Comparative study on carbonization of wood and rice

The work presents results obtained in studies on the carbonization of wood and rice, which are biomass that can be used as an energy source and are found in several types of waste or can be harvested specifically for this use. Samples of eucalyptus and rice wood were carbonized in the laboratory under the same conditions, at temperatures of 400°C, 600°C and 1000°C. The products obtained were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and hardness. Different microstructures were found, being predominantly cellular for wood coals and globular for rice coals. X-ray diffraction showed that both carbonized materials are mostly amorphous. The hardness of rice charcoal is greater than that of wood charcoal; this difference was attributed to the obtained structure. (author)