Sulfur Removal in Bio-Briquette Combustion Using Seashell Waste Adsorbent at Low Temperature

Mahidin Mahidin (Department of Chemical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)
Asri Gani (Department of Chemical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)
Abrar Muslim (Department of Chemical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)
Husni Husin (Department of Chemical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)
M. Reza Hani (Department of Chemical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)
Muhammad Syukur (Department of Chemical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)
Hamdani Hamdani (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)
Khairil Khairil (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)
Samsul Rizal (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Jalan Tgk. Syekh Abdur Rauf No. 7, Darussalam, Banda Aceh, 23111,)

Journal of Engineering and Technological Sciences
Vol. 48 No. 4 (2016)

Presently, biomass is mostly utilized as co-fuel in coal combustion in view of energy diversification and emission reduction. However, since the coal content of bio-briquettes is high (up to 80% in this study), gas emissions such as those of SOx still occur. Therefore, the introduction of SO2adsorbent is common in coal briquette or bio-briquette combustion. A calcium-based material is usually used for this goal. The aim of this study was to observe the effects of desulfurization temperature and Ca/S ratio (Ca = calcium content in adsorbent; S = sulfur content in coal and biomass) on desulfurization efficiency and kinetics. The ratio of coal to biomass (palm kernel shell/PKS) was fixed at 90:10 (wt/wt) and the ratios of Ca to S were varied at 1:1, 1.25:1, 1.5:1, 1.75:1 and 2:1. The mixtures of coal, PKS and adsorbent were briquetted at a molding pressure of 6 ton/cm2 with Jatropha curcas seeds and starch mixture as binding agents. Desulfurization was performed within a temperature range of 300 to 500°C for 720 seconds at an airflow rate of 1.2 L/min. The results showed that the highest desulfurization efficiency (90.6%) was associated with the Ca/S ratio of 2:1 and temperature of 400°C. Moreover, the highest reaction rate constant of desulfurization was 0.280 min-1.