Energy 111 (2016) 768e773

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Evaluation of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) as a potential raw

material source for briquette production
Shahabaldin Rezania a, b, *, Mohd Fadhil Md Din a, b, **, Siti Fatimah Kamaruddin b,
Shazwin Mat Taib b, Lakhveer Singh c, Ee Ling Yong a, b, Farrah Aini Dahalan d
a
Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Security (IPASA), Research Institute for Environmental Sustainability, Block C07, Level 2, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
b
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, Johor, Malaysia
c
Faculty of Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Kuantan, Gambang, 26300, Malaysia
d
Water Research Group, The School of Environmental Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kompleks Pengajian Jejawi 3, 02600, Arau, Perlis,
Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In the present study we investigated the fuel properties of bio-briquettes made from a combination of
Received 15 October 2015 water hyacinth and empty fruit bunch fiber (palm oil mill residue). Water hyacinth (WH) was mixed with
Received in revised form empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers in a ratio of 25, 50, 75, 90, and 100% by weight and cassava starch added as
28 May 2016
binder. The experimental results showed that the addition of WH had a little effect (p < 0.05) on the
Accepted 5 June 2016
physical and combustion properties of the briquettes. The proximate analysis showed that the moisture
content, ash content and fixed carbon content were increased with the increase in WH amount from 25
to 100%, while the volatile matter content and calorific value decreased. Combustion test showed that the
Keywords:
Water hyacinth
increase in the WH percentage in bio-briquette resulted in the decreased of O2 and CO level, whereas,
Empty fruit bunch that of CO2 and NO, NO2 and SO2 were increased. Therefore, the results conclude that the WH: EFB
Briquette biomass bio-briquette could be a great potential as an alternative source to conventional coal to mini-
Proximate analysis mize the emission of greenhouse gases.
Combustion © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction agriculture as well as other sources. Typically, biomass has a

significantly lower heating value than coal, which is mainly due to
It is predicted that coal combustion could contribute approxi- its lower density [3].
mately 41% of the total world CO2 emissions (43,676 million metric In the past, all biomass energy was considered carbon neutral as
tonnes of CO2) in 2030 [1]. A major application is the combustion of long as it was based on sustainable yields. Burning biomass releases
waste materials from the forest products and pulp and paper in- carbon and little amount of ash and sulfur, but, assuming land use
dustries to generate electricity, steam, and heat. According to Sri- and productivity do not change, plants later reabsorb this carbon in
vastava et al. [2], biomass energy has attracted as one of the new growth [4]. Biomass generally has lower SO2 and NOx emis-
potential alternatives, as it is an ideal renewable energy source with sions because of lower sulfur and nitrogen content, respectively [5].
several advantages like lower sulfur content, CO2 neutral emission, As reported by Rahman and Shamsuddin [6], some of coal power
and abundance availability generally in the form of waste from plant in Europe and Australia are capable for fuel switching from
coal to biomass. This is an essential mission to overcome the
depletion of energy sources. Meanwhile, by converting them into
* Corresponding author. Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Se- liquid fuel will trigger another cost operation and not suitable for
curity (IPASA), Research Institute for Environmental Sustainability, Block C07, Level certain region and countries. Currently, Malaysia relies on fossil
2, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia. fuels for over 90% of its power generation [7]. Malaysia with high
** Corresponding author. Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Se- electricity demand and abundant biomass resources can utilize the
curity (IPASA), Research Institute for Environmental Sustainability, Block C07, Level
biomass residue to replace some coal consumption. It would help in
2, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Rezania), [email protected] achieving the government target of developing renewable energy
(M.F. Md Din). resources [8]. With exception of hydroelectricity from the

