Performance Evaluation of the ISU-Ribbon Type Mixer for Biomass Fuel Production and Energy Generation

Abstract

Agricultural waste is a potential source of fuel and briquetting is one of the methods to turn it into useful biofuel. In briquetting, different agricultural wastes are mixed and compacted to produce a more densified biofuel. However, the big challenge for briquette producers is the lack of machines to be used to turn these raw materials into briquettes. Testing and evaluation of the ISU-Ribbon Type Mixer was conducted to determine its performance in terms of mixing different biomass for briquette production. The result of the study shows that the variation of the engine speed has no significant effect on the mixing rate of the machine. However, a direct linear relationship between the two variables was observed. As the engine speed of the machine increases, the mixing rate also increases. The mixing performance of the machine was measured by gathering the data on the coefficient of variation of the rice hull content of the mixed biomass. The smallest value of coefficient of variation obtained was 14.05% operated at an average engine speed of 2,677 rpm. The trend in the value of coefficient of variation is declining as the engine speed increases. In terms of economic viability, the machine was found to be a good investment with a benefit of 1.167 times the cost of operation.