Properties of charcoal briquettes agglutinated with sodium silicate adhesive

Abstract

In this study, sodium silicate was used as the adhesive in the production of Eucalyptus sp. charcoal briquettes. Charcoal dust of three different granulometries (20, 35 and 60 mesh) was mixed with the glue in five different proportions sizes (15, 20, 25, 30 and 35% of dry weight) and pressed to produce the briquettes. The following properties of the briquettes were determined: specific gravity, heat value, fixed carbon, volatile materials and ash content. The results indicated that briquettes produced with 20 mesh particles and 20% glue gave highest heat values. On the other hand, highest values for fixed carbon were obtained with a 60 mesh charcoal particles mixed with 15% sodium silicate.

Key words
Charcoal; Briquettes; Sodium silicate.