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Biomass Briquettes - Production
From energypedia. info
Contents
1 Overview
2 Briquetting Technologies
2.1 Piston Presses
2.2 Screw Compaction or Extrusion
2.3 Pan Grinder Presses for Pelletizing
2.4 Manual
2.5 Roller Presses
2.6 Agglomeration
3 Auxiliary Equipment
4 Costs
4.4 Capital Costs,
4.2 Operating Costs
5 Further Information
6 References
Overview
»The Art of Briquetting (1!*
The reduction of material density is the reason for undertaking briquetting as it determines both the savings in transport
and handling costs and any improvement in combustion over the original material: the art of briquetting. This art
essentially involves two parts: the compaction under pressure of loose material to reduce its volume and to
agglomerate the material so that the product remains in the compressed state.
Later effect, the cohesion of the particles, is based on three main mechanisms!
Generating a positive coupling of particles by fibre connections
= Attraction forces between particles through hydrogen bonds.
* Creating of form-closed bonds through the sticking effect of several biomass contents (lignin, protein, starch) or
added binders
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production wnstots
Adsorption layers
fey oe
Form -closed bonds _—_ Electrostatic
( Interlocking forces
Figure 4: Binding Mechanism]
Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
@® OO
Hardening binders Molecular forces
Highly viscous binders ( Ven der Waal’s forces )
FA binding agent is necessary to prevent
the compressed material from springing
back and eventually returning to its original
form, This agent can either be added to the
process or, when compressing ligneous
material, be part of the material itself in
form of lignin. Ligning is a constituent in
most agricultural residues. It can be defined
as the thermo plastic polymer, which begins
to soften at temperatures above 100°C and
is flowing at higher temperatures. The
softening of lignin and its subsequent
cooling while the material is still under
pressure is the key factor in high pressure
briquetting, It is a physic-chemical process
related largely to the temperature reached
in the briquetting process and the amount of
lignin in the original material. The
temperature in many machines is closely related to the pressure though in some, external heat is applied.
In general there are tw
of classifying briquetting processes.
‘One distinction is whether or not an
external binding agent must be added to
agglomerate the compressed material, The
second way of classifying follows the
pressure applied while briquetting: high,
medium or low pressure.
For a rough distinction the following
‘numbers might be adopted
= Low pressure up to 5 MPa
= Medium pressure 5 - 100 MPa
= High pressure above 100 MPa
Usually high pressure processes will release
Figure 2: Arrangement of cellulose, hemicellulose and ligning in biomass matrix
sufficient lignin to agglomerate the briquette. Medium pressure machines may or may not require binders, depending
upon the raw material whilst low-pressure machines invariably require binders. Such external binders might be: starch,
clay, molasses or wood tar etc... All briquettes using inherent binders (lignin) or external hydrophilic binders (starch,
molasses, gum, clay) are not waterproof and will disintegrate when they come into contact with water or stored under
humid conditions.
Briquetting of charcoal
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production
anatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
Charcoal is produced in many countries around the world. The basic idea is quite similar to briquetting: the densification
of energy, Therefore, biomass is pyrolized in kilns by a controlled burning process lacking sufficient oxygen for a
‘complete burning of the raw material. Briquetting can be combined with carbonization to further improve the
densification of the charcoal.
Basically the two processes can be applied one afer the other - Figure 6: From biomass to charcoal:
But, during the carbonization
briquettng ————"DPearboniation process, the biomass is losing its
lignin content and thereby an
important binder for briquetting
Charcoal is a material totally
lacking plasticity and hence needs
addition of a sticking or
agglomerating material to enable a
arboniztion briqueting briquette to be formed. The binder
——— should preferably be combustible,
though a non-combustible binder
effective at ow concentrations can
be suitable,
biomass / raw mater charcoal
Figure 3: From biomass to charcoal [own illustration}
Further information:
= “Charcoal Production from Altemative Feedstocks’ by NL Agency (2013) provides a good overview on charcoal
production technologies, on carbonization of biomass and suitable binders including the description of three
supply chains presented as case studies, Download the publication here
{(http://english. vo.nl/sites/defaultfiles/2013/1 1/Charcoal_production_from_alternative_feedstocks_-
_dune_2013.paf) .
= Altemative Charcoal Tool (ACT)
Briquetting Technologies
Industrial methods of briquetting date back to the second part the the 19th century. Since then there has been
widespread use of briquettes made from brown coal, peat and coal fines. The briquetting of organic materials requires
higher pressure as additional force is needed to overcome the natural springiness of these materials. Essentially, this
involves the destruction of the cell walls through some combination of pressure and heat. The following
overview presents the most common machines used for briquetting biomass.
Piston Presses
In piston presses, pressure is applied discontinuously by the action of a piston on material packed into a cylinder. They
‘may have a mechanical coupling and fly wheel or utilize hydraulic action on the piston. The incoming raw material is
pressed against the compacted material inside the pressing tube and leaves the die in the rhythm of the piston action.
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production aiatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
Through pressure and friction forces inside the pressing tube, the material is strongly heated and cooling mechanisms
might be considered, To produce briquettes with high density (up to 1.25 g/m3) the raw material eventually needs to be
milled (less than 10 mm) and dried (<15% of water content) before briquetting, The capacity of piston presses depends
both on the diameter of the die and the pretreatment of the raw material,
‘The capacity spectrum of piston presses range from only 25 up to 1800 kg/hr, Their typical specific energy use requires
between 50 and 70 Whit
Figure 4.1: Piston Presses!) Figure 42: Piston Presses!)
