Pages: (76-83 )
Abstract
This study focuses on the differences and similarities in proximate values of both hard wood charcoal (HWC) and palm kernel shell (PKS) charcoals to find a better and potential substituent for hard wood charcoal, especially to conserve trees and prevent deforestation in Nigeria and in the world. From the results, it was observed that HWC had lower moisture content (MC) and ash content (AC) with values of 3.78 % and 4.31 %, respectively when compared to PKS charcoal with moisture content and ash content with values of 6.96 % and 7.41 %, respectively. The volatile matter (VM), fixed carbon (FC) and calorific value (CV) of HWC also have higher values of 22.78 %, 69.13 % and 31,363.57 kcal/kg, respectively over PKS charcoal with lower values for volatile matter, fixed carbon and calorific value as 21.18 %, 64.45 % and 29,220.933 kcal/kg, respectively. With this study, it could be concluded that there are slight differences between HWC and PKS charcoal which puts HWC with better desirable qualities of charcoal over PKS charcoal due to its lower moisture content and high fixed carbon content. However, PKS charcoal could still be used as a potential substituent source of energy when there is unavailability of HWC for urgent purpose.
Keywords: Hard Wood Charcoal (HWC), Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) Charcoal, Calorific Value (CV), Proximate Analysis,