Investigating impacts of ammonium phosphate on ash yield from co-combustion of sugarcane bagasse and banana leaves

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the influence of mono ammonium phosphate (MAP) on ash yield from the co-combustion of sugarcane bagasse and banana leaves in a muffle furnace. An I-Optimal design of the Combined Methodology, embedded in Design Expert (version 13.0.5), was employed to optimize ash yield, considering various particle sizes, additive concentrations, and temperatures. The mixed samples were ashed in a muffle furnace to a constant weight, and the ash yield was analyzed using statistical tools to assess the model's quality. The MAP additive was most effective at concentrations between 4% and 7%, beyond which ash yields increased significantly. The optimal composition was determined to be 75% sugarcane bagasse, 20% banana leaves, and 5% ammonium phosphate at 950°C, resulting in the lowest ash yield of 6.46%. The presence of MAP in the biomass mixture significantly reduced ash yield. The model's R² and adjusted R² values were 0.9825 and 0.9099, respectively, indicating accurate determination of the model coefficients. This study demonstrates that ammonium phosphate additive has great potential in mitigating ash-related problems in biomass combustion.