Screw Compaction or Extrusion
The aim of compaction using an extruder is to bring the smaller particles closer so that the forces acting between them
become stronger, providing more strength the densified bulk material. During extrusion, the material moves from the
feed port, with the help of a rotating screw, through the barrel and against a die, resulting in significant pressure
gradient and friction due to biomass shearing. The combined effects of wall friction at the barrel, internal friction in the
material, and high rotational speed of the screw, increase the temperature in the closed system and heat the biomass,
This heated biomass is forced through the extrusion die to form the briquettes with the required shape. If the heat
generated within the system is not sufficient for the material to reach a pseudo-plastic state for smooth extrusion,
external heat might be added. In principle, screw presses reach slightly higher compaction but lower capacity (tons per
hour) when compared to piston presses.
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production ansantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
Figure 5.1: Screw Press!7 Figure 52:Screw Press!)
Pan Grinder Presses for Pelletizing
Pellets are the result of a process which is closely related to the briquetting processes described above. The main
difference is that the dies have smaller diameters and each machine has a number of dies arranged as holes bored in a
thick stee! disk or ring. The material is forced into the dies by means of rollers moving over the surface on which the
raw material is distributed. The pressure is built up by the compression of this layer of material as the roller moves
perpendicular to the centerline of the dies. Thus the main force applied results in shear stresses in the material. The
pellets will still be hot when leaving the dies, where they are cut to lengths normally about one or two times the
diameter. Successful operation demands that a rather elaborate cooling system is arranged after the densification
process,
‘There are two main types of pellet presses: flat and ring types. The flat die type has a circular perforated disk on which
rollers rotate whereas the ring die press features a rotating perforated ring on which rollers press on the inner perimeter.
The output of pellet presses range from about 200 kg/hr up to 8 tonvhr. Their specific energy consumption is reported to
be around 1,5% of the energy content of the final peletts!®l,
Figure 6.1: Pan Grindor!®! Figure 6.2: Pan Grinder!*!
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production siasantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
Manual
For sure the simplest way to produce small briquettes is hand-shaped briquettes: a slurry of biomass in water is left
soaking for some days to enhance binding properties, The pulp is either squeezed by hand or pressed into a mould e.g.
an ice-cube tray, Rearranged fibres assisted by a binder ike paper pulp keep the briquette in shape during drying and
use, A part of hand-shaped briquettes there are plenty of small manual briquetting machines which were developed by
different producers and scientists all over the world. A very good overview on existing low cost briquetting machines,
from perforated bottles to wooden lever presses, can be found in the manual *Micro-gasification: Cooking with gas from
biomass” by Christa Roth (2011)!
= Biomass Motte Biomass Presses
Figure 7.1:Biomass Molds (Examples of low cost Figure 72: Biomass Presses (Examples of low cost
briquetting machines)!" briquetting machines)!**!
However, it remains unclear, whether any manual densification process can ever be commercially viable even in
circumstances where labour is very cheap. Considering their very low throughput, such techniques often require almost
‘as much capital investment as the mechanical processes. The savings achieved are essentially a labour for electricity
substitution rather than labour for capital
Roller Presses
Densification of biomass using roller presses works on the principle of pressure and agglomeration, where pressure is
applied between two counter-rotating rolls. Ground biomass, when forced through the gap between the two rollers, is
pressed into a die, or small pockets, forming the densified product. Roller presses are considered the world standard
technology to produce ovoid (pillow-shaped) charcoal briquettes from a variely of biomass types. In a roller press, a
mixture of charcoal and binder is fed to the tangential pockets of two rollers to produce briquettes. The smooth
production of charcoal briquettes using this technology requires high-quality rollers with smooth surfaces on which the
briquettes are shaped. The type of roller determines the shape of the briquettes. Currently, roll presses available in
developed countries have production capacities of 1 thr and more. The 1 tonne/hr capacity press with controlled
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production anssantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
feeding device costs about $ 320,000, Much cheaper roller-type charcoal briquetting machines can be sourced in India
and China: Seboka (2009) indicates that a roller press with a capacity of 1.5 tonnelhr costing $ 19,000 can be found in
Indial"21
Figure &: Roller Presses!®
Agglomeration
‘Agglomeration is a method of increasing particle size by gluing powder particles together. Usually the equipment
consists of a rotating volume that is filled with balls of varying sizes and fed with powder and often a binder. The
rotation of the agglomerator results in centrifugal, gravitational and frictional forces from the smooth rolling balls. Thes
forces, together with inertial forces, press the balls against the powder, helping them to stick together and grow, NL
Agency] reports applied agglomeration technology in small-scale briquetting processes in several developing
countries. The charcoal is milled to powder, binders are added, the components are mixed together, and the mix is then
agglomerated, Agglomerated charcoal briquettes are produced using a motor-driven agglomerator, the typical nominal
capacity of which is 25-50 kg/hour. Agglomerated charcoal briquettes are spherical and typically have diameters
between 20-30 mm, The briquettes can be used for household cooking as well as for fuelling industrial furnaces.
Agglomerated briquettes are said to be stronger than most other briquette types .
Figure 9.2:("“lsmall-scale agglomerator
Figure 9.1: Small-scale
agglomerator"4
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production masantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
As seen above, there are different technologies to produce densified biomass briquettes, The following table 1
‘summarizes their main characteristics.
For the right choice of an adapted machine, two main issues should be considered:
= Quantity and quality of the raw material
= Market availability of briquetting machines and spare parts
‘Table 1: Comparison of different densification eauipments!"*!:
Sczow prose Piston Press Rolle pes Pale il Agalomeaor
‘Optimum moisture content of 89% 10-18% 10-15% 10-15% No information
thera materi
Pariclesze ‘Salle Tae Lasser Seale Saale
Wear of cons par High Low High High Low
‘Ouput om machine Continous In woke Continuo Continsoae Contnanas
‘Specific energy consumption 368-150 377 2991-831 16-745 ‘No information
GWhton)
Thvoush pus Gow mH 25 0 z No formation
Density of briguet tage 1-idgent (06-07 gem 07-08 gem? 04-05 em?
