2. INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS COAL?
WHAT IS BRIQUETTE?
COAL BRIQUETTE
ADVANTAGES OF COAL BRIQUETTE
DISADVANTAGES OF COAL BRIQUETTE
THE NEED FOR COAL BRIQUETTE AS
ALTERNATIVETO FUELWOOD
CONCLUTION
3. Availability of energy is a driving force behind
economic and social development of any
nation. Coal has played an important role in
the provision of energy for centuries, not only
providing electricity but also as an essential
fuel for steel and cement production and
other industrial activities.At the domestic
level, instead of using firewood to cook,
smokeless coal briquettes can be used for
cooking.
4. Coal is a solid, brittle, combustible, carbonaceous rock
formed by the decomposition and alteration of
vegetation by compaction, temperature and pressure.
It varies in colour from brown to black and is usually
stratified. It is used as fuel. Before the decayed
material forms coal, the plant material forms a dark
brown compact organic material known as Peat. It has
low carbon and high moisture content relative to coal.
Overtime, layers of sediment continue to accumulate
over the peat and forms lignite. Coal evolves from
lignite into high graded coal.There are three main
grades of Coal; Sub bituminous, Bituminous and
Anthracite.
5. Briquette is a small rectangular block or
round log of compressed material such as
charcoal, saw dust, or agricultural residue and
coal dust. Briquettes are made in a
briquetting process which can be piston
press, screw extractor etc.
4.0 COAL BRIQUETTE
When small particles of solid materials are
pressed together to form coherent shapes of
large size.The process is termed as briquetting.
The Coal briquetting process consists of drying
the coal, crushing, screening and pressing.
8. The main advantages of coal briquette in
comparison to the other forms of wood fuels
are;
Easy to handle and transported because they are
stable or resistant to disintegration;
Easy to store, no biological or mechanical decay
if they are kept dry;
High and uniform thermal value;
More efficient combustion and
Odorless.
9. The combustion of coal briquette causes
corrosion and air pollution which is due to sulfur
in the coal.The coal can be desulfurized by
adding lime (CaO) which forms Calcium
Sulphate (CaSO4) and also serves as binder
during coal briquetting.
Burning of coal also produces Carbon dioxide
(CO2) but if coal is used to replace fuel wood, the
consumption of coal can save fuel wood from
trees which will absorb carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere.
10. Population explosion and the need to meet
energy demands lead to deforestation level
being higher than forestation efforts which
results in environmental degradation. Uses of
firewood increase at an astronomical rate
annually.The high cost of petroleum products,
low coverage of electricity grid, increasing
scarcity of traditional fuel woods due to
deforestation created an energy deficit situation
especially in rural areas. Environmental experts
predicted massive deforestation if the demand
for energy is not being met from alternative
sources.
11. Gombe State is among the Nigerian States that
are blessed with abundant coal deposits, some
of the coal deposits are found in Maiganga coal
mine and Doho with Bituminous and Sub-
bituminous coal as deposit respectively. In the
light of the above, it is therefore necessary for
the state government to concentrate on coal
development and utilization as an alternative
source of energy.This can be achieved by
commercial development of coal briquette
through Public Private Partnership (PPP) to
establish coal briquette factory in the state.
12. Briquette production technology, a type of
clean coal technology, can help prevent
desertification and serve as a global warming
countermeasure by conserving forestry
resources through the provision of a stable
supply of coal briquette as a substitute for
firewood.
