Carbonized rice hulls (CRH) and carbonized corn cobs (CCC) obtained during the utilization of PHilMech designed biomass furnaces were used as raw materials in the production of fuel briquettes. Two types of briquetting machines were used in the experiments and cassava starch was applied as binding agent during the formulation of samples. The briquettes were evaluated in terms of their physical and thermal properties. Results showed that the average density of CRH briquettes produced in screw-type machine was higher than the briquettes produced in piston-type machine. This observation can be attributed to the higher pressure applied in the screw-type machine. However, the briquettes made from the piston-type machine were found to be more durable compared to the one produced in screw-type machine, which can be associated with the high concentration of binding agent as required when using the piston-type machine. The optimum formulation using piston-type briquetting machine is 10% binding agent for CRH and 12.5% for CCC. For screw-type briquetting machine, 2.25% binding agent is ideal for both CRH and CCC. The resulting energy values and combustion qualities of the briquettes produced from the carbonized based fuel briquettes were sufficient to produce the required heat for industrial application.

Glycerol decomposition over iron ore was studied. Main products were carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane although equilibrium calculation showed methane concentration should be less than 1%. Low heat value of product gas was 16 MJ/m³. Iron ore after decomposition reaction was reduced from hematite to magnetite. Iron ore with larger iron content gave higher gas yield. On the other hand, surface area of iron ore before reaction might have no relationship with catalytic activity. Residence time study revealed that all products were produced from glycerol directly. Thus, it was suggested that major reaction was C₃H₈O₃ → 2CO+CH₄+H₂+H₂O.

This study focuses on the electric power generation performance of the system using the dielectric elastomer (DE). A simple experimental model is fabricated to test in a passing water tank in order to investigate the performance and feasibility of the small hydroelectric generation system using DE. This system is driven by Karman vortex in the wake of a cylinder fixed in water flow. The characteristics of DEs can be utilized for producing electric power effectively. The wing, which is an important part in the generation system to convert fluid energy into mechanical energy and is set behind the cylinder, vibrates due to the pressure caused by Karman vortex, resulting in conversion of the water flow energy into electric energy by the DEs. Experimental results show that an average output power of approximately 16 mW is verified with the generation efficiency of about 3.6%, when the diameter of the cylinder is 60 mm, the span and chord length of the wing are 120 mm and 30 mm, respectively, the distance between the cylinder and the wing is 170 mm, and the velocity of the water flow is 0.50 m/s.