Mainisnanse Low High Low Low Low
‘Combustion peformance of Very good Moderate Moderate Very goad Noinformation
brigutes
Curhonization of chareoal Maes god charcoal Not posible Naposile Netposible
yin gasifiers Su able Suitable Suitable
‘Suiubiltyfrcofring Suitable ‘Suitable Suiuble Suiuble
‘Suitability for biochemical Not uitble ‘Suitable Suitable Seiable No information
omogenciyyof denied Hemogenens Nothonogsnous Nethongenens — Homogensous — Womogeaous
biomass
‘Comparision of different densification equipments
Problems arise often if the die has not been shaped correctly or if the feeding mechanism has not been sized for the
‘material to be used. It is normal for machines made in Europe or North America to be designed to operate on wood
wastes. The use of agroresidues normally de-rates the throughput and may require some modification to the feeder.
Therefore, when searching for briquetting machines, best is finding machines which are already running with
material and under similar conditions.
Further information:
= Bhattacharya, S.C.: biomass energy and densification: A Global Review with Emphasis on Developing
Countries; Energy Program, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand gives an overview on different technologies
used for briquetting in many countries in Asia, South America and Africa.
{(http://cenbio.iee.usp.br/download/documentos/apresentacoes/swedendensificationpaperfinal.pdf)
= When searching for “briquetting" in the intemet a huge number of producers will appear. P A list of mainly
European briquetting machines sellers.
(http://www. tz-bayern.de/mam/cms08/festbrennstoffe/dat
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production
n/pelletier_briketiertechologie. pdf.)
aiasantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
Auxiliary Equipment
‘Only in few cases will the briquetting press be the only equipment needed to set up a briquetting plant. From the
starting point, the complexity of briquetting plants increases up to the fully automated woodwaste briquetting plants in
Which the raw material is fed by a tractor into a hopper from where it is crushed, screened, stored, dryed, stored again,
{fed into the presses and transported to the product storage in fully automatic process, supervised by a couple of
operators.
Without going into details, the following text is a brief listing of a few common types of necessary auxiliary equipments
and their applications which might have to be considered as also important economical factors:
‘= Storage (rainy seasons, both the raw material and the product)
= Handling (conveyors, elevators etc.)
= Comminution (chipper, hammer mill, conditioner, mixing with binder)
= Classification (separation, cleaning)
= Drying
To demonstrate the necessary steps for charcoal briquetting of different raw materials, NL Agency (2013) created table
2 below. Charcoal dust has the shortest supply chain, only a collection and briquetting step is needed to produce
charcoal briquettes. On the contrary, the charcoal production chain based on the growing of dedicated energy crops
involves a considerable number of steps. Each step in the supply chain represents efforts, money and possible
‘complications, and this indicator shows that charcoal dust and processing residues have a logistic advantage over other
types of feedstocks,
‘Table 2: Charcoal production chain of selected feedstocks|"41:
Charcoal production chain of selected feedstocks
Costs
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production angtots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
The financial costs of briquetting are very dependent upon the nature of the project, in particular upon the raw material
used and the plant location. They depend upon a number of operating costs, including labour, maintenance, power, raw
material cost and transport etc. as well as of capital cost component. Whether or not briquetting is economic in any
given location will depend critically upon how these unit costs relate to the price of the likely substitute fuels.
Capital Costs
‘The capital costs of a plant are not always easy to establish on a consistent basis. in different circumstances there may
be different conventions about what is included in capital cost: for example, do spare parts count for capital costs or
operational cost? Is the plant a stand-alone operation or is it part of an existing agro plant and maybe existing buildings
can be used?
Probably, one of the biggest variations in plant capital costs, however, comes from the raw material to be used and the
form in which itis collected. The nature of the raw material, especially the density, influences significantly the output,
rate of briquetting machines. Most agro-residues will cause lower outputs than wood residues for the same briquetting
machine what will influence the unit capital costs. In addition, the form of the initial feed may require pretreatment
efforts before it is fed to the briquetter as such. Some wastes, for example sawdust, often need to be dried to reduce
their moisture to 15%, others like cotton stalks might be chipped or shredder before briquetting. Thirdly, there is a very
big difference between field-residues and factory-residues if the cost of the equipment to collect the residue is included
in the initial capital cost.
‘Another important aspect of capital costs are the engineering and design standards of the plant. For example, itis likely
that in a plant where little or no use is made of mechanical handling, there will be a need to have spacious buildings to
avoid problems of dust and dangerous overcrowding. Briquetting machines which are squeezed into residue-producing
Plants to utilize existing buildings may naturally have lower capital costs than briquetting plants with firm floors, proper
electrical fittings etc.
Apart of these direct production capital costs, in many countries additional costs have to be considered and can range
widely from country to country. For example credit costs or custom duties on imported machines.
Operating Costs
The first obvious operating cost is the price to be paid for the raw material. This costs are very project and site-specific.
The raw material might have a specific price when its use is competing with alternative uses. However, even if the
residue is free, it is common for a transport cost to be Incurred in bringing the residue to the briquetting plant. In the
case of briquetting plants sited at the residue production point this is avoided but for other situations the transport cost
may be a significant part of operational costs. These transport costs may be added into general labour costs if full time
drivers are employed but certainly a more common situation is to hire appropriate transport for a given period of
collecting the raw material
‘The labour costs of a briquetting plant are in general very dependent upon plant design: are there any significant
residue collection activities; the wage rate of various categories of labour employed (collecting, loading, maintenance,
‘supervision etc.); and the extent to which the unit is integrated with a larger factory which can supply some labour
needs on a part-time basis and cover administration costs, However, S. Eriksson and M. Prior! results that despite the
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production siatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
wide variations in labour costs, briquetting as such is not labour intensive relative to the unit capital costs and the cost
of maintenance, power and other consumables. Labour costs seldom exceed 15% of the total and are usually much
less,
Maintenance costs can be a significant element of briquette production costs and one that is often underestimated in
Planning plants. Especially when briquetting machines are working on abrasive materials, such as rice-husks or
charcoal, the maintenance cost can be quite high particularly for pan grinder for pelletizing, screw presses and piston
presses. It is a factor which may place a continuing reliance on imported spare-parts or in the need to employ virtually
an operative on building up spare parts.
