DESIGN, FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF BIOMASS

BRIQUETTING MACHINE USING DIFFERENT BIOMASS MATERIAL

Princess Joy T. Garcia

________________________________________________________________________

THESIS OUTLINE

Republic of the Philippines

Quirino State University
Andres Bonifacio, Diffun, Quirino

MARCH, 2019
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Biomass refers to all organic matter of vegetable and / or animal origin that can be

transformed into energy. It is a renewable energy source derived from organic matter

such as wood, crop waste, or garbage. Biomass is considered a renewable

energy source because its inherent energy comes from the sun and because it can

regrow in a relatively short time. Trees take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

convert it into biomass and when they die, it is released back into the atmosphere.

Biomass generates about the same amount of carbon dioxide as fossil fuels. The use of

biomass energy has the potential to greatly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Biomass energy plays a vital role in meeting local energy demand in many regions

of the developing world. Biomass energy is more economical to produce and it provides

more energy than other energy forms. Biomass production is eight times greater than

the total annual world consumption of all other energy sources. The world production

of biomass is estimated at 146 billion metric tons a year, mostly wild plant growth.

Biomass accounts for 35% of primary energy consumption in developing countries,

raising the world total to 14% of primary energy consumption. In the future, biomass

has the potential to provide a cost-effective and sustainable supply of energy, while at

the same time aiding countries in meeting their greenhouse gas reduction targets. By

the year 2050, it is estimated that 90% of the world population will live in developing

countries.
 The Philippines, being an agricultural country where major crops like rice, coconut

and sugarcane are harvested in tons per day can generate a substantial amount of

residues that may be used as energy fuel. At present, biomass technologies utilized in

the country vary from the use of bagasse as boiler fuel for cogeneration, rice/coconut

husks dryers for crop drying, biomass gasifiers for mechanical and electrical

applications, fuel wood and agricultural wastes for oven, kiln, furnace and cook-stoves

for cooking and heating purposes. Biomass technologies represent the largest

installations in the Philippines in comparison with the other renewable energy, energy

efficiency and greenhouse gas abatement technologies.

Agricultural production in 2006 scored as follows: unhulled rice 15 million ton,

sugarcane 23 million ton, coconut 14.8 million ton. In association with the production

enormous amount of waste biomass is generated as follows: rice straw 16.9 million ton,

rice chaff 2.9 million ton, bagasse (lee of sugarcane) 5.75 million ton, and coconut shell

1.8 million ton. Region 2 contributes a great part in producing crops, it ranks first in

the country in corn (24 percent share), second in palay (14 percent) and fourth in

cassava production, but the problem is these biomass are just left in the field wasted

and unutilized.
 Government Laws in Utilization of Renewable Energy: Republic Act No. 9136,

otherwise known as the "Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001", Republic Act

No. 9513, otherwise known as the "Renewable Energy Act of 2008" Republic Act No.

9367, otherwise known as the "Biofuels Act of 2006", Republic Act No. 9729,

otherwise known as the “Climate Change Act of 2009”.

B. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Some of the biomass materials are just dumped on the field and wasted

because farmers can’t utilized it if it is not in its usable form. Instead of dumping

this biomass materials we must convert this into usable form, but it requires several

processes that includes shredding, sieving, mixing and drying. The product after

these processes can now be used on further processing. One of the common form

is in the form of briquettes. Fuel briquettes generated by the low-pressure

compaction of paper, sawdust, agricultural or yard waste, etc. currently serve as an

alternative to firewood, wood pellets and charcoal in developing countries in

Africa, Asia and South America. Research at Boise State University in Idaho,

explored both the caloric content and shape to optimize burn efficiency of the

biobriquettes. The energy content of briquettes ranged from 4.48 to 5.95 kilojoule

per gram (kJ/g) depending on composition, whereas the energy content of sawdust,

charcoal and wood pellets ranged from 7.24 to 8.25 kJ/g. Biobriquettes molded into

a hollow-core cylindrical form exhibited energy output comparable to that of

traditional fuels. The study demonstrates that low-energy content feedstocks can be
 composted, pressed and combusted to produce heat output commensurate with

higher energy content fuels.

To produce briquettes, briquetting machine is needed but the briquetting

machine available in the market has low capacity because of its design and it’s very

expensive that only few can afford. Designing and fabricating a low cost biomass

briquetting machine is one of the strategy in addressing these problem.

Subsequently, evaluating its performance by using different biomass materials is

important in establishing its performance data. Hence, this study is to evaluate the

capacity and efficiency of the designed biomass briquetting machine using the

different biomass materials.

C. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Generally, this study aims to design and fabricate a biomass briquetting machine.

Specifically;

 It aims to evaluate the performance of the biomass briquetting machine

using different pulley size and different biomass materials

 To determine the quality of briquette produce

 To undertake simple cost analysis

D. TIME AND PLACE OF THE STUDY

This study will be conducted from August until December, 2019 at the Department

of Agricultural Engineering Building, Quirino State University, Diffun, Quirino.

E. SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This study were limited only to the design, fabrication and performance

evaluation of the biomass briquetting machine by the use of different biomass

materials.

F. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Briquettes - is basically a block of compressed biomass waste obtained from natural

materials like agricultural waste, forestry waste, seed covers, coal pieces, etc. These

briquettes act as the best substitute for non renewable fuel that is nature friendly.

Biomass - refers to the organic material that is used for production of energy.

Briquetting machine- is an energy saving machine and renewable source of energy.

Capacity- weight of the raw materials (fresh stalks / leaves) fed to the machine per unit

time, kg/h

Drying – removal of water.

Shredding systems - are used to reduce the size of a given material.

Sieving - is a simple technique for separating particles of different sizes.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Biomass is material that is derived from living or recently living biological

organisms. In the energy context it is often used to refer to plant material, however by-

products and waste from livestock farming, food processing and preparation and domestic

organic waste, can all form sources of biomass. Biomass is carbon based and is composed

of a mixture of organic molecules containing hydrogen, usually including atoms of oxygen,

often nitrogen and also small quantities of other atoms, including alkali, alkaline earth and

heavy metals.

Yearly' huge amount of agricultural residues and forest waste are produced. But

theae are either wasted or burnt inefficiently in their loose form causing air pollution.

Charcoal briquettes could be used as an alternative energy source for

household use. These are made from a combination of organic materials such

as grass, leaves, saw dust, rice husk, or any type of paper. These materials are then

compressed in a fuel briquette press. The fuel briquette produced is environment-

friendly since it utilized waste materials. In comparison with fossil fuels, the briquettes

are easier to produce because it is a renewable source of energy. (Shrestha n.d.)

Charcoal briquettes are useful and can be used as an alternative substitute to

expensive cost of kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas and electricity. The briquettes are

mostly composed of organic waste and other materials that are biodegradable, and are

commonly used as heat and cooling fuel. The composition of the briquettes may vary

due to the availability of the raw materials in an area. These materials are compressed and
 made into briquettes. The briquettes are different from charcoal because they do not

possess large concentrations of carbonaceous substances. In comparison to fossil fuels, the

briquettes produce low net total greenhouse gas emissions because the materials used are

already a part of the carbon cycle. Environmentally, the use of briquettes produces less

greenhouse gases.

ADVANTAGES OF BIOMASS BRIQUETTING :

Briquettes produced from briquetting of biomass are fairly good substitute for coal,

lignite,

 Firewood and offer numerous advantages

 This is one of the alternative methods to save the consumption and dependency on fuel

wood.

 Densities fuels are easy to handle, transport and store.

 They are uniform in size and quality.

 The process helps to solve the residual disposal problem.

 The process assists the reduction of fuel wood and deforestation.

 It provides additional income to farmers and creates jobs.

 Briquettes are cheaper than coal, oil or lignite once used cannot be replaced.

 There is no sulphur in briquettes.

 There is no fly ash when burning briquettes.

 Briquettes have a consistent quality, have high burning efficiency, and are ideally sized

for complete combustion.

 Since briquettes can be domestically made from plants and animal wastes, they are

consequently less expensive to produce, and thereby sold at lower prices.

  Compacting biomass waste into briquettes reduces the volume by 10 times, making it

much easier to store and transport than loose biomass waste

 The compression process allows the briquettes to burn for a lot longer than if it was loose

in its original condition.

SOCIAL BENEFITS OF USING BIOMASS BRIQUETTE :

 A tree saved is more than a tree grown

 The above Bio-Message is very clear. We need not spend more energy and money to

grow more trees if we could avoid using them.

 Thus, all ecological disaster arising from deforestation can be checked.

 Saves the environment from pollution, all conventional fuel pollutes the atmosphere.

 Avoids using conventional resources like coal which means that future generation will

not be deprived of its utility.

