Efficiency of Sawdust as an Alternative Fuel to Replace Coal in Steam Power Plants

This study aims to test the effectiveness of sawdust as an alternative fuel to replace coal in a 50 MW power plant in an effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and have a negative impact on the environment. The use of coal in power plants produces high carbon emissions that contribute to climat...

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Main Authors: Muhammad Facheruddin BJ, A. Besse Riyani Indah, Gerard Antonini Duma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Khairun University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering 2025-01-01
Series:Protek: Jurnal Ilmiah Teknik Elektro
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ejournal.unkhair.ac.id/index.php/protk/article/view/9122
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author Muhammad Facheruddin BJ
A. Besse Riyani Indah
Gerard Antonini Duma
author_facet Muhammad Facheruddin BJ
A. Besse Riyani Indah
Gerard Antonini Duma
author_sort Muhammad Facheruddin BJ
collection DOAJ
description This study aims to test the effectiveness of sawdust as an alternative fuel to replace coal in a 50 MW power plant in an effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and have a negative impact on the environment. The use of coal in power plants produces high carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Sawdust, as a by-product of the wood industry, is considered an environmentally friendly fuel because of its abundant availability and its calorific value close to coal. This study was conducted by measuring the calorific value, fuel consumption, and electrical energy output produced during power generation using sawdust compared to coal. The measurement results show that the calorific value of sawdust is 3900 kcal/kg, slightly higher than coal, which has 3878 kcal/kg. Although the fuel consumption of sawdust is almost equivalent to coal, the energy output produced by sawdust (47,090 kWh) is lower than coal (50,900 kWh). The thermal efficiency of sawdust is recorded at around 25.72%, slightly lower than coal, which has an efficiency of 27.76%. Despite its lower efficiency, these results suggest that sawdust can still be a viable alternative fuel, especially if emission reduction and desirability are priorities. This study shows that sawdust has the potential to be a more environmentally friendly energy source and support efforts to transition energy towards a more sustainable system.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2354-8924
2527-9572
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Khairun University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering
record_format Article
series Protek: Jurnal Ilmiah Teknik Elektro
spelling doaj-art-d23142ccc2ac426d905a35713b1ed9ca2025-02-09T04:01:57ZengKhairun University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical EngineeringProtek: Jurnal Ilmiah Teknik Elektro2354-89242527-95722025-01-01121323510.33387/protk.v12i1.91224991Efficiency of Sawdust as an Alternative Fuel to Replace Coal in Steam Power PlantsMuhammad Facheruddin BJ0A. Besse Riyani Indah1Gerard Antonini Duma2Patria Artha UniversityIndustrial Engineering Faculty of Engineering Hasanuddin UniversityMechanical Engineering Faculty of Engineering Hasanuddin UniversityThis study aims to test the effectiveness of sawdust as an alternative fuel to replace coal in a 50 MW power plant in an effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and have a negative impact on the environment. The use of coal in power plants produces high carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Sawdust, as a by-product of the wood industry, is considered an environmentally friendly fuel because of its abundant availability and its calorific value close to coal. This study was conducted by measuring the calorific value, fuel consumption, and electrical energy output produced during power generation using sawdust compared to coal. The measurement results show that the calorific value of sawdust is 3900 kcal/kg, slightly higher than coal, which has 3878 kcal/kg. Although the fuel consumption of sawdust is almost equivalent to coal, the energy output produced by sawdust (47,090 kWh) is lower than coal (50,900 kWh). The thermal efficiency of sawdust is recorded at around 25.72%, slightly lower than coal, which has an efficiency of 27.76%. Despite its lower efficiency, these results suggest that sawdust can still be a viable alternative fuel, especially if emission reduction and desirability are priorities. This study shows that sawdust has the potential to be a more environmentally friendly energy source and support efforts to transition energy towards a more sustainable system.https://ejournal.unkhair.ac.id/index.php/protk/article/view/9122sawdust, coal, alternative fuels, power generation, thermal efficiency.
spellingShingle Muhammad Facheruddin BJ
A. Besse Riyani Indah
Gerard Antonini Duma
Efficiency of Sawdust as an Alternative Fuel to Replace Coal in Steam Power Plants
Protek: Jurnal Ilmiah Teknik Elektro
sawdust, coal, alternative fuels, power generation, thermal efficiency.
title Efficiency of Sawdust as an Alternative Fuel to Replace Coal in Steam Power Plants
title_full Efficiency of Sawdust as an Alternative Fuel to Replace Coal in Steam Power Plants
title_fullStr Efficiency of Sawdust as an Alternative Fuel to Replace Coal in Steam Power Plants
title_full_unstemmed Efficiency of Sawdust as an Alternative Fuel to Replace Coal in Steam Power Plants
title_short Efficiency of Sawdust as an Alternative Fuel to Replace Coal in Steam Power Plants
title_sort efficiency of sawdust as an alternative fuel to replace coal in steam power plants
topic sawdust, coal, alternative fuels, power generation, thermal efficiency.
url https://ejournal.unkhair.ac.id/index.php/protk/article/view/9122
work_keys_str_mv AT muhammadfacheruddinbj efficiencyofsawdustasanalternativefueltoreplacecoalinsteampowerplants
AT abesseriyaniindah efficiencyofsawdustasanalternativefueltoreplacecoalinsteampowerplants
AT gerardantoniniduma efficiencyofsawdustasanalternativefueltoreplacecoalinsteampowerplants