Except of manual driven briquetting machines, all other types of briquetting machines require a certain power supply.
There is no reason why plants in remote areas should not use diesel generators or use direct drive from diesel or steam
engines. But in most cases the briquetting machines are connected to the main electrical power supply: depending on
the size and output rate of the machine whether single phase 220V or 3 phases 400V supply is necessary. The specific
requirements and consumption of each machine has to be considered in an early state of planning and to be adapted to
local circumstances,
Other costs which might have to be considered when operating a briquetting plant are: taxes, insurance, consumables
such as lubricating oll, packaging etc.
Box: Comparison between pelleting and briquetting!*!
Briquette processing is more efficient than pelleting because the biomass materials do not necessarily
have to be preprocessed or uniformly ground up, which results in less preparation. Another advantage
of briquetting is it can be set onsite. Briquetting waste byproducts and reusing them onsite for energy
rather than transporting them to another location or to a landfill can save on disposal costs. Briquetting
generally use less horsepower. From the investment point of view, the purchase capital and
maintenance costs to make briquettes are less than for pellets. If transportation is one of the main
criteria, pellets are more advantageous because there are more pounds per foot than briquettes. This
is especially true if the briquettes are larger because it allows for more air between them when they
are stacked.
To keep in mind!
= Densification essentially involves two parts: the compaction under pressure of loose material to
reduce its volume and to agglomerate the material so that the product remains in the
compressed state.
= An internal or extemal binding agent is necessary to prevent the compressed material from
springing back and eventually retuming to its original form. The lack of inherent binders is the
main difference when comparing charcoal with biomass briquetting.
hipevenergypeda infalwikiBlomaes riquettes_- Production anatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
= The main presses for briquetting are piston and screw presses; for pelletizing pan grinder
presses are most common; to produce charcoal normally roller presses or agglomerators are
used.
‘= The quality and the quantity of the raw material as well as the market availability are the main
factors for the choice of the adapted technology.
= Often, briquetting is not a stand-alone process. Different pretreatments might be considered:
storage, handling, drying, and sizing,
= Capital costs for different investments and operating costs (such as labour, maintenance, raw
material etc.) determine the production costs of briquettes.
= The economic viability of briquetting plants depends crucially on whether or not these factory
costs are comparable or less than the prices of the main competitive fuel
Further Information
= Altemative Charcoal Tool (ACT)
+ Biomass Briquettes ~ Production and Marketing
= Biomass Briquettes - Marketing
= Biomass portal on energypedia
= The Charcoal Project (http://www.thecharcoalproject. com/home. php)
= Harvest Fuel Initiative (http://www harvestfuel.org/)
References
1. 1 Advertising slogan of the briquetting company Di piu; www.di-piu.com
2. 1 The original German version: Kaltschmitt, M.; Hartmann, H. und Hofbauer, H. (2009): Energie aus Biomasse.
Grundlagen, Techniken und Verfahren; Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001, 2009, korrigierter Nachdruck
2009
3. 1 Picture : Grover, S.D. and Mishra S.K. (1996): Biomass Brigetting: Technology and Practices; FAO Regional
Wood Energy Development Programme in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand (1996)
4, +4944 picture : Jaya Shankar Tumuluru et al. (2010): A Review on Biomass Densification Technologies for
Energy Application; Idaho national laboratory; 2010
5. 1 Kaltschmitt, M.; Hartmann, H. und Hofbauer, H. (2009): Energie aus Biomasse. Grundlagen, Techniken und
Verfahren; Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001, 2009, korrigierter Nachdruck 2009
6. 1906.1 6.2.8.3 64 Picture: The original German version: Kaltschmitt, M.; Hartmann, H. and Hofbauer, H. (2009)
Energie aus Biomasse. Grundlagen, Techniken und Verfahren; Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001, 2009,
korrigiorter Nachdruck 2009
7. 1 Picture : http:/Iwww.soi-wide.ad jp/class/20070041/slides/03/index_12.html
8, 1&9 8182 Picture; Eriksson, S. and Prior, M. (1990): The briquetting of agricultural wastes for fuel, FAO
Environment and Energy Paper 11, FAO of the UN, Rome, 1990
9. 1 hitps://energypedia.info/wiki/File:Micro_Gasification_Cooking_with_gas_from_biomass.pdf
10. + Pictures: http://home.fuse.net/engineering!
11. + Pictures: http://home.fuse.net/engineering!