A. EXISTING DESIGNS

Emerhi, E. A.[3] have found that the calorific value of briquettes produced from

mixed sawdust of three tropical hardwood species bonded with different binding agents

(starch, cow dung and wood ash) are high. Sawdust from each of the species was mixed

with the binder in ratio of 70:30 for cow dung and wood ash and 70:15 of starch. The

sawdust where mixed in a ratio 50:50 for each briquette combination produced. The result

shows that, the best briquette was produced when sawdust was mixed with starch.
 DahamShyamalee , A.D.U.S. Amarasinghe , N.S. Senanayaka [4] found that the

Biomass briquettes are often used as an energy source for cooking purpose and in some

industries like bricks and bakery. The briquettes are produced by densification of waste

biomass using various processes. In this study manual densification of saw dust was tested

with three different binding agents; dry cow dung, wheat flour, and paper pulp. The

samples with cow dung as binding agent failed with mould detaching and minimum

required binder percentage for other two binders for successful forming were found to be

30%.

Olawale J. Okegbile, Abdulkadir B. Hassan, Abubakar Mohammed*, Barakat

J. Irekeola [5] have tested effect of starch and gum arabic as binders in the combustion

characteristics of briquette prepared from sawdust of different ratios were investigated.

Briquettes of sawdust were produced by mixing with different binders and agglomerate

using starch paste and gum arabic. The mixture was compressed at 110kN using manually

operated hydraulic briquette machine and sun dried. The calorific value, the volatile matter

and flame temperature were determined. Results showed that the briquette formed using

starch as a binder performed better in all aspect than the gum arabic.

I Y Ogwu, ET Tembe, SA Shomkegh [6] have Compared performance in calorific

value was determined from the binary and tertiary combination of briquettes produced from

biomass materials (sawdust) of Afzeliaafricana, Daniella oliveri and Rice husk at 20%
 30%, and 40% starch binder levels. From the proximate analysis of the samples, it was

observed that there were significant differences (p

Kishan B S1 , Kiran Kumar2 , Santhosh T J3 , Amith D Gangadhar4 Design and

Fabrication of low cost Briquetting machine and Estimation of Calorific values of Biomass

Briquettes. (2016) Design of low cost briquetting machine by using ram press.

Nisakorn Somsuk1, Kavee Srithongkul , Teerapot Wessapan2 and Sombat

Teekasap3 Design and Fabricate a Low Cost Charcoal Briquette Machine for the Small

and Micro Community Enterprises The charcoal briquette machine using cold press

method, AC motor 3 phases, 5 hp and using a worm shaft for pressing and extruding the

mixture through the cylinder to be charcoal briquette is used to produce briquettes made of
the organic refuse, agroforestry and agricultural waste. The machine capability test results

show that uninterrupted production of the machine is about 200 kg/hr. Price of a charcoal

briquette machine is approximately 25,000 Bath, rather low cost. Payback period of the

machine is only 0.5 year.

Riya Roy M.Sc. Susmita Kar M.Sc Krishnendu Kundu V.R. Dahake Pradeep

Rajan Production And Evaluation Of Briquettes Made From Dry Leaves, Wheat Straw,

Saw Dust Using Paper Pulp And Cow Dung As Binder It can be concluded that that waste

material like dry leaves, wheat straw & saw dust are potential feed stocks & paper pulp is

better binder for biomass briquetting. Among the combination of feed stocks and binders

it can be suggested that the combination of paper pulp and wheat straw is better one rather

than combination of cow dung and dry leaves.

 M. U. Ajieh1,*, A. C Igboanugo2 and T. O. K. Audu3 Design Of Grass Briquette

Machine – design of machine parts for briquetting From the results we concluded that the

production capacity of screw press machine is 200 kg/m3 with 20 hp electric motor power.

Variables like moisture content and particle size plays an important role in the flow

behavior of raw biomass material through any densification system. The recommended

temperature for good quality briquettes of all biomass msaterials is 300°C. The optimum

range of moisture contents of raw material for screw press is 8%-10%. From the different

experiments it is concluded that the proposed particle size for better quality briquettes is 3

mm. Biomass densification is a result of solid bridges forming between biomass particles

that are dependent on applied pressures and moisture in the biomass. Cost of shredder and

screw press are rupees 75,000 and 200,000 (PKR) respectively. Payback period

for adaptation of this briquetting technology is just 4 months. Small farmers (4-5 hectare)

can easily afford/adopt this technology and also can earn additional money.
I. MATERIALS AND METHOD

The following will be used in the design, fabrication and performance test of the

equipment.

