FOT325:FOOD INDUSTRY WASTE MANAGEMENT
Lecture 15
Utilization of food industry waste for Non food application:
Composting and Briquetting
By
Dr. Manmath Sontakke
Assistant Professor
Lovely Professional University
What is Compost?
• Composting is the natural process of
decomposition and recycling of organic
material into a humus rich soil amendment
known as compost.
• Composting can be defined as “the biological
degradation of organic materials under aerobic
conditions into relatively stable products,
brought about by the action of a variety of
microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, and
protozoa”.
• E.g. Food Processing industry producing food waste, this organic
material can be easily decomposed into high quality compost for
soil enrichment
Food Waste as compost agent
• Food waste has unique properties as a raw compost agent.
• Because it has a high moisture content and low physical
structure, it is important to mix fresh food waste with a
bulking agent that will absorb some of the excess moisture
as well as add structure to the mix.
• Bulking agents with a high C:N ratio, such as sawdust and
yard waste, are good choices
Mechanism of Composting
The process of composting may be divided into two main
stages: stabilization and maturation
1. Stabilization
• During stabilization, three phases may be distinguished:
1. Phase of rising temperature,
2. Mesophilic phase where the temperature gradually
decreases to ambient.
3. Thermophilic phase where high temperature is maintained,
and,
• During the first phase, a vigorous multiplication of mesophilic
bacteria is observed, and a transformation of easily oxidized
carbon compounds, rich in energy, to compounds of lower
molecular structure takes place.
• Excess energy results in a rapid rise in temperature and leads
to the thermophilic phase when less easily degraded organic
compounds are attacked.
Cont..
• When the energy source is depleted the temperature
decreases gradually to ambient.
• Actinomycetes and fungi become active in the mesophilic
phase, during which biological degradation of the remaining
organic compounds is slowly continued.
• At this stage the composting material is stabilized but not yet
matured.
2. Maturation
• During maturation, mineralization of organic matter
continues at a relatively slow rate until a carbon : nitrogen (C :
N) ratio of 10 : 1 is reached and the volatile matter content
falls below 50%.
• Only then is the compost completely matured.
What is Briquetting?
• The process of compaction of
residues into a product of
higher density than the
original raw material is
known as densification or
briquetting.
• Briquetting of biomass is a densification process which
improves the handling characteristics of the biomass,
enhances its volumetric, calorific value, and reduces the
transportation cost.
Briquetting of agro waste
• Briquetting is one of the compaction
methods for densification of waste
materials and converts them into something
useful.
• Some of the raw materials used in preparing
Briquetting
Briquetting are compressed in particular
briquette press machine to generate a
uniform shaped briquette that can be used
to ignite a fire and generate energy.
• The briquettes arranged to come in
different shape and size depending on the
application for which it is to be used
Raw material for Briquetting
• The raw materials suitable for Briquetting are rice straws,
wheat straws, cotton stalks, corn stalks, sugar cane waste or
baggage, fruit branches, etc.
• However, in the recommended complex cotton stalks and fruit
branches are best utilized by Briquetting.
Briquetting process
• The Briquetting process starts with the
collection of wastes followed by size
reduction, drying, and compaction by an
extruder or by the press.
• The idea of Briquetting is using raw
materials that are not usable due to a lack
of density, compressing them into a solid
fuel of a convenient shape that can be
burned like wood or charcoal.
• The briquettes have improved physical
and combustion characteristics than the
initial waste.
• Briquettes will develop combustion
efficiency using the existing traditional
furnaces
Hydraulic piston press briquetting technology
Rice waste Briquetting
• Rice husk briquette is a very much popular fuel alternative to
wood fuel.
• Rice husk materials were briquetted with screw type
briquetting machine with electric heater.
• Rice straws were compressed with piston-mold between
heating plates, and solid fuel briquette from rice straw was
obtained
Manufacturing of rice waste Briquettes
• Rice straws were collected from agricultural areas and
dried outside up to a moisture content of 9%.
• Dried materials were milled in hammer mill with screen
opening size of 6 mm with the aim of making them in
suitable sizes for briquetting process.
• Then, materials were briquetted in briquetting machine
without binding material.
Cont…
• Therefore, before the briquetting process, the die was heated
to approximately 300°C, and then, the briquetting machine
was started.
• Materials were manually loaded to the hopper on the
briquetting machine, and the loading process was periodically
repeated during briquetting process.
• At the end of the briquetting process, 56 mm diameter
cylindrical briquettes with a central hole of 25 mm and the
outer surface partially carbonized due to heating system were
obtained
Uses for Briquettes
The most frequent applications for this type of fuel
are of both a domestic and industrial nature; from
fireplaces or stoves to boilers generating hot water
and steam.
Tea industries, wine distilleries, textile industries,
and farms are the major sectors using briquettes.
Briquettes are also used in gasification process for
electricity production
Advantages of agro residual briquettes
The process increase the net calorific value of
material per unit volume
End product is easy to transport and store
The fuel produced is uniform in size and quality
Helps solve the problem of residue disposal
Helps to reduce deforestation by providing a
substitute for fuel wood.
The process reduce/eliminates the possibility of
spontaneous combustion waste
The process reduces biodegradation of residues
