Fuel briquettes are a form of preparation of various agricultural and wood wastes for use as fuel. Among the wood wastes can be used sawdust, chips, chips, among agricultural waste-straw, husks, corn), can also be used manure, peat, charcoal.
At the heart of the technology of production of fuel briquettes is the process of pressing finely chopped agricultural waste and wood processing under high pressure. For this purpose, mechanical presses of various designs can be used. The resulting fuel briquettes may include binders - manure and lignin contained in the cells of plant waste. Fuel briquettes are used as solid fuel for furnaces of all types, including solid fuel boilers of heating systems.
The purpose of the technology: since briquettes environmentally friendly product and burn virtually smokeless, ideal to use for home heating, baths, tents, greenhouses, etc. Use of briquettes allows to use agricultural waste to reduce the consumption of wood and charcoal for energy purposes. Production of briquettes allows to provide inhabitants of the village cheaper and more environmentally friendly, than coal fuel for heating and cooking
The training video, shot in the framework of the CAMP4ASB project, shows the technology of cooking fuel briquettes with a simple manual press, which can be made at home on their own.
Traditionally, topak (dry cow "flat cakes") is used to prepare fuel for the winter in the village. Topak is a deficit, as it is used as a fertilizer. Coal is actively used by villagers for heating and cooking, but it is very expensive. At the same time, there is agricultural waste that can be used for fuel. Vegetable waste, agricultural waste, leaves and sawdust, dried manure is an excellent fuel. For their use it is possible to make fuel briquettes.
For the preparation of briquettes, a mixture of 30% manure, 30% coal dust and 30% agricultural waste is used. The simplest press for the manufacture of fuel briquettes, made of wooden bars, has a manual lever and a pressing mechanism inside the metal cylinder. In this case, a manual press is used, the design of which is available on the Internet. With the help of a manual press, fuel briquettes are made from the mixture, which are then subjected to forced drying — the mandatory stage of their production.
Due to the low humidity of briquettes, a higher combustion temperature is achieved than that of wood: at a humidity of 20%, the calorific value of wood is 2500-2700 kcal/kg, briquettes are 4500-4900 kcal/kg. Another advantage of briquettes is their significantly lower cost compared to coal or wood.
In addition to environmental benefits, such as reduced coal consumption, reduced CO2 emissions, disposal of agricultural waste, reduced felling of trees and shrubs, the development of briquetting can also bring local economic benefits. Production of briquettes in a number of villages becomes a small "energy" business , as briquettes are in great demand among the villagers and reduce the costs of families and communities for energy. The use of briquettes also brings tangible benefits in the context of climate change - reducing dependence on traditional energy sources, diversifying the local energy market, reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the household level.