Pelletization of brown coal and rice bran in Indonesia: Characteristics of the mixture pellets including safety during transportation

•Mixed pellets consisting of brown coal and rice bran are proposed as thermal fuel.•Pyrophoric and self-heating properties of brown coal are controlled by rice bran.•Formability of rice bran pellets can be improved by mixing brown coal.

With the aim of utilizing brown coal as fuel in co-firing power plants, a technique for the pelletization of brown coal and rice bran has been developed. By mixing rice bran with brown coal, the calorific value of brown coal was improved and its safety during transportation increased. The calorific value of the mixed pellets with 50% brown coal and 50% rice bran reached 15 MJ/kg, and their durability was sufficiently high at 98%. This technique of pelletization decreases the manufacturing costs because thermal energy for dewatering and drying is not required. In addition, it is beneficial because it uses agricultural residues. Further, if the ratio of brown coal was reduced to below 50%, the mixed pellets did not act as a pyrophoric material (a self-heating substance).

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