Charcoal Briquette Manufactured from Indonesian Sugar Palm Bunches (Arenga longipes Mogea) as Biomass-Based New Renewable Energy

The utilisation of sugar palm bunches-charcoal briquettes (SPB-CB) represents a significant advancement in biomass energy. This study aimed to analyse the properties of charcoal briquettes produced from SPB (Arenga longipes). The experiment involved categorising the dimensions of charcoal powder into three specific particle sizes: 20–40 mesh, 40–60 mesh, and particles that could pass through a 60-mesh screen. The charcoal powder will be combined with tapioca as a binding agent at three specific concentrations: 11%, 13%, and 15%. The research findings indicate that the samples underwent 60 mesh passes achieved the maximum briquette density, with an average value of 0.58 g/cm3. The highest attainable compressive strength sample value was 27.52 kgf/cm2, which was attained by employing 60 mesh size and 15% adhesive concentration. The calorimetric investigation showed that SPB-charcoal had the highest calorific value of 25.88 MJ/kg, while the SPB-CB had a little lower caloric value of 24.64 MJ/kg. The ash content and volatile matter values showed that the briquettes with the lowest ash content had values of 10.49% and 32.65%, respectively. Furthermore, the carbon fixation values varied between 16.65% and 52.36%. Thermogravimetric analysis indicates that charcoal derived from SPB exhibits superior thermal characteristics compared to charcoal briquettes. However, thermal properties of SPB charcoal do not show significant differences when compared to charcoal briquettes that have been processed with a mesh size of 20–40 and include 11% adhesive. According to this research, it may be inferred that charcoal briquettes made from sugar palm bunches meet the requirements specified in SNI 01-6235-2000.