12. 1 Seboka, Y. (2009): Charcoal Production: Opportunities and Barriers for Improving Efficiency and
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production wanatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
Sustainability. In: Bio-carbon Opportunities in Eastern & Southem Africa, UNDP, 2009
13. t NL Agency (2013): Charcoal Production from Altemative Feedstocks; final version 2013
14, + 140 14.1 142 picture: NL Agency (2013): Charcoal Production from Aitemative Feedstocks; final version 2013
18. 1 Jaya Shankar Tumuluru et al. (2010): A Review on Biomass Densification Technologies for Energy
Application; Idaho national laboratory; 2010
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Energy Compendium,
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Biomass Briquettes - Production
From energypedia. info
Contents
1 Overview
2 Briquetting Technologies
2.1 Piston Presses
2.2 Screw Compaction or Extrusion
2.3 Pan Grinder Presses for Pelletizing
2.4 Manual
2.5 Roller Presses
2.6 Agglomeration
3 Auxiliary Equipment
4 Costs
4.4 Capital Costs,
4.2 Operating Costs
5 Further Information
6 References
Overview
»The Art of Briquetting (1!*
The reduction of material density is the reason for undertaking briquetting as it determines both the savings in transport
and handling costs and any improvement in combustion over the original material: the art of briquetting. This art
essentially involves two parts: the compaction under pressure of loose material to reduce its volume and to
agglomerate the material so that the product remains in the compressed state.
Later effect, the cohesion of the particles, is based on three main mechanisms!
Generating a positive coupling of particles by fibre connections
= Attraction forces between particles through hydrogen bonds.
* Creating of form-closed bonds through the sticking effect of several biomass contents (lignin, protein, starch) or
added binders
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production wnstots
Adsorption layers
fey oe
Form -closed bonds _—_ Electrostatic
( Interlocking forces
Figure 4: Binding Mechanism]
Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
@® OO
Hardening binders Molecular forces
Highly viscous binders ( Ven der Waal’s forces )
FA binding agent is necessary to prevent
the compressed material from springing
back and eventually returning to its original
form, This agent can either be added to the
process or, when compressing ligneous
material, be part of the material itself in
form of lignin. Ligning is a constituent in
most agricultural residues. It can be defined
as the thermo plastic polymer, which begins
to soften at temperatures above 100°C and
is flowing at higher temperatures. The
softening of lignin and its subsequent
cooling while the material is still under
pressure is the key factor in high pressure
briquetting, It is a physic-chemical process
related largely to the temperature reached
in the briquetting process and the amount of
lignin in the original material. The
temperature in many machines is closely related to the pressure though in some, external heat is applied.
In general there are tw
of classifying briquetting processes.
‘One distinction is whether or not an
external binding agent must be added to
agglomerate the compressed material, The
second way of classifying follows the
pressure applied while briquetting: high,
medium or low pressure.
For a rough distinction the following
‘numbers might be adopted
= Low pressure up to 5 MPa
= Medium pressure 5 - 100 MPa
= High pressure above 100 MPa
Usually high pressure processes will release
Figure 2: Arrangement of cellulose, hemicellulose and ligning in biomass matrix
sufficient lignin to agglomerate the briquette. Medium pressure machines may or may not require binders, depending
upon the raw material whilst low-pressure machines invariably require binders. Such external binders might be: starch,
clay, molasses or wood tar etc... All briquettes using inherent binders (lignin) or external hydrophilic binders (starch,
molasses, gum, clay) are not waterproof and will disintegrate when they come into contact with water or stored under
humid conditions.
Briquetting of charcoal
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production
anatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
Charcoal is produced in many countries around the world. The basic idea is quite similar to briquetting: the densification
of energy, Therefore, biomass is pyrolized in kilns by a controlled burning process lacking sufficient oxygen for a
‘complete burning of the raw material. Briquetting can be combined with carbonization to further improve the
densification of the charcoal.
Basically the two processes can be applied one afer the other - Figure 6: From biomass to charcoal:
But, during the carbonization
briquettng ————"DPearboniation process, the biomass is losing its
lignin content and thereby an
important binder for briquetting
Charcoal is a material totally
lacking plasticity and hence needs
addition of a sticking or
agglomerating material to enable a
arboniztion briqueting briquette to be formed. The binder
——— should preferably be combustible,
though a non-combustible binder
effective at ow concentrations can
be suitable,
biomass / raw mater charcoal
Figure 3: From biomass to charcoal [own illustration}
Further information:
= “Charcoal Production from Altemative Feedstocks’ by NL Agency (2013) provides a good overview on charcoal
production technologies, on carbonization of biomass and suitable binders including the description of three
supply chains presented as case studies, Download the publication here
{(http://english. vo.nl/sites/defaultfiles/2013/1 1/Charcoal_production_from_alternative_feedstocks_-
_dune_2013.paf) .
= Altemative Charcoal Tool (ACT)
Briquetting Technologies
Industrial methods of briquetting date back to the second part the the 19th century. Since then there has been
widespread use of briquettes made from brown coal, peat and coal fines. The briquetting of organic materials requires
higher pressure as additional force is needed to overcome the natural springiness of these materials. Essentially, this
involves the destruction of the cell walls through some combination of pressure and heat. The following
overview presents the most common machines used for briquetting biomass.
Piston Presses
In piston presses, pressure is applied discontinuously by the action of a piston on material packed into a cylinder. They
‘may have a mechanical coupling and fly wheel or utilize hydraulic action on the piston. The incoming raw material is
pressed against the compacted material inside the pressing tube and leaves the die in the rhythm of the piston action.
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production aiatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
Through pressure and friction forces inside the pressing tube, the material is strongly heated and cooling mechanisms
might be considered, To produce briquettes with high density (up to 1.25 g/m3) the raw material eventually needs to be
milled (less than 10 mm) and dried (<15% of water content) before briquetting, The capacity of piston presses depends
both on the diameter of the die and the pretreatment of the raw material,
‘The capacity spectrum of piston presses range from only 25 up to 1800 kg/hr, Their typical specific energy use requires
between 50 and 70 Whit
Figure 4.1: Piston Presses!) Figure 42: Piston Presses!)
