Study of bio-briquette formulation from mixture palm oil empty fruit bunches and palm oil shells

Bio-briquette is an alternative fuel derived from biomass. West Java has the potential of palm oil empty bunches (OPEFB) and palm oil shells biomass that can be used as bio-briquette raw material. The characteristics of each raw material affect the quality of the bio-briquettes produced. it is necessary to find a mixture of formulations between palm oil empty bunches (OPEFB) and palm oil shells that produce the highest quality bio-briquettes. This study aims to find a mixture of palm oil empty bunches and palm oil shell formulations that produce bio-briquettes with optimum quality based on calorific value. This study used an experimental method with descriptive analysis. Variation of mixed formulations consisted of 5 treatments with a concentration of 7% adhesive material, carbonization temperature OPEFB 350 degrees C and palm oil shell 500 degrees C, compression pressure 225 kg/cm(2), drying temperature 60 degrees C within 3 hours (2 replication). The observational parameters were the calorific value and proximate characteristics. The results showed that carbon content increased in both raw materials after the carbonization process expected, The highest calorific value of 5,475 cal/gram was produced by bio briquettes with a mixture ratio of oil palm empty bunches and oil palm shells of 25:75.