Characteristics of biopellets from cocopeat and citronella distillation solid waste as renewable fuel

Biopellets are a type of environmentally friendly renewable fuel derived from biomass. One of the raw materials that has the potential to be developed into biopellet raw material is cocopeat, which is a by-product of coconut fiber extraction. The high lignin content and powder-like shape makes it easier to make biopellets. However, cocopeat is known to have the property of easily absorbing water which affects the ignition of the pellets. It is known that solid waste from citronella distillation still contains traces of oxynogenic compounds from citronella oil such as citronellal, citronellol and geraniol which have the potential to increase the calorific value of the fuel. Thus, the mixing process between the two materials is expected to produce better quality characteristics and meet SNI standards. The aim of this study is to obtain the effect of the comparison of cocopeat and citronella distillation solid waste which produces the best biopellet characteristics according to SNI 8675:2018. The research method was arranged non-factorial in a Randomized Block Design with 3 replications. The ratio of raw materials between cocopeat and citronella distillation solid waste is 100%:0%, 75%:25%, 50%:50%, 25%:75%, and 0%:100%. Based on the results of the study, the biopellet that produces the best characteristics is the ratio of raw materials between cocopeat and solid waste from the citronella distillery of 50%:50% with a water content of 6.83%, ash content of 4.54%, density of 3,08 g/cm3 and a calorific value of 21.6 MJ/kg. This treatment meets the SNI standards for household biopellets.