See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/236846135

BIOMASS CHARCOAL BRIQUETTING Technology For Alternative Energy Based

Income Generation In Rural Areas

Book · December 2010

CITATIONS READS

24 10,610

2 authors:

Sugumaran Pachaiyappan Sundaram Seshadri

Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre ITFR - Indigenous and Frontier Technology Research Centre, Chennai, India
13 PUBLICATIONS   783 CITATIONS    78 PUBLICATIONS   2,249 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Microbial inoculants View project

Bio-char Production View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Sugumaran Pachaiyappan on 22 May 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Booklet on

BIOMASS CHARCOAL
BRIQUETTING
Technology For Alternative Energy Based
Income Generation In Rural Areas

Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre

Taramani, Chennai –600113.
December 2010
Title : BIOMASS CHARCOAL BRIQUETTING
Technology for Alternative Energy Based
Income Generation In Rural Areas

Authors : Dr. P. Sugumaran, Programme Officer

Dr. S. Seshadri, Director (R & D)
Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre,
Taramani, Chennai 600 113.
Email : energy@mcrc.murugappa.org
Web : amm-mcrc.org

Financial Support : DST-Core support Programme
SEED Division - SP/RD/044/2007
Department of Science and Technology (DST)
Ministry of Science & Technology,
Block-2, 7th Floor C.G.O Complex,
Lodi Road, New Delhi- 110 003.

Publisher : Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre,
Taramani, Chennai 600 113.
Email : energy@mcrc.murugappa.org
Web : amm-mcrc.org
Phone : 044-22430937; Fax: 044-22430369

Printed by : J R Designing, Printing and Advertisement

Solutions, Palavakkam, Chennai - 600 041.
Ph. +91-9962391748
Email : info.jrdp@gmail.com

Year of Publishing : December 2010

 Contents

I. Introduction 2
a. What is charcoal? 5
b. How it is prepared? 5
c. What is biomass charcoal briquetting? 5
II. Biomass charcoal briquette production 6
III. Materials and methods 6
IV. Materials required 6
4.1. Biomass collection 7
4.2. Carbonization of biomass 7
4.2.1 Fabrication of Charcoal kiln 7
4.2.2 Carbonization process 9
4.2.3 Char yield 10
4.3. Binder preparations and mixing 10
4.4. Fabrication of Briquetting machine 11
4.5. Briquetting 13
4.6. Drying, Packing and marketing 13
4.8. Biomass Briquettes used as alternative fuel 13
V. Capital investments 13
VI. Cost benefit analysis 14
VII. Who will get benefited 14
VIII. Advantages of the technology 15
IX. Charcoal Uses 15
X. Technology Transfer 16

