Briquettes potentially suited for smokeless fuel were successfully prepared from mixtures of previously pyrolyzed coal and biomass, and mixed with sugar cane molasses as binder. Briquettes were cured at 200°C in air for different times, and the physical performance of the cured briquettes were studied using the water and impact resistance tests (WRI and IRI). Since curing was an exothermic process, the residual heat of reaction evolved was considered to be an indication of the degree of curing. In this work, the degree of curing as a function of time was monitored quantitatively, measuring the residual heat of reaction at each condition studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and compared with the physical characterization. The results implied that the technique did not give a fast alternative to WRI and IRI tests, but was very useful in describing the mechanism by which the molasses behaved as binders.

Authors acknowledge the European Commission for the financial support by Contract No. ECSC 7220-EA/133. M.C.M. and M.T.I. are thankful to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Peer reviewed