Title: Eco-fuel briquettes for sustainable development

Authors: Ramesh Man Singh, Hee-Joon Kim

Addresses: Technology Faculty, Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, GPO Box 3323, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal. ' Department of Ecological Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Tempaku-cho, Toyohashi, 441-8580, Aichi, Japan

Abstract: Raw coal is still burnt as fuel in many developing countries. Besides pollution from coal combustion, coal briquettes always face problems during transportation and storage because they are friable and susceptible to moisture. On the other hand, plastic waste in municipal solid waste is also a big problem which many countries are facing. Since synthetic plastics originate from petroleum products, plastic waste has high energy content. To solve these problems, a new solid fuel called Eco-fuel has been developed by briquetting a mixture of coal and different plastics. The commonly used plastics (polyethylene and polystyrene) were used in this study. Eco-fuel is clean, strong and easy to handle. It is easier to ignite than raw coal. Eco-fuel is resistant to water and water vapour. The acidic emissions of Eco-fuel are lower than that of coal briquette and can be well controlled by adding lime products.

Keywords: coal briquettes; lignite; biobriquettes; plastic waste; ecofuels; desulphurising agents; ignition temperature; sustainable development; synthetic plastics; polyethylene; polystyrene; developing countries; atmospheric pollution; waste management; municipal solid waste.

DOI: 10.1504/WRSTSD.2006.008762

World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 2006 Vol.3 No.1, pp.49 - 57

Published online: 22 Jan 2006 *

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