BRIQUETTING
TOTAL ANNUAL AVAILABILITY OF
AGRICULURAL WASTE
Sr. Source In Million Tonnes
No.
1. Crop and agro-processing residues 577.46
2. Road side waste 10.74
3. Waste from Waste lands 27.12
4. Forest waste 157.18
5. Dung – livestock 267.76
6. Poultry droppings 4.81
7. Fisheries waste 5.00
Total 1050.07
Out of the annual production of about 577.46 MT crop and agro-
processing residues about 100-125 MT are available as surplus.
PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES
AND ASSOCIATED RESIDUES
CROP PRODUCTION RESIDUE
(1000 tonnes) (1000 tonnes)
Rice 48,470 77,984
wheat 28,486 50,480
maize 7,256 8,707
Cotton 1,012 3,036
Jute 755 1,510
Barley 3,192 4,788
Sugar cane 1,40,604 28,121
Others 36,157 28,926
BRIQUETTING
Briquetting is a technology for densification of biomass / crop
residues to increase its bulk density, lower moisture contents,
make briquettes of uniform size and shape for easy handling,
transport and storage.
It also helps in uniform burning when used as fuel
Briquette replaces traditional fuel wood and kerosene both in
domestic use and in small scale industries in developing
countries
DISADVANTAGES OF RAW BIOMASS
Relatively low heat value per unit volume
Variability of quality and heat value
Difficulty in controlling the rate of burning
Rapid burning, necessitating frequent refueling
Difficulty in mechanizing continuous feeding
Large area requirement for storage
Economic problems in transportation and distribution
Low mass and low volume energy density of biomass
Energy density
Energy density is the amount of energy stored in a given
system or region of space per unit volume or mass.
MED – Mass Energy Density is defined as the heat content
of the fuel per unit mass. The unit for mass energy density
is kJ/kg.
VED – Volume Energy Density is heat content of fuel per
unit volume. The unit for volume energy density is kJ/m3.
MASS ENERGY DENSITY (MED) AND VOLUME ENERGY
DENSITY (VED) OF BIOMASS
NEED FOR DENSIFICATION
In its natural form biomass is often an inefficient fuel
because it is bulky, wet and dispersed
Among the options for conversion of biomass into energy
intensive fuels, densification of biomass is a simple and
economic proposition
Densification yields an economically viable solution to the
storage volume, handling and transportation problems of
different types of biomass
These briquettes have proved to be an improved and
efficient fuel which burn as well as gives less smoke and
leaves low ash content
In bulk form, the density of the biomass is very low and
hence cost of transportation and storage becomes very
high and the efficiency of combustion is also low.
So upgrading of biomass is essential to economically
exploit its potential.
Upgrading may involve one or more of size reduction,
drying and densification
BENEFITS OF BIOMASS BRIQUETTES
Ready availability and renewability of biomass make
briquettes cheaper than coal
Non-fossil forms of fixed carbon are not depletable, in contrast
to fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal
Combustion of biomass briquettes is clean and nearly pollution
free because biomass does not contain sulphur. But due to
sulfur content, burning of oil and coal, pollutes the
environment
Biomass briquettes have a higher practical thermal value
and much lower ash content (2-10% as compared to 20-
40% in coal)
Low energy and capital requirements for production
No requirement for special storage facility. There is no fly
ash when burning briquettes
Consistent quality have high burning efficiency and are
ideally sized for complete combustion
Combustion is more uniform compared to coal
Produced near the consumption centres and supplies do
not depend on erratic transport from long distances
There is no flyash when burning briquettes.
BIOMASS MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR
DENSIFICATION
The main raw materials comprising of forest and agricultural
wastes are abundantly available in most parts of the country
The permissible moisture contents in the raw materials are 5-
16%. The following are the types of waste products used for
making briquetted fuel
Saw dust, sugarcane bagasse, cotton stalk, groundnut shell,
wood, Wood shavings, Sunflower husk, Paddy straw, Rice
husk, Wheat straw, Maize stalk, Cardboard waste,
Corncob, palm fruit bunch, Tobacco waste, Mustard Stalk,
Jute waste, Bamboo Dust, Tea waste, Soybeans husk, coir
pith
Other potential biomass residues suitable for
briquetting are lentil stalks, lantana camara
In hilly areas tea wastes, coffee husk
Rice husk
When compared to sawdust, agro-residues have a high
ash content, high potash content and have poor flow
characteristics
However, rice husk is an exceptional biomass. It has
good flowability, normally available with 10 percent
moisture and the ash contains fewer alkaline minerals,
thereby it has a high ash sintering temperature. In fact, it
makes an excellent fuel although its calorific value is less
than wood and other agro-residues
OTHER BIOMASS MATERIALS
Groundnut shell: Because of low ash (2-3%) and a moisture
content less than 10%, it is also an excellent material for
briquetting
Cotton sticks: This material is required to be chopped and
then stored in dry form. It has a tendency to degrade during
storage. Also, it has a high content of alkaline minerals and
needs to be used with caution
