ArticleSolid biofuels can be used in heat and power generation applications. The utilization
of agricultural residues for this purpose would be of immense benefit to rural communities of
developing countries where the resource is being produced. Water resistance is a crucial property
for transport and storage of biomass briquettes under moist climate conditions. In this study, the
effect of process and material variables on the water resistance property of corn cob briquettes
was investigated. The water resistance of briquettes produced ranged between 32.6 and 94.8%
for die temperature between 90 °C and 120 °C, hold time from 7.5 to 15 minutes and die pressures
between 9 and 15 MPa. A higher die temperature resulted in an increase in the water resistance
of the biomass briquettes. Also, increasing the hold time improved the water resistance of the
briquettes. Using a particle size less than 2.5 mm resulted in higher briquette water resistance
property compared to briquettes produced from particle sizes greater than 2.5 mm. It was also
shown that the effect of the interaction of the temperature with particle size on the water resistance
of corn cob briquettes was statistically significant (p < 0.05)