Energy enhancement of the eucalyptus bark by briquette production

The aim of this article is to evaluate the use of eucalyptus bark, in the form of briquettes, as an energy source. Bark of a Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla (E. urograndis) hybrid was obtained from the processing (debarking) of eucalyptus poles before industrial preservation treatment. For comparison purposes, wood discs were cut from the same poles. Two conditions of granulometry of the bark (crushed and crushed+milled) were separated to verify the effect of the particle size on the quality of briquettes. Biomass of the bark and wood, in its natural form, were evaluated and briquettes were produced for energy and physic-mechanical characterization. The direct application of bark in its natural form, as a source of bioenergy, presents disadvantages when compared to the wood, due to the high ash content and the low heating value. The E. urograndis wood and bark biomass residues can be used as a source of raw material to produce high quality briquettes. It was possible to verify a gain of the energy density through the process of briquetting, when compared to the raw biomass, as well as an improvement on the physic-mechanical characteristics.