles and providing process heat for industrial facilities while the other one as a chemical feedstock (Ciubota-Rosie et al. 2008). One of biomass form that used for energy applications is through biomass pellet product.


(24)

8

2.1.2 Biomass Pellet

Pellet is the most form produced from biomass waste sources such as oil palm, sugarcane, bagasse, husk and shell of coconut and others. It has been used to generate fuel for various applications and industry. This biomass pellet form has advantages in term of specific gravity, moisture content and economic (Mani et al., 2006). According to (Mani et al., 2006 and Afzal et al., 2010) this pellet form will increase the specific gravity to more than 100 kg/m3 besides containing low and uniform moisture content which constitutes the required characteristics for quality biomass that is useful in generating fuel or electricity. In addition, the pellet form also makes it easy and safe to be handled or stored using well developed handling systems for grains (Mani et al., 2006). However, this pelletization biomass production requires a proper process which is drying, size reduction, densifying, cooling, screening, and warehousing to ensure its quality in the specific range and standard. This experimental study focuses on drying process, the method of drying is outlined in next subtopic 2.2.

2.2 Method of Drying

Dryingis an important process in producing the residue waste as a biomass product. It reduces moisture content of biomass in order to be effectively functional as required. There are several methods of drying like by open sun drying (OSD), solar tunnel dryer (STD) and rotary drum dryer.

2.2.1 Open Sun Drying

Open sun drying (OSD) is a traditional method that uses sunlight directly in the drying process and it has low operating cost. However, this process needs a skilful worker to conduct it. It is also exposed to contamination from various sources such as insects, birds, rain, dust and others that will damage the structure of residues. In addition, it is a slow or intermittent drying process and needs a large space


(1)

3

Table 1.1: Category of Biomass Production and Estimation of The Biomass Energy Productivity in Malaysia

Crops / Activities Potential biomass energy production (PJ) Oil Palm

Empty fruit bunches (EFB) 92.95

Fruit fibres 8.98

Palm shell 66.47

Paddy plant Rice husks 4.88

Coconut tree Coconut husks 2.97

Sugarcane Bagasse 1.47

Logging Logging residue 42.92

Wood industry Wood residue 59.17

The parts of coconut that can be used to produce biomass are its shell, husk and fronds (Shafie et al., 2012). Table 1.2 shows the coconut production and its potential value to be used as energy in the year of 2000-2009. From the table, it shows that the part that has the most potential to produce energy is husk. However, coconut is divided into two categories. They are old and young coconut. For old coconut type, the husk part is drier compared to young coconut which is full with moist. This abundant moist level does not fulfil the specification in producing biomass pellet with consistent optimal moisture. However, this issue can be faced by doing an extraction or a drying process by considering the parameters of grain size, speed and temperature.


(2)

4

Table 1.2: Coconut Production and The Potential Energy Generated from it during 2000–2009

Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Coconut

(Mt) 0.73 0.71 0.71 0.58 0.62 0.57 0.51 0.50 0.46 0.46 Husk

(Mt) 0.27 0.26 0.26 0.21 0.23 0.21 0.19 0.18 0.17 0.17 Energy

(PJ) 4.32 4.18 4.18 3.41 3.67 3.36 3.01 2.96 2.68 2.70 Shell

(Mt) 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.93 1.00 0.91 0.82 0.81 0.73 0.74 Energy

(PJ) 2.11 2.04 2.04 1.67 1.80 1.64 1.47 1.44 1.31 1.32 Empty

bunches

(Mt) 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 Energy

(PJ) 0.55 0.54 0.54 0.44 0.47 0.43 0.39 0.38 0.34 0.35 Frond

(Mt) 0.17 0.16 0.16 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.10 Energy

(PJ) 2.64 2.56 2.56 2.09 2.25 2.06 1.85 1.81 1.64 1.66 Total

energy

(PJ) 9.62 9.32 9.32 7.60 8.17 7.48 6.72 6.60 6.00 6.02 Malacca, which is located in the south of Malaysia, is a popular state with its coconut shake business. The young coconuts are used in making this coconut shake. Due to the high demand from customers, the use of coconut is increased and this means that the quantity of waste from young coconut shells will also increase and contribute to the fulfilment of the landfill. This occurs because the waste is assumed useless since the content of moisture on coconut coir will not be able to produce source of biomass like old coconuts which have dry shells. This fulfilment landfill issue does not correlate with the vision of ‘MelakaMajuNegerikuSayang, Negeri Bandar TeknologiHijau’. This study is about the development of young coconut as a

pellet for biomass sources by varying speed and retention time to obtain consistent moisture content.