2
 Biomass charcoal briquetting -
An alternative energy based income generation by rural people
I. Introduction
World economy is dominated by technologies that rely on fossil energy
(petroleum, coal, natural gas) to produce fuels, power, chemicals and ma-
terials. While the use of conventional energy like oil, coal and electricity
has increased enormously in the last 25 years in ASEAN economies, In-
dia still imports crude oil & petroleum over 111.92 million tones per year.
This heavy dependence on imported oil leads to economic and social
uncertainties. Currently there is a strong worldwide interest in the devel-
opment of technologies that allow the exploitation of renewable energy
sources, both for environmental (release of pollutants and fossil reserves
depletion) and economical reasons.
Biomass, a domestic energy source is naturally abundant and presents
promising renewable energy opportunity that could provide an alterna-
tive to the use of fossil resources. Biomass being the third largest primary
energy resource in the world, after coal and oil (Bapat et al., 1997), it
still meets a major fraction of the energy demand in rural areas of most
developing countries. In all its forms, biomass currently provides about
1250 million tonnes oil equivalent (mtoe) of primary energy which is
about 14% of the world’s annual energy consumption (Hall et al., 1991;
Werther et al., 2000]. The use of biomass feedstock(s) for the substitution
of fossil fuel(s) has an additional importance from climate change con-
sideration since biomass has the potential to be CO2 neutral. A number of
research and development efforts towards the conversion of raw biomass
feed stocks into improved quality fuels (solid, liquid or gas) through bio-
logical and thermo-chemical conversion processes have been made glob-
ally in the last three decades.
The decreasing availability of fuel wood in most of the developing coun-
tries has necessitated the efforts be made towards efficient utilization of
agricultural residues (Grover and Mishra, 1996; Tripathi et al., 1998).
Raw agricultural residues have many disadvantages as an energy feed-
stock (Balatinecz, 1983). These include (i) relatively low calorific value,
(ii) difficulty in controlling the rate of burning, (iii) difficulty in mecha-
3
nizing continuous feeding (iv) large volume or area required for storage,
and (v), problems in its transportation and distribution. Several of these
disadvantages may be attributed to the low bulk density of agricultural
residues which can be converted into high density fuel briquettes (Bio-
mass charcoal briquettes). Charcoal is a premium fuel widely used in
many developing countries to meet household as well as a variety of
other need (Goldstein, 1981; Demirbas, 2001). Recent improvements in
technology for charcoal briquettes production with increased efficiency
has renewed the interest in the use of charcoal briquettes as a fuel that can
be easily stored and transported (Sugumaran and Seshadri, 2009).
Agricultural residues constitute one of the important biomass feed
stocks in India. In general the agricultural residues can be divided into
two groups; crop residues and agro-industrial residues. The major crop
residues produced in India are straws of paddy, wheat, millet, sorghum,
pulses, oil seed crops; maize stalks and cobs; cotton and mustard stalk;
jute sticks; sugarcane trash; leaves; fibrous materials; roots; branches and
twigs with of sizes, shapes, forms and densities. The agro-industrial resi-
dues are rice husk, groundnut shell, cotton waste, coconut shell, coir pith,
tamarind shell, mustard husk, coffee husk, Cassava peel etc. Some of
the common agricultural by-products available in large quantities include
bagasse, rice husk, groundnut shell, tea waste, Casuarina leaf litter, silk
cotton shell, cotton waste, oil palm fiber and shells, cashew nut shell,
coconut shell, coir pith (Iyer et al., 2002; Sugumaran and Seshadri, 2009)
etc.
MCRC working on several technologies has developed and expertise in
biomass charcoal briquetting technology over the past few years. This
technology can prove to be one among the solutions for supplementing
the fuel requirements and socio-economic development of the rural areas
by providing employment to rural people. It is cost effective, environ-
ment friendly and improve our air quality, and support rural economies.
At the same time, the natural forest would also be saved. Bio-char pro-
duction programme could lead to establishment of new small employ-
ment oriented businesses in rural areas and raising the income of people
engaged in such activities.

4
a. What is charcoal?
Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by
removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegeta-
tion substances.
b. How it is prepared?
Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood,
bone char, or other agricultural substances in the absence of oxygen en-
vironment at 450° - 510° C by using either in a kiln or a continuously-fed
furnace called a retort. The resulting soft, brittle, lightweight, black, po-
rous material resembles coal and is 85% to 98% carbon with the remain-
der consisting of volatile chemicals and ash.
c. What is biomass charcoal briquetting?
Briquetting is the process of converting low bulk density biomass into
high density and energy concentrated fuel briquettes.

5
II. Biomass charcoal briquette production
The biomass charcoal briquetting technology developed at MCRC uses
a modified kiln and a briquetting machine that can be fabricated locally
to produce Bio-char from various biomass samples. The technology in-
volves use of a cost effective binder to prepare the briquettes.
III. Materials and methods
Briquetting process
Biomass collection

