Combustion Analysis of Various Combinations of Fuel Briquettes and Fabrication of Fuel Briquetting Machine

Biomass Briquetting is the process of converting low bulk density agro waste into high density fuel, by the process of mass densification. It is a type of Solid Waste Management by reducing the volume of solid waste mass sent to land-fills, where it is presently burnt or buried without proper care. These are good replacements for conventional cooking fuels, economical and eco-friendly and utilize materials that constitute solid waste. Developing countries like India is reaching out to fuel-starved rural/urban communities and individuals to transfer the simple skills for making fuel briquettes from agricultural, municipal, industrial and domestic waste to people in remote areas to meet their cooking fuel needs and for livelihood support from selling the briquettes. We tried to focus on this social innovation and adapt it to offer remarkably effective solutions to critical, day- to-day problems of underprivileged people, while protecting the environment. A manual domestic Briquetting Machine, single person operated can produce about 5 to 8 Kg of briquettes per day/per shift. A family of 4 persons requires about 0.5 to 0.75 kg of briquettes daily to meet their cooking needs. A day's operation of briquetting machine can produce more than a week's fuel requirement easily. With reference to the vast needs of such a product, we focused to increase its efficiency by measuring of the pollutants from the fuel while burning, reducing the weight of the fuel briquetting machine, make necessary modifications to reduce the effort and increase production capacity, and determining the calorific value of various composition fuel briquettes. Our efforts were to develop one product that can help people satisfy their basic needs, produce alternative environment friendly burning fuel to heat homes and cook food.