Screw Compaction or Extrusion
The aim of compaction using an extruder is to bring the smaller particles closer so that the forces acting between them
become stronger, providing more strength the densified bulk material. During extrusion, the material moves from the
feed port, with the help of a rotating screw, through the barrel and against a die, resulting in significant pressure
gradient and friction due to biomass shearing. The combined effects of wall friction at the barrel, internal friction in the
material, and high rotational speed of the screw, increase the temperature in the closed system and heat the biomass,
This heated biomass is forced through the extrusion die to form the briquettes with the required shape. If the heat
generated within the system is not sufficient for the material to reach a pseudo-plastic state for smooth extrusion,
external heat might be added. In principle, screw presses reach slightly higher compaction but lower capacity (tons per
hour) when compared to piston presses.
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production ansantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
Figure 5.1: Screw Press!7 Figure 52:Screw Press!)
Pan Grinder Presses for Pelletizing
Pellets are the result of a process which is closely related to the briquetting processes described above. The main
difference is that the dies have smaller diameters and each machine has a number of dies arranged as holes bored in a
thick stee! disk or ring. The material is forced into the dies by means of rollers moving over the surface on which the
raw material is distributed. The pressure is built up by the compression of this layer of material as the roller moves
perpendicular to the centerline of the dies. Thus the main force applied results in shear stresses in the material. The
pellets will still be hot when leaving the dies, where they are cut to lengths normally about one or two times the
diameter. Successful operation demands that a rather elaborate cooling system is arranged after the densification
process,
‘There are two main types of pellet presses: flat and ring types. The flat die type has a circular perforated disk on which
rollers rotate whereas the ring die press features a rotating perforated ring on which rollers press on the inner perimeter.
The output of pellet presses range from about 200 kg/hr up to 8 tonvhr. Their specific energy consumption is reported to
be around 1,5% of the energy content of the final peletts!®l,
Figure 6.1: Pan Grindor!®! Figure 6.2: Pan Grinder!*!
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production siasantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
Manual
For sure the simplest way to produce small briquettes is hand-shaped briquettes: a slurry of biomass in water is left
soaking for some days to enhance binding properties, The pulp is either squeezed by hand or pressed into a mould e.g.
an ice-cube tray, Rearranged fibres assisted by a binder ike paper pulp keep the briquette in shape during drying and
use, A part of hand-shaped briquettes there are plenty of small manual briquetting machines which were developed by
different producers and scientists all over the world. A very good overview on existing low cost briquetting machines,
from perforated bottles to wooden lever presses, can be found in the manual *Micro-gasification: Cooking with gas from
biomass” by Christa Roth (2011)!
= Biomass Motte Biomass Presses
Figure 7.1:Biomass Molds (Examples of low cost Figure 72: Biomass Presses (Examples of low cost
briquetting machines)!" briquetting machines)!**!
However, it remains unclear, whether any manual densification process can ever be commercially viable even in
circumstances where labour is very cheap. Considering their very low throughput, such techniques often require almost
‘as much capital investment as the mechanical processes. The savings achieved are essentially a labour for electricity
substitution rather than labour for capital
Roller Presses
Densification of biomass using roller presses works on the principle of pressure and agglomeration, where pressure is
applied between two counter-rotating rolls. Ground biomass, when forced through the gap between the two rollers, is
pressed into a die, or small pockets, forming the densified product. Roller presses are considered the world standard
technology to produce ovoid (pillow-shaped) charcoal briquettes from a variely of biomass types. In a roller press, a
mixture of charcoal and binder is fed to the tangential pockets of two rollers to produce briquettes. The smooth
production of charcoal briquettes using this technology requires high-quality rollers with smooth surfaces on which the
briquettes are shaped. The type of roller determines the shape of the briquettes. Currently, roll presses available in
developed countries have production capacities of 1 thr and more. The 1 tonne/hr capacity press with controlled
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production anssantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
feeding device costs about $ 320,000, Much cheaper roller-type charcoal briquetting machines can be sourced in India
and China: Seboka (2009) indicates that a roller press with a capacity of 1.5 tonnelhr costing $ 19,000 can be found in
Indial"21
Figure &: Roller Presses!®
Agglomeration
‘Agglomeration is a method of increasing particle size by gluing powder particles together. Usually the equipment
consists of a rotating volume that is filled with balls of varying sizes and fed with powder and often a binder. The
rotation of the agglomerator results in centrifugal, gravitational and frictional forces from the smooth rolling balls. Thes
forces, together with inertial forces, press the balls against the powder, helping them to stick together and grow, NL
Agency] reports applied agglomeration technology in small-scale briquetting processes in several developing
countries. The charcoal is milled to powder, binders are added, the components are mixed together, and the mix is then
agglomerated, Agglomerated charcoal briquettes are produced using a motor-driven agglomerator, the typical nominal
capacity of which is 25-50 kg/hour. Agglomerated charcoal briquettes are spherical and typically have diameters
between 20-30 mm, The briquettes can be used for household cooking as well as for fuelling industrial furnaces.
Agglomerated briquettes are said to be stronger than most other briquette types .
Figure 9.2:("“lsmall-scale agglomerator
Figure 9.1: Small-scale
agglomerator"4
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production masantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
As seen above, there are different technologies to produce densified biomass briquettes, The following table 1
‘summarizes their main characteristics.
For the right choice of an adapted machine, two main issues should be considered:
= Quantity and quality of the raw material
= Market availability of briquetting machines and spare parts
‘Table 1: Comparison of different densification eauipments!"*!:
Sczow prose Piston Press Rolle pes Pale il Agalomeaor
‘Optimum moisture content of 89% 10-18% 10-15% 10-15% No information
thera materi
Pariclesze ‘Salle Tae Lasser Seale Saale
Wear of cons par High Low High High Low
‘Ouput om machine Continous In woke Continuo Continsoae Contnanas
‘Specific energy consumption 368-150 377 2991-831 16-745 ‘No information
GWhton)
Thvoush pus Gow mH 25 0 z No formation
Density of briguet tage 1-idgent (06-07 gem 07-08 gem? 04-05 em?