(3)

5 1.2 Problem Statement

Nowadays, the energy demand has increased due to the social, economic and population development. Due to depletion of fossil fuel, the strategies to search variable renewable energy sources should be planned to stabilize this growth. The survey shows that young coconut waste which is known as agricultural waste is high due to its commercial usage in making coconut shake food products. This waste is one of the factors that contribute to landfill which has caused pollution issues. Therefore, it is reasonable to reuse this young coconut waste that it becomes something useful for supporting fuel sources such as producing a biomass pellet, similar to the one applied on old coconut waste. Pellets should have low moisture content and high bulk density to make them easier to transport and store. However, the characteristics of the young coconut coir waste which has high moisture content and is still attached to its shell compared to old coconut or copra will be the problem. This characteristic will cause the shredding process of young coconut waste coir into grains to be difficult besides being an obstruction in producing it as good pellets, which needs low moisture content to enable it to function as fuel. Thus, the drying method by hypothesizing the speed and retention time is one of the ways to produce biomass pellets with consistent optimal moisture and high quality.

1.3 Objective

The objectives of this experimental study are as follows:

a. To find the optimum moisture level of young coconut waste grain.

b. To achieve the optimum hot flue air speed in drying young coconut waste grain based on retention time and moisture level consistency.


(4)

6 1.4 Scope of Research

The scope of this experimental study embraces finding the optimum moisture level of young coconut waste grain by using a device of moisture meter, as well as achieving the optimum hot flue air speed in the drying process of young coconut grain waste based on retention time moisture level consistency, through the uses of the hair dryer with three variable speed controller and a fixed temperature value. This experimental study scope is important to enable the young coconut waste grain to be used in manufacturing quality biomass pellets which can function as a fuel.


(5)

7

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter will discuss mainly on the theory of drying method on biomass sources phase and parameter of moisture content and hot flue air speed that have been considered during drying process.

2.1 Biomass

Biomass is an organic material that comes from living organisms without contamination from others substances. This biomass resource comprises of forest and mill residue, agricultural crops and waste, wood and wood wastes, municipal solid waste, aquatic plants and algae, animals waste and waste from food processing (Ciubota-Rosie et al. 2008). The basic of biomass building block is caused by carbohydrates derived from the reaction between carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air,

water and sunlight, via photosynthesis process. There are several uses of biomass such as for energy and chemical feedstock application.

2.1.1 The Uses of Biomass

The uses of biomass can be classified into three main products. Two out of three are related to energy that is used for power generation and transportation fuel such as generating electricity, heating homes, fuelling vehicles and providing process heat for industrial facilities while the other one as a chemical feedstock (Ciubota-Rosie et al. 2008). One of biomass form that used for energy applications is through biomass pellet product.


(6)

8 2.1.2 Biomass Pellet

Pellet is the most form produced from biomass waste sources such as oil palm, sugarcane, bagasse, husk and shell of coconut and others. It has been used to generate fuel for various applications and industry. This biomass pellet form has advantages in term of specific gravity, moisture content and economic (Mani et al., 2006). According to (Mani et al., 2006 and Afzal et al., 2010) this pellet form will increase the specific gravity to more than 100 kg/m3 besides containing low and uniform moisture content which constitutes the required characteristics for quality biomass that is useful in generating fuel or electricity. In addition, the pellet form also makes it easy and safe to be handled or stored using well developed handling systems for grains (Mani et al., 2006). However, this pelletization biomass production requires a proper process which is drying, size reduction, densifying, cooling, screening, and warehousing to ensure its quality in the specific range and standard. This experimental study focuses on drying process, the method of drying is outlined in next subtopic 2.2.

2.2 Method of Drying

Dryingis an important process in producing the residue waste as a biomass product. It reduces moisture content of biomass in order to be effectively functional as required. There are several methods of drying like by open sun drying (OSD), solar tunnel dryer (STD) and rotary drum dryer.

2.2.1 Open Sun Drying

Open sun drying (OSD) is a traditional method that uses sunlight directly in the drying process and it has low operating cost. However, this process needs a skilful worker to conduct it. It is also exposed to contamination from various sources such as insects, birds, rain, dust and others that will damage the structure of residues. In addition, it is a slow or intermittent drying process and needs a large space