Physical, mechanical and energy characterization of wood pellets obtained from three common tropical species

Abstract

The pellets of the species studied have a high energy density, which makes them suitable for both commercial and industrial heating applications.A pellet with low compression resistance tends to disintegrate easily, due to moisture adsorption. The percentages obtained for the resistance index were higher than 97.5%, showing that the pellets studied are high-quality biofuels. Proximate analysis values also indicate good combustion parameters. Pellets of <i>Acacia wrightii</i> and <i>Ebenopsis ebano</i> are the more favorable raw material sources for energy purposes because of their high density, calorific value, low ash content and they also met majority of the international quality parameters.