Bagasse/bagasse pith: These residues have high moisture
content of 50% after milling, hence drying is energy
intensive. They have low ash content and a correspondingly
high heating value of the order of 4400 kcal/kg
Characteristics of different crop and agro-processing
residues selected for the studies
Biomass Lignin Bulk Calorific Ash Volatile Fixed carbon
Content density value content % matter % %
% kg/m3 Kcal/kg
Rice 12.60 80.11 3730 15.50 68.30 16.20
Wheat 16.97 80.00 4150 8.00 77.30 14.70
Groundnut 31.28 165.00 4524 3.80 73.30 22.90
shell
Jatropha 11.90 106.18 3168 14.88 68.73 16.38
shell
Rice husk 17.20 235.00 3437 16.80 67.80 15.40
BAGASSE
Sugarcane 14.84 133.00 4216 3.00 82.00 15.00
Saw dust 39.00 177.00 4463 1.60 82.90 15.50
ENERGY AVAILABILITY FROM AGRICUTURAL RESIDUES
RESIDUES ENERGY CONTENT (x 109 MJ)
Rice straw 212.66
Rice husk 58.23
Sorghum stalk 4.63
S.cane Bagasse 82.00
Saw dust and shavings 0.77
Soybean stalks 1.90
Cassava stalks 39.84
Coconut husks 4.62
Coconut shell 2.91
Cotton stalk 1.37
G.Nut shell 2.03
Maize stalk 33.62
Mungbean stalk 3.94
CHARACTERISTICS OF BIOMASS RESIDUES FOR
BRIQUETTING
There are many factors to consider before a biomass qualifies for
use as feedstock for briquetting. Apart from its availability in large
quantities, it should have the following characteristics
LOW MOISTURE CONTENT
Moisture content should be as low as possible, generally in the
range of 10-15 percent
High moisture content will pose problems in grinding and
excessive energy is required for drying
Moisture Content: 8-12%
ASH CONTENT AND COMPOSITION
Biomass residues normally have much lower ash content
(except for rice husk with 20% ash) but their ashes have a
higher percentage of alkaline minerals, especially potash
These constituents have a tendency to devolatalise during
combustion and condense on tubes, especially those of super
heaters
These constituents also lower the sintering temperature of
ash, leading to ash deposition on the boilers exposed
surfaces
FLOW CHARACTERISTICS
The material should be granular and uniform so that it
can flow easily in bunkers and storage silos
GRAIN SIZE
powder or particles no more than 5×5mm
BIOMASS DENSIFICATION
The densification of biomass may be defined as
compression or compaction to remove inter and intra
particle voids. It involves compression, deformation and
self-bonding between adjacent particles of biomass
PROCESS OF BIOMASS DENSIFICATION
The mechanical energy of the drive screw is converted into
heat by means of friction and shear as the granular material
is compressed and forced through an orifice
When heated above the plastic temperature range (165 0C for
wood), the agricultural wastes loose their elasticity and are
relatively easily compressed, particle surfaces come into
intimate contact and the thermally softened lignin and other
phenolics allow the creation of adhesion between adjacent
particles
Moisture plays an important role in densification. It may help in
heat transfer and in enhancing the plasticity of the material. If
the feed stock is either too dry or too wet, pressures required
for densification increases dramatically
Normally moisture content should be in the range of 10-25 per
cent. The preheating of feed stock between 509 0C and 100 0C is
usually adequate to soften the lignin
Additional heat is generated from the mechanical work of
densification which requires 32 to 80 MJ/kg with a heat
capacity of about 1.7 J/g0C, the temperature of the
densified material is raised from 20 to 50 0C
Thus in commercial densification systems, the densified
biomass product emerges with a temperature about
1500C. The hot biomass is fragile and should be handled
carefully until cooled
The briquetting process primarily involves
Drying
Grinding
Sieving
Compacting and
Cooling
VARIOUS METHODS OF DENSIFICATION
The various processes being adopted for densification of
biomass are
Baling
Pelleting
Cubing
Briquetting and
Extrusion
Compression Baling and Roll-Compression can reduce
biomass volume to one fifth of its loose bulk. These processes
are useful for agricultural wastes and certain type of forest
biomass (eg. crops, energy plantations, logging residues)
Pelleting employs a hard steel die which is perforated
frequently placed holes of 0 to 1.3 cm in diameter. The die
rotates against inner pressure rollers, forcing the biomass
through the holes with pressure of 700 kgf/cm2. As the biomass
in extruded through the die, small dense pellets are broken off
at a specified length
Cubing is a modification of pelleting which produces larger
cylinders or cubes, 2.5 to 5.0 cm in diameter
Briquetting compacts a biomass feed stock between rollers
with cavities, producing forms like charcoal briquettes. In this
process, the raw material is pressed together at an elevated
temperature and forced through an orifice
In a pure briquetting process, the pressure and temperature
make the material bond with the help of its own lignin which act
as a binder
In some process utilizing a lower pressure or a lignin poor raw
material, a separate binding material may be added
BRIQUETTING PROCESS
The series of steps involved in the briquetting process
are
1. Collection of raw materials
2. Preparation of raw materials
3. Compaction
4. Cooling and Storage.
A scheme of a hydraulic piston press
briquetting technology