Drying

Carbonization

Preparation of Char powder

Binder preparation & Mixing

Briquettes production

Drying & Packing

Marketing

Materials required
1. Biomass waste - Agricultural, industrial or forest
2. Charcoal kiln / drum (150 cm x 100 cm)
3. Briquetting machine (15kg / hr)
4. Binding materials (eg.starch or cassava flour)
6
4.1. Biomass collection
Collect different type of waste biomass such as paddy, wheat, millet, sor-
ghum, pulses, oil seed crops; maize stalks and cobs; cotton and mustard
stalk; jute sticks; sugarcane trash; leaves or industrial wastes such as rice
husk, groundnut shell, cotton waste, coconut shell, coir pith, tamarind
shell, mustard husk, coffee husk, Cassava peel, bagasse, tea waste, Ca-
suarina leaf litter, silk cotton shell, cotton waste, oil palm fiber and shells,
cashew nut shell, coconut shell, coir pith or commonly available plants
like Prosopis twigs, Ipomoea stem, Lantana camara stem, coconut fronds,
Eucalyptus leaves and dry under sunlight.
4.2. Carbonization of biomass
4.2.1 Fabrication of Charcoal kiln
The large size-charring kiln or drum is a portable cylindrical structure
with the top cut out to place the chimney. The drum size is about 100 cm
height and 150 cm width made up of 16 gauge iron sheets. In the lower
side, two fire ports with a door (12” height x 20” width) are provided.
Above the firing portion an iron perforated sheet with holes is fixed. The
bottom side of the drum is closed with iron sheets and provided with 4
legs (see the schematic diagram).

7
8
Advantages of the kiln
Easy to operate and maintain; easily viewable during carbonization;
higher char yield & lesser time of operation; Cost effective; Saves extra
biomass
4.2.2 Carbonization process
Separate the biomass
into stems, leaves and
fruits and cut them into
short pieces. Use each
wastes separately for
carbonization.
For carbonization,
loosely pack the collect-
ed biomass into the kiln.
The kiln will accommo-
date ~ 100kg dry bio-
mass. After loading the
biomass into the kiln,
close the top of the kiln
with metal lid attached
to a conical chimney.
Use little amount of
biomass in the firing
portion to ignite in the
kiln and close the doors
tightly to start the pyrol-
ysis process. In the ab-
sence of air, the burning
process is slow and the
fire slowly spreads to
the biomass through the
holes in the perforated
sheets.

9
4.2.3 Char yield
After the biomass gets fully carbonized (~ 1-2 hrs; depending upon the
biomass), remove the lid and sprinkle water over the char. Use the resul-
tant char powder for preparation of briquettes. Though the carbonization
process produces @ 30-45% char powder on an average, the char yield
varies according to the biomass used.

4.3. Binder preparations and mixing

A binder is used for strengthening the briquettes. The carbonized char
powder can be mixed with different binders such as commercial starch,
rice powder, rice starch (rice boiled water) and other cost effective mate-
rials like clay soil and mixed in different proportions and shaped with the
help of briquetting
machine.
For preparation of
binding material add
starch to water in the
ratio of 10:1 and al-
low it to disperse Binder preparation Charcoal powder
without any clumps.
Then heat the solu-
tion for 10 minutes
and do not allow it to
boil (the final stage
can be identified by
Binder mixing
the stickiness of the Solution adding

10
solution). After boiling, pour the the liquid solution onto the char powder
and mix to ensure that every particle of carbonized char is coated with
the binder. This process enhances charcoal adhesion and produce identi-
cal briquettes.
4.4. Fabrication of Briquetting machine
A meat mincer mould (Model No.32) along with a 1HP electric motor fit-
ted appropriately is used as a briquetting mould. The briquetting machine
is divided into two different portions such as lower and upper portions.

The lower portion is fitted with a 1HP single-phase electric motor fixed
on a flat platform. The upper portion has the briquetting mould (model no
32, cylindrical type; 10kg/hr) fixed on to a wooden plate placed 1ft. above
the lower platform. Both the plates are fixed on iron angles and covered
fully using stainless
steel sheets. The
motor and the bri-
quetting mould are
connected using a
wheel and V-belt.
To control the mo-
tor, a power indica-
tor and a 5 Amps
switch were provid-
ed in the front side
of the briquetting
machine (see the
schematic diagram).
11
12
4.5. Briquetting
The charcoal mixture with binder can be made into briquettes either man-
ually or using machines. For the mechanical operation, load the mixture
directly into the briquetting mould / machine to form uniform-sized cy-
lindrical briquettes.
4.6. Drying, Packing and mar-
keting
Collect the briquettes in a tray, dry
them in sunlight for 2 or 3 days and
pack them in sealed plastic bags for
sale.
4.8. Biomass Briquettes used as
alternative fuel
Charcoal briquettes can be used
as fuel in rural houses for cook-
ing, laundering and in boilers in
teashops and Ttandoor Chulhas in
small hotels.
Cooking tests conducted using
a non-pressurized cooker (Sarai
cooker, ARTI) shows that 200-250 g of briquettes is enough to cook food
in about 45 - 60 minutes. The heat was stable for 2 hours. Feedback sur-
vey conducted at Thiruvidanthai, Kovalam, Mahabalipuram and nearby
villages in Tamilnadu indicate that the biomass charcoal briquettes shows
higher energy, quick heating in less time with less smoke and comparable
to the wood charcoal.
V. Capital investments
1. Charcoal kiln with chimney 1nos. ~ Rs.20,000/-
(Size: 150cm width x 100cm height)
2. Briquetting machine 1no - ~ Rs.20,000/-
(Model: prototype, 1hp motor, 10kg/hr)
Total investment maximum Rs. 40,000/- only
13
VI. Cost benefit analysis