Mainisnanse Low High Low Low Low
‘Combustion peformance of Very good Moderate Moderate Very goad Noinformation
brigutes
Curhonization of chareoal Maes god charcoal Not posible Naposile Netposible
yin gasifiers Su able Suitable Suitable
‘Suiubiltyfrcofring Suitable ‘Suitable Suiuble Suiuble
‘Suitability for biochemical Not uitble ‘Suitable Suitable Seiable No information
omogenciyyof denied Hemogenens Nothonogsnous Nethongenens — Homogensous — Womogeaous
biomass
‘Comparision of different densification equipments
Problems arise often if the die has not been shaped correctly or if the feeding mechanism has not been sized for the
‘material to be used. It is normal for machines made in Europe or North America to be designed to operate on wood
wastes. The use of agroresidues normally de-rates the throughput and may require some modification to the feeder.
Therefore, when searching for briquetting machines, best is finding machines which are already running with
material and under similar conditions.
Further information:
= Bhattacharya, S.C.: biomass energy and densification: A Global Review with Emphasis on Developing
Countries; Energy Program, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand gives an overview on different technologies
used for briquetting in many countries in Asia, South America and Africa.
{(http://cenbio.iee.usp.br/download/documentos/apresentacoes/swedendensificationpaperfinal.pdf)
= When searching for “briquetting" in the intemet a huge number of producers will appear. P A list of mainly
European briquetting machines sellers.
(http://www. tz-bayern.de/mam/cms08/festbrennstoffe/dat
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production
n/pelletier_briketiertechologie. pdf.)
aiasantos ‘Biomass Briquetts - Production energypectaivo
Auxiliary Equipment
‘Only in few cases will the briquetting press be the only equipment needed to set up a briquetting plant. From the
starting point, the complexity of briquetting plants increases up to the fully automated woodwaste briquetting plants in
Which the raw material is fed by a tractor into a hopper from where it is crushed, screened, stored, dryed, stored again,
{fed into the presses and transported to the product storage in fully automatic process, supervised by a couple of
operators.
Without going into details, the following text is a brief listing of a few common types of necessary auxiliary equipments
and their applications which might have to be considered as also important economical factors:
‘= Storage (rainy seasons, both the raw material and the product)
= Handling (conveyors, elevators etc.)
= Comminution (chipper, hammer mill, conditioner, mixing with binder)
= Classification (separation, cleaning)
= Drying
To demonstrate the necessary steps for charcoal briquetting of different raw materials, NL Agency (2013) created table
2 below. Charcoal dust has the shortest supply chain, only a collection and briquetting step is needed to produce
charcoal briquettes. On the contrary, the charcoal production chain based on the growing of dedicated energy crops
involves a considerable number of steps. Each step in the supply chain represents efforts, money and possible
‘complications, and this indicator shows that charcoal dust and processing residues have a logistic advantage over other
types of feedstocks,
‘Table 2: Charcoal production chain of selected feedstocks|"41:
Charcoal production chain of selected feedstocks
Costs
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production angtots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
The financial costs of briquetting are very dependent upon the nature of the project, in particular upon the raw material
used and the plant location. They depend upon a number of operating costs, including labour, maintenance, power, raw
material cost and transport etc. as well as of capital cost component. Whether or not briquetting is economic in any
given location will depend critically upon how these unit costs relate to the price of the likely substitute fuels.
Capital Costs
‘The capital costs of a plant are not always easy to establish on a consistent basis. in different circumstances there may
be different conventions about what is included in capital cost: for example, do spare parts count for capital costs or
operational cost? Is the plant a stand-alone operation or is it part of an existing agro plant and maybe existing buildings
can be used?
Probably, one of the biggest variations in plant capital costs, however, comes from the raw material to be used and the
form in which itis collected. The nature of the raw material, especially the density, influences significantly the output,
rate of briquetting machines. Most agro-residues will cause lower outputs than wood residues for the same briquetting
machine what will influence the unit capital costs. In addition, the form of the initial feed may require pretreatment
efforts before it is fed to the briquetter as such. Some wastes, for example sawdust, often need to be dried to reduce
their moisture to 15%, others like cotton stalks might be chipped or shredder before briquetting. Thirdly, there is a very
big difference between field-residues and factory-residues if the cost of the equipment to collect the residue is included
in the initial capital cost.
‘Another important aspect of capital costs are the engineering and design standards of the plant. For example, itis likely
that in a plant where little or no use is made of mechanical handling, there will be a need to have spacious buildings to
avoid problems of dust and dangerous overcrowding. Briquetting machines which are squeezed into residue-producing
Plants to utilize existing buildings may naturally have lower capital costs than briquetting plants with firm floors, proper
electrical fittings etc.
Apart of these direct production capital costs, in many countries additional costs have to be considered and can range
widely from country to country. For example credit costs or custom duties on imported machines.
Operating Costs
The first obvious operating cost is the price to be paid for the raw material. This costs are very project and site-specific.
The raw material might have a specific price when its use is competing with alternative uses. However, even if the
residue is free, it is common for a transport cost to be Incurred in bringing the residue to the briquetting plant. In the
case of briquetting plants sited at the residue production point this is avoided but for other situations the transport cost
may be a significant part of operational costs. These transport costs may be added into general labour costs if full time
drivers are employed but certainly a more common situation is to hire appropriate transport for a given period of
collecting the raw material
‘The labour costs of a briquetting plant are in general very dependent upon plant design: are there any significant
residue collection activities; the wage rate of various categories of labour employed (collecting, loading, maintenance,
‘supervision etc.); and the extent to which the unit is integrated with a larger factory which can supply some labour
needs on a part-time basis and cover administration costs, However, S. Eriksson and M. Prior! results that despite the
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production siatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
wide variations in labour costs, briquetting as such is not labour intensive relative to the unit capital costs and the cost
of maintenance, power and other consumables. Labour costs seldom exceed 15% of the total and are usually much
less,
Maintenance costs can be a significant element of briquette production costs and one that is often underestimated in
Planning plants. Especially when briquetting machines are working on abrasive materials, such as rice-husks or
charcoal, the maintenance cost can be quite high particularly for pan grinder for pelletizing, screw presses and piston
presses. It is a factor which may place a continuing reliance on imported spare-parts or in the need to employ virtually
an operative on building up spare parts.
