Shorea robusta: A sustainable biomass feedstock
Vishal Kumar Singh, Shubham Choudhary, Ramesh Chandra* and Dinesh Prasad
Department of Bio-Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi-835215, Jharkhand, India
Carbon – Science and Technology 8/3 (2016) 112 – 117.
© Applied Science Innovations Private Limited, India.
Full Text (OPEN ACCESS) : CST-210.pdf
Keywords: Sustainable, Shorea robusta, Biomass, moisture content, DSC, heat content, empirical formula, fuel,
Abstract: The biomass feedstock needs to be available in a manner that is sustainable as well as renewable. However, obtaining reliable and cost effective supplies of biomass feedstock produced in a sustainable manner can prove to be difficult. Traditional biomass, mainly in the form of fallen leaves, fuel wood or dried dung, has long been the renewable and sustainable energy source for cooking and heating. Present study accounts for the biomass of fallen leaves of Shorea robusta, also known as sal, sakhua or shala tree, in the campus of BIT Mesra (Ranchi). These leaves are being gathered and burnt rather than being sold commercially. They contain water to varying degrees which affects their energy content. Hence, measurement of moisture content is critical for its biomass assessment. The leaves were collected, weighed, oven dried at 100oC until constant weight, then dry sample was reweighed to calculate the moisture content that has been driven off. By subtraction of moisture content from the initial weight of leaves, biomass was calculated. Using Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) the heat content of the leaves was calculated and the elemental analysis of leaf was done by CHNSO elemental analyser. Further, total biomass and carbon content of Sal tree was calculated using allometric equations so as to make a comparison to the biomass stored in dried fallen leaves.