VII. Who will get benefited

• Un-employed people in rural areas
• Self help groups (SHGs)- men & women’s
• Farmers
• Rural enterprises
14
VIII. Advantages of the technology
1. Smokeless: The charcoal briquettes burn without much smoke during
ignition and burning.
2. Low Ash content: Minimum residual ash formed is less than 5% of the
original weight of the charcoal.
3. Calorific value: ~ 6243.58Kcal/Kg (wood charcoal - 6592.52 Kcal/
Kg).
4. Odourless: Contains minimum evaporative substances thus eliminat-
ing the possibility of odour.
5. Sparkless: No sparks are produced like wood charcoal.
6. Less crack & better strength: Helps burn for a longer time.

IX. Charcoal Uses

15
X. Technology Transfer
The technology on Biomass charcoal briquettes production can be trans-
ferred to unemployed people in rural areas and rural entrepreneurs.
MCRC can provide necessary assistance in setting-up of a Biomass char-
coal briquettes production facility. However, the end user should under-
take market study at their own cost and establish their own market.

For More Information, Contact:

Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre (MCRC)
Taramani, Chennai 600113 Fax : +91-44-22430369
Email: energy@mcrc.murugappa.org
Web : www.amm-mcrc.org

References
1. Antal MJ, Grønli M. The art, science, and technology of charcoal
production. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2003; 42:1619-1640.
2. Balatinecz JJ. The potential of densification in biomass utilization. In:
Cote WA, editor. Biomass utilization. London: Plenum Press; 1983. p.
181–9.
3. Bapat DW, Kulkarni SV, Bhandarkar VP. Design and operating expe-
rience on fluidized bed boiler burning biomass fuels with high alkali
ash. In: Preto FDS, editor. Proceedings of the 14th international con-
ference on fluidized bed combustion,Vancouver ASME, New York,
NY, 1997. p. 165–74.
4. Bard E. Extending the Calibrated Radiocarbon Record. Science, 2001;
292: 2443-2444.
5. Budavari S. Merck Index. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck. 1996;1316.
6. Elmenhorst WR. Kiln for drying and revivifying bone black. US Pat-
ent. 1880;235: 942
16
7. Grover PD, Mishra SK. Biomass briquetting technology and practic-
es. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Document, No. 46;
1996.
8. Hall DO, Rosillo-Calle F, Woods J. Biomass, its importance in balanc-
ing CO2 budgets. In: Grassi G, Collina A, Zibetta H, editors. Biomass
for energy, industry and environment, 6th E.C. conference Elsevier
Science, London, 1991. p. 89–96.
9. Smisek M, Cerny S. Active Carbon Manufacture, Properties and
Applications, Elsevier Pub., Comp., New York. 1970; 562-563.
10. Sugumaran P, Seshadri S. Evaluation of selected biomass for charcoal
production. J.Sci.Indu.Res. 2009; 68(8): 719-723.
11. Tripathi AK, Iyer PVR, Kandpal TC. A techno-economic evalua-
tion of biomass briquetting in India. Biomass Bioenergy 1998;14(5–
6):479–88.
12. Werther J, Saenger M, Hartge E-U, Ogada T, Siagi Z. Combustion of
agricultural residues. Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 2000; 26(1):1–27.

17
Photographs

18
Training programme photos

19
20
 For More Information, Contact:
Shri AMM Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre (MCRC)
Taramani, Chennai - 600113. Fax : +91-44-22430369
Email : energy@mcrc.murugappa.org
Web : www.amm-mcrc.org

View publication stats