Except of manual driven briquetting machines, all other types of briquetting machines require a certain power supply.
There is no reason why plants in remote areas should not use diesel generators or use direct drive from diesel or steam
engines. But in most cases the briquetting machines are connected to the main electrical power supply: depending on
the size and output rate of the machine whether single phase 220V or 3 phases 400V supply is necessary. The specific
requirements and consumption of each machine has to be considered in an early state of planning and to be adapted to
local circumstances,
Other costs which might have to be considered when operating a briquetting plant are: taxes, insurance, consumables
such as lubricating oll, packaging etc.
Box: Comparison between pelleting and briquetting!*!
Briquette processing is more efficient than pelleting because the biomass materials do not necessarily
have to be preprocessed or uniformly ground up, which results in less preparation. Another advantage
of briquetting is it can be set onsite. Briquetting waste byproducts and reusing them onsite for energy
rather than transporting them to another location or to a landfill can save on disposal costs. Briquetting
generally use less horsepower. From the investment point of view, the purchase capital and
maintenance costs to make briquettes are less than for pellets. If transportation is one of the main
criteria, pellets are more advantageous because there are more pounds per foot than briquettes. This
is especially true if the briquettes are larger because it allows for more air between them when they
are stacked.
To keep in mind!
= Densification essentially involves two parts: the compaction under pressure of loose material to
reduce its volume and to agglomerate the material so that the product remains in the
compressed state.
= An internal or extemal binding agent is necessary to prevent the compressed material from
springing back and eventually retuming to its original form. The lack of inherent binders is the
main difference when comparing charcoal with biomass briquetting.
hipevenergypeda infalwikiBlomaes riquettes_- Production anatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
= The main presses for briquetting are piston and screw presses; for pelletizing pan grinder
presses are most common; to produce charcoal normally roller presses or agglomerators are
used.
‘= The quality and the quantity of the raw material as well as the market availability are the main
factors for the choice of the adapted technology.
= Often, briquetting is not a stand-alone process. Different pretreatments might be considered:
storage, handling, drying, and sizing,
= Capital costs for different investments and operating costs (such as labour, maintenance, raw
material etc.) determine the production costs of briquettes.
= The economic viability of briquetting plants depends crucially on whether or not these factory
costs are comparable or less than the prices of the main competitive fuel
Further Information
= Altemative Charcoal Tool (ACT)
+ Biomass Briquettes ~ Production and Marketing
= Biomass Briquettes - Marketing
= Biomass portal on energypedia
= The Charcoal Project (http://www.thecharcoalproject. com/home. php)
= Harvest Fuel Initiative (http://www harvestfuel.org/)
References
1. 1 Advertising slogan of the briquetting company Di piu; www.di-piu.com
2. 1 The original German version: Kaltschmitt, M.; Hartmann, H. und Hofbauer, H. (2009): Energie aus Biomasse.
Grundlagen, Techniken und Verfahren; Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001, 2009, korrigierter Nachdruck
2009
3. 1 Picture : Grover, S.D. and Mishra S.K. (1996): Biomass Brigetting: Technology and Practices; FAO Regional
Wood Energy Development Programme in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand (1996)
4, +4944 picture : Jaya Shankar Tumuluru et al. (2010): A Review on Biomass Densification Technologies for
Energy Application; Idaho national laboratory; 2010
5. 1 Kaltschmitt, M.; Hartmann, H. und Hofbauer, H. (2009): Energie aus Biomasse. Grundlagen, Techniken und
Verfahren; Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001, 2009, korrigierter Nachdruck 2009
6. 1906.1 6.2.8.3 64 Picture: The original German version: Kaltschmitt, M.; Hartmann, H. and Hofbauer, H. (2009)
Energie aus Biomasse. Grundlagen, Techniken und Verfahren; Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001, 2009,
korrigiorter Nachdruck 2009
7. 1 Picture : http:/Iwww.soi-wide.ad jp/class/20070041/slides/03/index_12.html
8, 1&9 8182 Picture; Eriksson, S. and Prior, M. (1990): The briquetting of agricultural wastes for fuel, FAO
Environment and Energy Paper 11, FAO of the UN, Rome, 1990
9. 1 hitps://energypedia.info/wiki/File:Micro_Gasification_Cooking_with_gas_from_biomass.pdf
10. + Pictures: http://home.fuse.net/engineering!
11. + Pictures: http://home.fuse.net/engineering!
12. 1 Seboka, Y. (2009): Charcoal Production: Opportunities and Barriers for Improving Efficiency and
hitpevenersypeda infalwikiBlomats riquettes_- Production wanatots Biomass Briquties- Production enereypedtainfo
Sustainability. In: Bio-carbon Opportunities in Eastern & Southem Africa, UNDP, 2009
13. t NL Agency (2013): Charcoal Production from Altemative Feedstocks; final version 2013
14, + 140 14.1 142 picture: NL Agency (2013): Charcoal Production from Aitemative Feedstocks; final version 2013
18. 1 Jaya Shankar Tumuluru et al. (2010): A Review on Biomass Densification Technologies for Energy
Application; Idaho national laboratory; 2010
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