HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE IN THE PROCESS OF WOOD BRIQUETTES COMPACTING.

The bulk of the energy is still produced by burning fossil fuels: coal, petroleum products and natural gas. Supplies of these fuels are exhaustible and burning them pollutes the environment. Therefore, it is very important to find sustainable alternatives with lower emissions. The major renewable energy source is biomass, and of it, a significant proportion is constituted of wood waste. It is estimated, that in Slovakia 2.3 million tones of wood waste is produced annually, which represents 72% by weight of biomass, but it is less than 3% of thermal energy production. For the biomass combustion, it is necessary to transform the waste wood into the form of pellets or briquettes via different technologies to form the different shapes. The paper deals with the experiments of compacting wood briquettes made of oak sawdust in the laboratory conditions. For the process of briquetting as well as for the heating properties, the shape of the final product is very important. In the experiment, the characteristics of briquettes shaped according to Drzymal were assessed - the combustion heat and the calorific value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]