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 S. Rezania et al. / Energy 111 (2016) 768e773 769

renewable energy generation mix in Malaysia, the Malaysian gov- 2.2. Proximate analysis
ernment's recent obligation to increase the share of renewable
energy in the power generation mix and greatly reduced CO2 According to the ASTM standard E711-87. [22], the elementary
emissions remains a serious challenge [7] and [9]. composition, ash, volatile material, and fixed carbon contents of
It was reported that the 5 million hectares that is around 16% of WH and EFB briquette were determined by bomb calorimeter
Malaysia land, is occupied with oil palm plantation, generating method and calculated by using the ultimate and proximate anal-
huge quantities of biomass [10] and [11]. EFB fibers from palm oil ysis data as given in the earlier studies [23] and [24].
mill can be used as potential raw material for biomass briquettes The moisture content calculated based on difference between
which would help in reducing the production cost (raw material dry and wet weight of briquette as below:
and utility costs) [12] and [13]. Besides, the direct combustion of
EFB can cause considerable air pollution [14]. A B
Moisture Contentð%Þ ¼  100% (1)
Water hyacinth (WH) has a lesser cultivation and preparation A
cost in comparison to wood or any other related briquettes.
Although, the operational cost is similar to the conventional coal. In Where the A is weight of wet briquette and B is weight of dried
other point of view, it has potential to be used as an alternative briquette.
energy source. The possibility of water hyacinth conversion to the To determine the volatile matter content (VMC), 2 g of pulver-
briquettes evaluated since two decades, which reviewed recently ized briquettes sample in a crucible were placed in the oven until a
by [15]. Tran et al. [16] found that one ton of WH could produce constant weight was obtained. The briquettes were kept in the
18.35 to 18.75 (KWh) electricity and 13.3 (m3) biogas. furnace at a temperature of 550  C for 10 min, after cooling weighed
According to Ndimele [17], in Kenya, which acts as one of the and determined using the following formula:
centers for WH expertise, charcoal dust briquetting from the py-
rolysis of water hyacinth proposed. Ighodalo et al. [18] processed B C
Volatile MatterðVMC%Þ ¼  100% (2)
the water hyacinth into biomass briquette and proved that water B
hyacinth with cassava starch as binder can be used as wood burner Where B is the weight of oven dried sample and C is the weight
for cooking purposes. In addition, they found that the water hya- of sample after 10 min in the furnace at 550  C.
cinth briquette took a longer time for cooking purposes than The ash content percentage (AC) was also determined by heat-
kerosene stove. As stated by Tran et al. [16], addition of binder into ing 2 g of the briquette sample in the furnace at a temperature of
the bio-briquettes enhances its properties. In another study by 550  C for 4hrs and weighed after cooling. The PAC was
Jindaporn et al. [19], the combustion test showed that the rice husk- determined:
water hyacinth briquette with the mixing ratio of 60:40 provided
the highest flue gas temperature. Also, the CO contents emitted for D
all experiments were within the acceptable level. Ash ContentðAC%Þ ¼  100% (3)
B
In terms of combustion characteristic, water hyacinth briquette
showed higher calorific value in comparison to the mangrove and Where D is the weight of ash and B is the weight of oven-dried
firewood [20]. However, the value is still lower than the calorific sample.
value of charcoal. The mixing of fuel briquettes clearly demon- The fixed carbon percentage (FC) was calculated by subtracting
strated that water hyacinth based briquettes promised a potential the sum of (VMC) and (AC) from 100 which is shown as follows:
of alternative to firewood and charcoal. Besides, Rodrigues et al.
[21] proved that the water hyacinth briquette has greater amount of Fixed carbonðFCÞ ¼ 100 %ðVMC þ ACÞ (4)
moisture content, similar amount of volatile matter and much
greater ash content, significantly much less fixed carbon and much Calorific value was measured by using IKA C 2000 calorimeter
lower calorific value when compared to the local wood fuel. The Bomb calorimeter according to ASTM standard E711-87 [22]. Gas
purpose of the present study is to determine the optimum ratio of emission was measured by using Flue gas analyzer, Telegan gas
WH to EFB to make fuel briquettes with high calorific value and low monitoring (TEMPEST 100) and MAP//PRO fire starter with propane
gas emission. content was used to help the ignition of bio-briquette.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Preparation of raw materials 3. Results and discussion

