Physicomechanical Properties of Rice Husk Pellets for Domestic Combustion in Myanmar

Myanmar produces 26.21 million tons of rice annually that results in 5.24 million tons of remaining rice husk of which only around 30% is used for electricity and heat production in the country. Myanmar needs more energy consumption to develop the agricultural economy and biomass energy in the future of the country. The proximate and ultimate analysis of rice husk and produced rice husk pellets were determined as well as analyzing the physicochemical and mechanical properties. The rice husk pellets without doing size reduction were manufactured in a ring die pellet mill. Loose and pellet-formed rice husk were compared based on the ISO 17225-6 standard for the characterization of herbaceous biomass. Pelletizing increased the bulk density of rice husk by a factor of 4.5. The net calorific value of Myanmar rice husk pellets was 3.67 kW·h/kg with a moisture content of 7.48% and the large amount of ash forming constituents. The result showed that the diameter, length, and durability of the produced pellets complied with ISO 17225-6 standard. However, the net calorific value and bulk density could only be partially fulfilled according to the ISO standard depending on the process parameters.