Quality assessment of mechanical and storage characteristics of biomass briquette from small scales entrepreneurs in Tanzania

dc.contributor.authorIsmail, Joseph Emmanuel
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-07T13:40:32Z
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-07T15:45:22Z
dc.date.available2019-11-07T13:40:32Z
dc.date.available2020-01-07T15:45:22Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.descriptionAvailable in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Libraryen_US
dc.description.abstractWood fuel is the most usable source of energy for cooking in Tanzania, leading to deforestation and climate change. Although researchers, policy makers and entrepreneurs in Tanzania made efforts in promoting the usage of briquettes, yet the quality of the products have not been studied. This study assessed the quality of biomass briquettes manufactured by small-scale entrepreneurs in Tanzania and evaluated the influence of both briquetting technology and feedstock material on the quality of the product. Baseline survey and sampling of briquettes using air tight bags was done to the briquettes manufacturers in order to understand the feedstock and technologies used for densification. The collected samples were subjected under laboratory analysis at TBS laboratory to determine the mechanical properties of the samples. The surveyed manufacturers use either piston press or screw press densification technology, with either sawdust or rice husk being the feedstock. The range of densities of 1,164Kg/m3 to 1,387Kg/m3 and 948Kg/m3to 1008Kg/m3 for screw press and piston press respectively showed insignificant difference. Briquettes made by piston press were determined to have weak water resistance of about 87.87%, while the ones made from screw press had better water resistance of about 96.83% which is above 95% as stated by other studies. The analysis done using t-test with 95% confidence level revealed that there is no significant difference in mechanical properties in relation to technology and feedstock used for densification. The findings of this study should be used as a baseline to stimulate regulatory authorities to develop nation standards for the mechanical quality of the biomass briquettes in Tanzania.en_US
dc.identifier.citationIsmail, J.E (2018) Quality assessment of mechanical and storage characteristics of biomass briquette from small scales entrepreneurs in Tanzania.Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/1645
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Dar es Salaamen_US
dc.subjectQuality assessmenten_US
dc.subjectMechanical and storageen_US
dc.subjectBiomassen_US
dc.subjectSmall scalesen_US
dc.subjectEntrepreneursen_US
dc.subjectTanzaniaen_US
dc.titleQuality assessment of mechanical and storage characteristics of biomass briquette from small scales entrepreneurs in Tanzaniaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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