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Problem statement: Agricultural residue seems to be one of the most p romising energy resources for developing countries. Among the other fruits, durian is a popular one for Thai people. Therefore, a large amount of durian husk is left at the shops or factories. This study was aimed to investigate the characteristics and heating value o f durian husk and to develop a heating value equati on of Thailand's selected biomass. Approach: The approximate analysis of 17 kinds of biomass, including durian husk, was carried out. The heating values of these biomass residuals were also examined. Then, the empirical model of the heating value was developed and validated. In order to understand the thermal degradation process of duria n husk, the thermo gravimetric analysis was also carried out. Results: Durian husk contains about 80% of volatile matter content and small amount of ash content. According to the differential thermo g ravimetric analysis result, two peaks centered at 2 12 and 332°C were reported. A model with an acceptable ability for prediction the heating value obtained by using the step wise forward selection technique was developed. The coefficient of multiple determinations for prediction of the proposed model was about 86.3%. Conclusion: It appears that durian husk seems to be one of the promising biomass fuels for Thailand. The proposed equation developed for computing the higher heating value of several biomass samples including durian husk from their proximate analysis data is not over-fitt ed. Besides, according to the model validation resu lt, it shows that the predictive capability of the mode l is in the acceptable range. |
