Desulphurization Efficiency of Snail Shell on Coal-Groundnut Shell Briquette

Abstract

The diminishing accessibility of wood fuel and the danger of desertification and deforestation call for interest in the use of alternative energy sources. Herein, we studied the properties of bio-briquettes produced from Onyeama coal in Nigeria and groundnut shell used as the desulphurizer, while cassava starch was used as binder with Snail shell. For effective capturing of Sox, snail shell was added. The ratios of coal to groundnut shell (w/w) in the briquette were 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50, while 1:1, 1.25:1, 1.5:1, 1.75:1 and 2:1 were used as the ratios of calcium to sulphur (Ca/S) in mole/mole. The briquette was then subjected to some physical characteristics and desulphurization was carried out between 300 to 500°C at an interval of 50°C at an airflow rate of 1.2 L/min for 12 minutes. The results illustrated that 88.1% was the highest desulphurization efficiency with 2:1 Ca/S ratio at 500°C. The results showed that the durability ranged between 88.67 and 98.67, the porosity index ranged between 0.19 to 0.41, while the humidity resistance ranged between 95.15 and 99.15%. The best briquette in terms of durability and relative humidity resistance is briquette made of 90% coal with a Ca/S 1:1 desulphurizer ratio, which is preferred for household and cottage industrial applications. However, the use of a Ca/S desulphurizer in the ratio of Ca/S 2:1 at 500 gave better desulphurization.The introduction of SO₂ adsorbent also reduced the SOx emitted to the atmosphere.