Effect of Variation of Sugarcane Bagasse and Salak Peel Composition on Moisture Content and Combustion Rate of Biomass Briquettes

Diah A. P. Maiswari (Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang)
Annisa K. Sari (Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang)
Maharani Putri (Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang)
Aisyah M. N. Azizah (Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang)
Wanda Abliza (Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang)
Mariyamah (Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang)

Indonesian Journal of Energy
Vol. 9 No. 2 (2026): Indonesian Journal of Energy

To the best of our knowledge, the combination of sugarcane bagasse and salak (or snake fruit) peel has never been formulated into biomass briquettes. Our study is the first to map the trade-off between moisture content and combustion rate across five blending ratios of these two materials. We evaluate the effect of varying compositions of sugarcane bagasse and salak peel on the moisture content and combustion rate of biomass briquettes as a means of utilizing agricultural waste for renewable energy. The briquettes were produced through a carbonization process at 400 °C, mixed with tapioca flour as a binder, molded, and dried. Five formulation ratios were tested: 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 (bagasse: salak peel). Moisture content was determined based on the mass difference before and after drying, while the combustion rate was calculated from the mass change during the combustion process. The results showed that all briquette variations had a moisture content below 10%, with the lowest value of 7.00% in the 100% salak peel composition and the highest of 8.76% in the 100% sugarcane bagasse composition. The highest combustion rate of 0.27 g/min was obtained for the 100% sugarcane bagasse variant, while the lowest rate of 0.17 g/min was found in the 100% salak peel variant. Blend formulations such as 50:50 and 25:75 demonstrated balanced thermal performance, making them potential candidates for efficient and environmentally friendly solid fuels. These findings indicate that a combination of sugarcane bagasse and salak peel can be utilized as a sustainable raw material for briquettes with good combustion characteristics.  As a contribution, the baseline thermal characteristic data for the sugarcane bagasse and salak fruit peel mixture, along with the identified threshold of sugarcane bagasse composition (?75%) that causes briquettes to exceed the moisture content limit specified in SNI 01-6235-2000, can serve as an initial formulation reference for the development of biomass briquettes based on local agricultural waste.