Fresh water hyacinth was collected from the tanks which 3.1. Moisture content of WH and EFB
wastewater is pumped from stabilization pond, whereas the empty
fruit bunch (EFB) fibers were obtained from the palm oil mill The moisture content of different parts of WH and EFB in wet
located at FELDA Bukit Besar, Kulai, Johor. Cassava starch bought and dry form has shown in Table 1. The moisture content on WH
from the local grocery shop. Dried biomass was blended into small rhizome, leaves and whole plant were 95.2%, 90.9% and 92%,
particles using an electric blender and the ground material was respectively.
passed through an 850 mm sieve. The raw materials were kept in a
polyethylene bag at room temperature until further used for
Table 1
briquette production.
Moisture content of rhizome and leaves of WH and EFB.
A 30 g of cassava starch (binder agent) was mixed with 50 ml of
hot water. The binder was prepared with WH powder and EFB at Weight (g) Wet (g) Dry form (g) Moisture (%)
the blending ratios of 100:0, 90:10, 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75, WH rhizome 398 19 95.2
respectively. Then, the mixture of briquette was loaded into the WH leaves 342 31 90.9
cylindrical mould with the size of 41 mm diameter and 47 mm WH whole plant 1000 80 92
EFB fiber 2336 562 77.5
height.
770 S. Rezania et al. / Energy 111 (2016) 768e773

3.2. Proximate analysis of biomass bio-briquette 10.2

10.1

Moisture content (%)

The proximate analysis of (WH & EFB) was carried out to 10
determine the moisture content, volatile matter, ash and fixed 9.9
carbon content. The results are shown in Table 2. 9.8
9.7
9.6
3.2.1. Moisture content 9.5
According to the previous available reports, the moisture con- 9.4
tent in the range 10e15% is preferred, because grinding of high 9.3
moisture content materials is problematic and more energy is 9.2
required for drying [25]. As shown in Table 2 and Fig. 1, decrease of 25 : 75 50 : 50 75 : 25 90 : 10 100 : 0
EFB and increase of WH ratio in briquette mixture, the moisture Composition ratio WH : EFB
content showed an increment in the range of 9.3e10.1%. The lowest
moisture content was recorded at the composition ratio of 25:75 10.2
10.1

Moisture content (%)

(WH-EFB) i.e. 9.3 ± 0.03, while, the highest was at 90:10 compo-
sition ratio (10.1 ± 0.03). The low moisture content might be due to 10
the low percentage (25%) of water hyacinth ratio, while the other 9.9
ratio used 90% water hyacinth from the weight of total biomass 9.8
(Table 1). As demonstrated by Refs. [26], the importance of low 9.7
moisture content is that, it can avoid incomplete burning of 9.6
biomass inside the furnace and can prevent the formation of fly ash. 9.5
9.4
9.3
3.2.2. Volatile matter content 9.2
As shown in Table 2 and Fig. 1, the volatile matter of biomass bio- 25 : 75 50 : 50 75 : 25 90 : 10 100 : 0
briquette decreased as the amount of WH in the ratio was Composition ratio WH : EFB
increased. Our finding showed lesser amount of WH ratio in
briquette had higher volatile matter which is more favorable for Fig. 1. Moisture content and volatile matter content (%).

