Technological characterization of wood residues from the Amazon for the production of briquettes*

The study aimed to evaluate the potential of briquettes produced from wood residues from five forest species in the Amazon. Wood residues were obtained in Manaus - AM/Brazil, fragmented to obtain sawdust and determination of the Physical and Chemical Properties of wood, coal and briquettes. In chemical analysis, Extractives ranged from 9.76 to 12.08% , and the Ash content was 0.48% on average. As for physical properties, Basic density ranged from 870 to 980 Kg/m3, Moisture from 7.38 to 9.03%, and PCS from 5,213.50 to 5,883.50 Kcal/Kg. The PCS of coal was higher than that of wood, and the best correlations of PCS were with Extractives, Lignin, Moisture and Basic density. Regarding the DE estimate considering wood as firewood, Jatobá residues presented the highest valor, and this material when compacted (Briquette), the energy efficiency increased effectively with a range of 6.36 to 7.51 MKcal/m3. The material, when carbonized, presents a higher concentration of fixed carbon, which justifies the high DE values for both coal and coal briquettes, where in the coal a variation of 6.25 to 8.51 MKcal/m3 and coal briquettes from 8.01 to 11.42 MKcal/m3. The studied residues presented high PCS, both wood and coal. In general, all species showed high Basic density and low Moisture, which favors the indication of these materials for energy purposes. Charcoal briquettes from Angelim pedra and Angelim vermelho showed Energy density above 10.00 MKcal/m3, indicating the energy potential of this product that combines technical and economic viability.