Determinación del poder calorífico de residuos agroindustriales de tusa de maíz y cáscara de papa enriquecidas con nanoesferas de celulosa como opción viable en procesos de combustión

Abstract

The objective of this study dealt with determining the calorific value of agro-industrial residues of corn stover and potato peel enriched with cellulose nanospheres. This process was carried out in a systematic way, first, the biomass of the above mentioned materials was obtained separately through a process of drying, grinding and sieving, then 3 mixtures were made with different proportions of each material to then determine the calorific value of each one, the highest calorific value was 41,994 KJ/g, this value was presented by the mixture of 70% corn stover and 30% potato peel. In order to obtain cellulose nanospheres, a mixer mill was used to reduce the particle size of the cellulose. Then, the nanocellulose was added in percentages of 15%, 30% and 45% to the mixture previously chosen and two experiments were carried out with each sample to determine the calorific value. With the two percentages, no increase in the calorific value was noted, while the addition of 45% nanocellulose resulted in a calorific value of 42,880 KJ/g, an increase that is not significant when comparing the percentage of the nanocellulose added. Finally, briquettes were manufactured with the mixture that presented this high calorific value. It is recommended to carry out the characterization of the raw material and to obtain low values of the percentage of humidity since in this way the calorific value will be much higher.