PROXIMATE ANALYSIS OF THE PROPERTIES OF SOME SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA SAWDUST OF DIFFERENT WOOD SPECIES

In view of the ever increasing costs and the negative environmental impacts of petroleum-based fuels and enormous amount of sawdust generated yearly in southwestern Nigeria. This study was undertaken to assess the suitability of sawdust of different wood species as source of energy by determining their chemical properties via proximate analysis. The results showed that the moisture contents (%MC) of the sawdust samples ranged between 7.92 - 15.96% with Entada gigas and Piptadeniasrum africanum giving the least and maximum, respectively; the ash contents (%Ash) ranged between 0.08% and 5.09% with Triplochoton scleroxylon being the least and Adansonia digitata giving the maximum; the volatile matter contents (%VM) ranged from 9.58% for Entada gigas to 18.44% for Vitellaria paradoxa; and the fixed carbon contents ranged between 77.51% and 93.59% with Funtumia elastic and Triplochiton scleroxylon having the least and maximum, respectively. The chemical properties showed that the sawdust of the different wood species would be suitable as source of energy for energy generation in thermal plants, comparing with those of Nigerian coal species.