A. DESIGN

Designing Materials

a. Computer with Sketch-Up software

b. Pencil with Eraser

c. Drawing Paper

B. FABRICATION

 MATERIALS

a. Mild steel plate

b. Angle bars

c. Galvanized pipe

d. Flat bars

e. Flywheel

f. Pulley

g. Belt

h. Welding rod

i. Round plate

C. EQUIPMENTS

 Welding machine
  Bar cutter

 Vice grip

 Drilling machine

D. Performance test materials

a. Electric motor

b. Sawdust

c. Binding agent(Cassava Starch)

E. Test Instruments

a. Weighing scale

b. Record Book

c. Pencil/Ballpen

d. Ruler

e. Stop watch

II. METHODOLOGY

A. DESCRIPTION

The design of briquetting machine is based on the principle of piston of an ICE wherein

the piston will move in reciprocating motion in horizontal way. The electric motor will

serves as the prime mover to the crankshaft where the piston is connected. Initially we took

diameter of the briquette as constant factor and based on this we needed to design a cylinder

with the same diameter. So after compressing the powdered raw material in the cylinder

we will get a briquette of 3 in diameter. The piston and cylinder are machined to the close

dimensional tolerance so that the piston moves easily inside the cylinder. The grinded raw

materials are input to the cylinder, these materials inside the cylinder are compressed into
briquettes upon the application of force. Thus formed briquettes are taken out by

continuous movement of the piston. The whole unit is supported by a rigid frame. The

machine will be made out of angle bars, mild steel, flat bars, flywheel, V-belt, piston and

cylinder.

The briquetting machine consist of:

a) Feed Hopper - A rectangular hopper, containing the mixture that is fed directly

into a press shaft cylinder

b) The piston

c) Motor

d) The hopper - is where the raw material (rice hull, sawdust etc) is fed into the

machine and is considered as squared frustum made of mild steel.

e) The cylinder - is where grinded raw materials are compressed into a briquettes.

Its houses the piston at one end and the closing plate at other end.

f) The flywheel - which is connected to the motor drives the piston inside the

cylinder, which upon rotation move the piston in and out of the cylinder.

B. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The traditional method of producing coal is still widely practiced. The

practice includes the open burning of this bio waste with traditional style without

control that can cause critical air pollution.

This study was then conceptualized by looking into existing designs of

Briquetting Machine. Design requirements satisfying local conditions were

identified. Design data then were based on market information of available parts

and components of machine. Based on design requirements and design data, a

 design drawing is prepared. Fabricated prototype was subjected to evaluation to

determine its operating characteristics. Fig. 1 shows the conceptual framework of

the study.

 Relevant information gathered on existing

designs of briquetting machine and
INPUT availability of machine parts and components

 Design conceptualization, calculation and

design plan of the machine
PROCESS  Fabrication of machine components
 Performance Evaluation of the machine

 Briquetting Machine
OUTPUT  Operating characteristics of the machine

Fig. 1 Conceptual framework of the study

C. PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

a) Biomass loading stage

Material is fed in to the hopper

b) Biomass compressing stage

The flywheel which is connected to the motor drives the piston

inside the cylinder, which upon rotation move the piston in and out of

the cylinder. The piston and cylinder are machined to the close
 dimensional tolerance so that the piston moves easily inside the

cylinder. The grinded raw materials are input to the cylinder, these

materials inside the cylinder are compressed into briquettes upon the

application of force.

c) Briquette ejection stage

Thus formed briquettes are taken out by continuous movement of

the piston.

D. COMPONENT TEST

After the fabrication of the briquetting machine, component testing will be done.

This is to determine if all the components are functioning based on the design. If it will be

found that some components are not working properly, modifications will be done.

III. PRELIMINARY TEST PRIOR TO FINAL TEST

After fixing all the necessary adjustments, initial test will be performed in order to

test the functionality of the machine before the final testing. Problems that come upon the

test will be improve and fix. Preliminary data will be determined in order to establish the

parameters that must be considered during the final testing. After the preliminary test,

materials needed for the final test will prepared such as: record notes and others.

IV. PREPARATION PRIOR TO FINAL TEST

After the preliminary test, materials needed for the final test will be prepared like

biomass (rice hull, coconut), binding agent(cassava starch) and all the needed instruments.
V. TEST PARAMETERS

a. Kindling Time (KT). This will be the time required to ignite the briquette and

consequently produce combustible gas. This parameter will be measured form the time the

flame is produced.

b. Operating Time (OT). This is the duration from the time the briquette machine

produces a briquette.

c. Power Consumption Rate. This will be the amount of power used in operating the

briquette machine divided by the operating time. This will be computed using the formula,

𝑊𝑐
𝑃𝐶𝑅 =
𝑂𝑇

Where:

PCR = Power consumption rate, kg/h

Wc = Weight of rice hull fuel used, kg

OT = Operating time

d. Fuel Consumption Rate. This will be the amount of briquette used divided by the

operating time. This will be computed using the formula,

𝐵
𝐹𝐶𝑅 =
𝑂𝑇
 Where:

FCR = Fuel consumption rate, pcs/h

B= Weight of rice hull fuel used, pcs

OT = Operating time.h

e. Boiling Time (BT). This will be the time required for the water to boil. It will start from

the moment the pot is placed on the burner until temperature of water will reach 100˚C.

h. Moisture content of briquette. This will be measured using the moisture meter.

i. Quality of the flame. The quality of the flame will be observed by ocular observation.

j. Mechanical Efficiency. This will be measured using average number of unbroken

briquettes produced divided by total time of briquetting

k. Machine Capacity. This will be measured using average number of unbroken briquettes

produced divided by average number of briquette produced.

 V1. FINAL TEST

The machine will be evaluated using different biomass materials (rice hull and

coconut). For the purpose of this study cassava starch will be used as a binding agent. The

biomass materials sample is collected from Diffun, Quirino. Cassava starch was prepared

with cassava bought from a local market.

VII. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The data that will be gathered will be analyzed using the analysis of variance in Completely

Randomized Design (CRD) Two-factorial. The Factors that will be used in this study are

Factor A: Different Biomass and Factor B: Different Pulley Size. The specific biomass and

airflow rate that will be used in this study will be as follows:

Factor A – Biomass Material Factor B – Size of Pulley

A1 = Rice hull B1 = 2 in

A2 = Sawdust B2 = 6 in

B3 = 10 in

B4 = 12 in

B5 = 16 in

TREATMENTS

𝑇1 = 𝐴1 𝐵1 𝑇6 = 𝐴2 𝐵1

𝑇2 = 𝐴1 𝐵2 𝑇7 = 𝐴2 𝐵2

𝑇3 = 𝐴1 𝐵3 𝑇8 = 𝐴2 𝐵3

𝑇4 = 𝐴1 𝐵4 𝑇9 = 𝐴2 𝐵4

𝑇5 = 𝐴1 𝐵5 𝑇10 = 𝐴2 𝐵5
 Experimental Layout

Completely Randomized Design Two (2)-Factorial with Three (3) Replications

𝐴1 𝐵4 𝑅2 𝐴1 𝐵1 𝑅1 𝐴1 𝐵1 𝑅3

𝐴1 𝐵2 𝑅3 𝐴1 𝐵4 𝑅1 𝐴1 𝐵1 𝑅2

𝐴1 𝐵5 𝑅2 𝐴2 𝐵2 𝑅1 𝐴1 𝐵3 𝑅3

𝐴1 𝐵5 𝑅1 𝐴1 𝐵4 𝑅3
𝐴1 𝐵2 𝑅1

𝐴2 𝐵2 𝑅3 𝐴2 𝐵1 𝑅2 𝐴2 𝐵1 𝑅3

𝐴2 𝐵3 𝑅2 𝐴1 𝐵5 𝑅3
𝐴1 𝐵3 𝑅1

𝐴2 𝐵1 𝑅1 𝐴2 𝐵4 𝑅2
𝐴2 𝐵4 𝑅3

𝐴2 𝐵2 𝑅2 𝐴2 𝐵5 𝑅1 𝐴1 𝐵2 𝑅2

𝐴2 𝐵4 𝑅1 𝐴2 𝐵5 𝑅1 𝐴2 𝐵3 𝑅1

𝐴2 𝐵3 𝑅3 𝐴2 𝐵5 𝑅1 𝐴1 𝐵3 𝑅2
 IV. OBSERVATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

A. OBSERVATIONS

During the final test of the Biomass Briquetting Machine, the following will be

observed:

a. Compactness of the briquette

b. Moisture content of the biomass briquette

c. Operating Time

d. Kindling Time

B. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

These will be observed throughout the duration of the study:

1. Consumption Rate of the briquette machine

2. Efficiency of the briquette machine

3. Capacity of the briquette machine

APPROVAL SHEET

The thesis attached hereto, entitled “DESIGN, FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE

EVALUATION OF BIOMASS BRIQUETTING MACHINE USING DIFFERENT

BIOMASS MATERIAL”, prepared and submitted by PRINCESS JOY T. GARCIA in partial

fulfilment of the requirements for graduation with degree of BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN

AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, is hereby endorsed.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

ENGR. ISRAEL M. ERAŇA

CHAIRMAN

ENGR. PAUL B. PABLO ENGR. REY C. NAVAL

MEMBER MEMBER

Accepted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING.
DR. OSCAR L. BARBOZA

DEPARTMENT CHAIRMAN

DR. JULIE A. MANUEL

COLLEGE DEAN