combustion.
4. Calorific value
3.2.3. Ash content
Similar to the volatile matter content, the calorific value was also
As stated by Supatata et al. [27], the ash percentage which is up
declined from (WH &EFB) ratio of 25:75 (17.17 MJ kg 1) to 100%
to 4% for agro residues is the most preferable for biomass bri-
water hyacinth briquette (14.39 MJ kg 1) (Fig. 3). There was a
quetting and lead to an increase in particulate matter emission
reverse relation between amount of WH and calorific value in
during the combustion process. Based on the Table 2 and Fig. 2, the
briquette. According to Cheng et al. [29], the calorific values of dried
lowest ash content was obtained from 25:75 (WH: EFB) ratio and
biomass of water hyacinth were 14.93, 13.52 and 8.46 (kJ/g-DW) in
highest was in 100% water hyacinth briquette. The lower ash con-
leaves, steam and roots, respectively. Also, the ash content was
tent is more favorable as ash content also has a harmful environ-
lowest in the leaves of water hyacinth in comparison to stem and
mental effect due to the generation of dust. Also, in terms of
root.
combustion efficiency the lower ash content is most preferable,
According to Suhartini et al. [30] the calorific value of fuel bri-
which provides good heating performance at a low cost [28].
quettes is directly proportional to the removal of volatile matter
and moisture content. As shown in Table 3, (WH & EFB) 25:75 ratio
3.2.4. Fixed carbon content resulted in the lowest moisture content with highest volatile
The results showed that there is an increment in the fixed car- matter and calorific value. As reported by EIA. [1], a typical UK coal
bon content from lowest in briquette of 25:75 ratio to highest only for power generation has a volatile content of 30e40% (dry, ash-
WH (15.97 and 26.83, respectively) as shown in Table 2 and Fig. 2. free basis) and 1e4% inherent moisture, whereas biomass might
Akowuah et al. [28] demonstrated that the low fixed carbon con- contain 70e80% volatile matter and 10e15% moisture. Table 3
tent of biomass makes it a better and highly reactive fuel. As, the shows the comparison of proximate analysis and calorific value of
low carbon content makes biomass burn out faster therefore, the pure coal, WH, EFB and WH & EFB.
bio-briquette 25:75 (WH: EFB) was the best ratio for combustion As shown in Table 3, the volatile matter content of biomass
purposes. briquettes in this study was higher (70.87%) as compared to the coal

Table 2
Proximate analysis of biomass composition ratio.
1
Composition ratio Moisture content (%) Volatile matter content (PVM) (%) Ash content (PAC) (%) Fixed carbon content (PFC) (%) Calorific value (MJ kg )
WH: EFB

25:75 9.3 ± 0.03** 80.3 ± 1.02** 3.73 ± 0.54** 15.97 17.17 ± 0.05**
50:50 9.4 ± 0.04** 74.12 ± 0.15** 4.53 ± 0.27** 21.35 16.14 ± 0.01**
75:25 9.7 ± 0.03** 70.58 ± 0.91 6.23 ± 0.09** 23.19 15.83 ± 0.04
90:10 10.1 ± 0.03** 69.62 ± 0.42** 4.80 ± 0.21** 25.58 14.39 ± 0.06
100:0 9.9 ± 0.00 66.27 ± 0.1 6.90 ± 0.11 26.83 14.58 ± 0.05

Note: Significant difference**p < 0.05.

 S. Rezania et al. / Energy 111 (2016) 768e773 771

10
17.5

Calorific value (MJ/kg−1)

8
Ash content (%)

17

6 16.5
Eq 5
4 16
Eq 6
15.5
2
15
0 25 : 75 50 : 50 75 : 25 90 : 10 100 : 0
25 : 75 50 : 50 75 : 25 90 : 10 100 : 0 Composition ratio WH : EFB
Composition ratio WH : EFB
Fig. 4. Comparison of calorific value from Eqs. (5) and (6).
28
26
Fixed carbon content (%)

makes it easy to ignite and burn [50]. Jin et al. [32] reported the ash
24 content of coal was (28.46%), which is a non-combustible compo-
nent of the coal. This was much higher than the biomass bio-
22
briquette used in the present study (3.73%). The combination of
20 biomass bio-briquette with coal might reduce the ash content that
18 remains in coal-fired boiler after the combustion process is
completed. As shown in the Table 3, the highest calorific value was
16 obtained from the pure coal, EFB, WH & EFB and WH, respectively.
14
25 : 75 50 : 50 75 : 25 90 : 10 100 : 0 4.1. Theoretical calorific value
Composition ratio WH : EFB
Parikh et al. [36] and Yin [37] discovered a quick and economical
Fig. 2. Ash content and fixed carbon content (%). method for the estimation of calorific value by correlating heating
value with proximate analyses data. By estimating high heating
value (HHV) on dry basis, both studies used large data points of
18 agricultural wastes. Parikh et al. [36] stated that the algebraic
Calorific value (MJ/kg−1)

