## 1 Introduction
Compaction was conducted using alkaline lignin and wheat starch as binders in roller press equipment. Addition of binders improved the strength of briquettes. Gasification of small samples by CO\({}_{2}\) was studied at 850 \({}^{\circ}\)C using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Higher gasification rates were observed in samples with alkaline lignin binder. This was contributed to by the presence of inorganic elements which catalyse the CO\({}_{2}\) gasification reaction. Their work showed that different binders affect the reactivity and strength of bio-carbon briquettes in different ways and, therefore, the final application of the briquettes is affected by the type of binders used. In a study by [PERSON] et al. [11] the variation of strength in biochar fuel briquettes with different sizes and shapes was evaluated. The briquettes weremade of char fines (below 3 mm) and starch. They mixed char fines and starch solution using a surface dressing technique. During this process, the sharp and weak edges of the char particles were removed as a result of forces and friction between particles. This led to higher bulk density and reduced the surface defects of char particles. The mixtures were compacted using a hydraulic laboratory press and a pilot scale roller press. The authors observed that lower length to diameter ratio in the cylindrical briquettes lead to higher surface strength. The surface compression strength of cylindrical briquettes was 5 times higher than the point compression strength of pillow-shaped briquettes with the same recipes. [PERSON] el al. [12] investigated the briquetting of biochar derived from the pyrolysis of cashew nut waste. The biochar with different additives of starch (8-12%) was briquetted using a hydraulic press at a compaction pressure of 300 kg/cm\({}^{2}\). The biocarbon briquettes produced from biochar with particle size less than 74 \(\upmu\)m and 12% addition of starch showed the highest compaction strength (7.6 kg/cm\({}^{2}\)). Despite the noticeable potentials of application of biomass in the foundries, limited numbers of studies have focused on testing renewable carbon briquettes on a large scale. Knowledge of the behaviour of briquettes at high process temperatures is scarce. The main challenge for developing the bio-carbon compacts is to fulfil the required characteristics suitable for utilization in cupola furnaces. This work has focused on evaluation of different additives and binders for compaction of bio-carbon and study of the behaviour of renewable materials at the laboratory-scale to build the foundation for upscaling and future developments for application of bio-carbon in a cupola furnace. The studies in the present work started with the selection of raw materials and design of recipes. Different types and amounts of coke breeze, biochar, binders and additives were used. The briquettes, on a small-scale, were evaluated with respect to density, energy density, reactivity and mechanical strength. After comparison with reference samples, selected recipes were used and modified for developing larger briquettes. These briquettes were tested at high temperatures and compared to reference samples of foundry coke and coke breeze. This study provided useful information about effect of different parameters on compaction of biochar, selection of materials and performance of briquettes at high temperatures. The information is valuable for further developments of renewable carbon briquettes for industrial tests.