COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF TWO BIOMASS BRIQUETIING MACHINES

Abstract

The compaction of biomass in the form of solid fuels has yielded a simple solution to the complex problems related to low density, high volume and expensive transportation of various organic residues which are otherwise very good source of fuel. The densification of these residues in form of briquettes increases the energy output also by producing an economically viable fuel. Though there are various methods of briquetting and a large number of briquetting machines are available in India. a great need hasever been felt for development of suitable technology and small to medium capacity briquetting machines for utilization in villages where majority of the organic residues arc available in the form of agricultural residues and arc treated as disposal nuisance. This paper reports the studies conducted for performance evaluation of two small scale briquetting machines using four different organic residues namely rice husk, saw dust, maize and sorghum stalk. These proved excellent raw material for briquetting.