Characterization of pequi shell (caryocar brasiliense camb.) For its use as a biomass / Caracterização da casca de pequi (caryocar brasiliense camb.) Para sua utilização como biomassa

Abstract

Pequi is one of the most important fruits of Cerrado biome, and it is very consumed mainly by the population of west central of Brazil. The pequi is composed of bark, pulp and seeds, the bark of the ripe fruit correspond to approximately 84% of its weight, being the great majority discarded as garbage, causing environmental impact. On this, this research had as objective to characterize the barks of the pequi, aiming its use as biomass. For this purpose, moisture content analyzes were performed, and ashes, volatile materials, fixed carbon, specific mass, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), grain size, and higher calorific value analysis as well, according to Brazilian standards ABNT NBR 8112 and 8633. The analyses showed that the bark of the in natura pequi has a high moisture content, around 73%, and 2.2% of ash content. The higher calorific value obtained to the pequi bark was around 15 MJ kg-1 being similar to other agricultural leavings used to generate electrical power. The thermogravimetric analysis showed that the pequi bark has a high percentage of lignin being about 50% compared to 30% in the eucalyptus bark, the higher the amount of lignin the higher the calorific value. The results obtained showed that the pequi bark presents high using potential as a biomass to generate electrical power