expression of theoretical heating value calculation is applicable for

17 all kinds of solid fuel including biomass materials. In calculating
HHV, they used these algebraic expressions as follows [36,37]:
16
HHVðMJ=kgÞ ¼ 0:3536ðFCÞ þ 0:1559ðVMÞe0:0078ðASHÞ (5)
15
HHVðMJ=kgÞ ¼ 0:1905ðVMÞ þ 0:2521ðFCÞ (6)
14
Where FC 1.0e91.5% fixed carbon, VM 0.92e90.6% volatile matter
13 and Ash 0.12e77.7% ash content in wt% on a dry basis.
25 : 75 50 : 50 75 : 25 90 : 10 100 : 0 As Fig. 4 illustrated, both equations showed that blending ratios
of 50:50 biomass bio-briquette have the highest calorific value of
Composition ratio WH : EFB
(Eq. (5) ¼ 16.74 MJ kg 1) and (Eq. (6) ¼ 17.16 MJ kg 1). The actual
Fig. 3. Calorific value of bio-briquette. bomb calorimeter measurements showed the 25:75 blending ratio
had the highest CV of 17.17 MJ kg 1.

(23.20%). This is due to the amount of volatile matter in almost all

5. Gas emission
types of biomass is higher (typically in the range of 65e85% db)
compared to coal [31] and [35]. High volatile matter content of the
Table 4 shows the amount of gas emission from the combustion
biomass makes it contribute more fractional heat, and, conse-
of five ratios of briquette samples which consist: Oxygen (O2),
quently make it more reactive than coal. Thus, biomass solid fuel
Carbon monoxide (CO), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Nitric oxide (NO),
has faster combustion rate during the devolatisation process which
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Sulfur dioxide (SO2).

Table 3
Comparison of proximate analysis and calorific value of briquette composition: Pure coal, WH, EFB and (WH & EFB).

Proximate analysis (wt%)

1
Different briquettes Moisture Volatile matter Ash Fixed carbon Calorific value (MJ kg ) Reference

Pure coal 1.97 23.20 28.46 46.37 25.01 [32]

WH 5.7 49.9 38.11 6.28 13.39 [33]
EFB 8.34 79.82 6.87 13.31 19.25 [34]
WH & EFB 9.3 70.87 3.73 15.97 17.17 This study
772 S. Rezania et al. / Energy 111 (2016) 768e773

Table 4
Gas emission from bio-briquette combustion.

Composition ratio Gas emission

WH: EFB
O2 (%) CO (ppm) CO2 (%) NO (ppm) NO2 (ppm) SO2 (ppm)

25:75 20.60 ± 0.00** 25.67 ± 1.45 0.23 ± 0.33** 13.00 ± 2.00** 0.33 ± 0.33 28.67 ± 6.33
50:50 19.97 ± 0.19 11.77 ± 1.41** 0.73 ± 0.19 21.00 ± 1.53** 0.33 ± 0.33 42.00 ± 0.58**
75:25 20.20 ± 0.58 9.37 ± 0.60** 0.60 ± 0.58 24.00 ± 2.89 0.00 ± 0.00 36.67 ± 2.60**
90:10 20.53 ± 0.89 6.37 ± 0.90 0.30 ± 0.58 26.00 ± 3.21 0.00 ± 0.00 35.67 ± 1.73
100:0 20.37 ± 0.67 6.70 ± 0.30 0.43 ± 0.33 32.00 ± 2.52 0.00 ± 0.00 34.00 ± 1.45

Note: Significant difference**p < 0.05.

