Assessment of the pseudostem of banana crop residues for the biofuel production

From the banana crop, stands out the pseudostem, that when not discarded or used correctly, contributes with environmental impacts. The present work aims to verify the potential energy of the pseudostem and the viability of its use as biofuel. The upper calorific value (PCS), ash content (CT) and moisture content (TU) of three groups of pseudostem samples (T1, T2 and ST) were analyzed for the biomass study. T1 and T2 received chemical treatment, respectively, with HCl and 0.1 M NaOH and ST receiving no treatment. The following results were obtained: ST = 3702 Kcal/Kg (PCS), 14.45% (TC) and 8.6% (TU); T1 = 4254Kcal/Kg (PCS), 1.79% (TC) and 14.68% (TU); T2 = 4250 kcal/kg (PCS), 4.05% (TC) and 10.33% (TU). The pseudostem presented values that resemble other biomasses such as rice husk and sugarcane bagasse, with potential for substitution. The chemical treatment proved to be effective for the use of pseudostem as a fuel due to increase its heat capacity and reduce the ash content. It is concluded that both natural and chemically treated pseudostem with HCl and NaOH have characteristics that viable its use as a solid fuel, in which the treatments gave biomass better characteristics for energy purposes.