PEMANFAATAN KULIT SINGKONG SEBAGAI BAHAN BAKU PEMBUATAN BIOBRIKET

Abstract

Crude oil and its derivative products are categorized as unrenewable energy. It is widely used in daily life andconsidered to be an important fuel resource. Many efforts have been done to overcome energy crisis by finding analternative energy resources. One of alternative energy is bio-mass energy. Indonesia as an agrarian country, producesmany agricultural product wastes but their uses are still rarely, one of which is cassava shield wastes. The aims of thisresearch are: (1) to use cassava skin waste to produce bio-briquettes, (2) to determine the composition of raw materialand adhesive agents to yield the best heating value of bio-briquettes. This research will eventually decrease the pollutionand give added value of cassava skin wastes. The manufacture process began with carbonization of cassava skin,crushed it into desired particulate sizes, and then mixed it with the adhesive agent (tapioca/sago) with the compositionsof 100:10; 100:20; 100:30; and 100:40 w/w. The results show by using tapioca agent as an adhesive, the water contentsof bio-briquettes are 8.0479-8.643%, ash contents are 16.1092-18.5093%, loss of ignition are 83.0326-86.4499%, andthe heating values are 5243.1234-537.4715 cal./g. The best quality of bio- briquettes produced is on the composition ofcharcoal and adhesive agent of 100:30 w/w for both tapioca and sago as adhesive agents. Their heating values fulfill thestandard solid fuel and its textures are fine and less breakable.