5.1. Oxygen (O2) NOx emission was increased. This is because WH biomass contains
nitrogen and high alkali metals (Ca, K, Na), which are absorbed
In this study, the range of released oxygen from biomass from the wastewater [42]. The alkali metals are easier to be
briquette combustion was from 19.9% to 20.60%. As reported by oxidized than nitrogen [43]. According to Table 4, the lowest NO
Basu. [38], usually biomass has oxygen content range from 20% to level was observed in WH & EFB ratio of 25:75. The NO level
30% and high O2 content in biomass resulted in high volatiles that showed linear increment with increasing of biomass ratio in
make biomass having lower heating value than coal. Based on the briquette. Analysis of NO2 proved that it existed only in low ratio of
results, composition ratio of 50:50 showed the least oxygen content WH (25 and 50% of WH) in briquette which was only 0.33 ppm.
(19.97%) as compared to other ratios. On the other hand, higher
heating value resulted in lower O2 emission which is more prefer-
5.5. Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
able for energy production from briquette and coal.
The formation of SO2 is based on the sulfur content of coal itself,
5.2. Carbon monoxide (CO) and, this is different from CO2 and NO that depends on the oper-
ating conditions in coal power plant [44]. Sulfur pollutants derived
The CO value was decreased with the increase in WH ratio in from coal combustion are harmful to the environment and most
briquette. The emission coefficient varied due to the poor com- organic sulfur and pyrite in coal are oxidized and converted to SO2
bustion efficiency in the combustor and the high carbon content of gas during combustion in furnaces. The highest SO2 formation
that particular fuel [39]. CO could be an indicator of a good com- found in WH & EFB ratio of 50:50, and it was decreased with further
bustion quality. Because, for large-scale biomass combustion, the increase in WH ratio. Higher WH in bio-briquette resulted in higher
CO emissions are usually lower, as it is easy to optimize the com- sulfur in combustion, which might be due to the absorption of S as
bustion process in large-scale biomass combustion as compared to trace element from wastewater. Besides, Narayanan and Natarajan
a small scale [35]. In this study, the lowest CO emission was ob- [45] reported that the combustion of biomass briquette would
tained by 90:10 composition ratio, which was 6.37 ppm. It seems release less sulfur oxide (SOx).
that the addition of WH to EFB made the bio-briquette with less
amount of CO emission, which is more favorable.
6. Conclusion
5.3. Carbon dioxide (CO2)
The effectiveness of water hyacinth and empty fruit bunch fibers
Jin et al. [32] stated that nowadays coal contributes about (bio-briquette) was studied in terms of proximate analysis, calorific
36e39% of CO2 emission. About 98% of carbon emission is due to value and gas emission. Results showed that the biomass briquette
the combustion of fossil fuels in total [40]. Thus, the large benefit of (WH & EFB) of 25:75 ratio has low moisture content (9.3%), low ash
co-firing is that, it can reduce the fossil fuel CO2 emission due to the content (3.73%), low fixed carbon content (15.97%) and an average
burning of coal for electricity generation. Apart from that, effort of calorific value (17.17 MJ kg 1). These values are the acceptable for
co-firing is a cost effective way that can maximize the biomass biomass briquette implementation. In terms of combustion prop-
utilization. Emission of CO2 from the stove is one of the major erties, the lowest gas emission was also obtained by the similar
concerns for water hyacinth and EFB biomass briquette. The more composition ratio (25:75) with the low emitted carbon dioxide and
biomass fuel is combusted inside the stove, the higher is the con- toxic gases. Meanwhile, the flue gas from ideal briquettes compared
centrations of CO2. to alternatives would be relatively higher in oxygen, lower in car-
In this study, the bio-briquette combustion of WH & EFB in bon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides. There-
25:75 ratio showed the lowest CO2 emission value, whereas, fore, the results showed that the WH: EFB biomass bio-briquette
highest value was reported in the WH & EFB ratio of 50:50. The low has a high potential to be used as solid biofuel. Appropriate
emission of CO2 is desirable as it is a non-combustible gas, which do blending ratio of water hyacinth and EFB in coal-fired boilers can
not add in heat value. Rahman and Shamsuddin [6] emphasized have a significant effect towards the combustion process. Good
that the reduction of carbon dioxide can be determined from the quality briquette not only acts as an alternative energy fuel, but also
amount of biomass substitution, because, the combusted coal can proves beneficial impacts for the environment.
directly be replaced for specific energy output. As found by Chuang
et al. [41], WH reduced the CO2 emission by 15.2e23.7 ton per year Acknowledgment
which proves that this biomass can be an excellent renewable
sources for replacing coal, fossil oil and natural gas. The authors would like to acknowledge the GUP Grant
(Q.J130000.2522.07H30), COE Flagship Grant (Q.J130000.2422.02G75)
5.4. Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) received support from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, as well as the
FRGS grant (R.J130000.7809.4F472) from Ministry of Higher Educa-
By adding biomass composition with coal in a coal fired boiler, tion, Malaysia.
 S. Rezania et al. / Energy 111 (2016) 768e773 773

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