Ever-increasing energy and fuel prices are forcing consumers to be more selective in their choices or find alternatives to save money while maximizing their return on investment. In our time, this is not easy to do, because there are plenty of offers on the market, in addition, new technological types of calorific materials often appear, so you have to study existing options so as not to throw money away.
Coal-wood briquettes: varieties of raw materials
The relatively low price, ease of manufacture, availability of purchase and efficiency of fuel briquettes has led to an increasing popularity among consumers and their widespread distribution. Meanwhile, there are varieties of this type of fuel according to the raw materials used, as well as the shape of the final product.
Coal briquettes for heating are produced from different types coal such as:
- brown (the most common and cheapest option);
- wood (more complex manufacturing technology, involving the use of additional equipment);
- anthracite (the most expensive, but also the most efficient raw material: the best heat transfer rates).
The production of briquetted fuel does not require raw materials High Quality. Coal dust and fines are quite suitable for this purpose, as well as waste that does not bake well, falls through the grate and is not suitable for direct use in furnaces or coke production.
Adhesives
Various components can be used as a binder, which affect the quality and characteristics of the final product. These are substances such as:
- coal tar;
- clay;
- soda;
- syrup;
- resin;
- dextrin;
- lime;
- protein and many others.
The choice of a binding component directly depends on the type of the main raw material and its quality. Also, depending on the use of a particular component, the technology for the production of briquettes and its labor intensity will change.
What are
Coal briquette is a solid fuel product made in the form of bars of various configurations and sizes, which are pressed under high pressure and temperature. To bond the particles of raw materials and the strength of products, cementing components are used, which can be organic and inorganic.
The efficiency of this energy carrier lies in its heat transfer parameters and burning duration, which are higher than those of ordinary coal. The shape and density of the briquettes are also important for efficiency, as they help the fuel to maintain even, predictable burn-out and a constant temperature throughout the entire combustion process. The waste in the form of ash remaining after attenuation is only 3%, for traditional coal this figure is 10 times higher, while the briquettes do not fall apart in the furnace until they burn out completely.
Where to use and where not to use
It is mainly used for heating needs in everyday life, but more recently it has been used more often in metallurgical and chemical enterprises, as well as in power plants and boiler houses. In general, briquettes can be used at any enterprise or in a private house where equipment is installed that runs on solid fuels - coal, wood, etc.
But you should be aware that in no case should you use a coal briquette to make a fire in barbecues, grills and other ovens for cooking, on which there is direct contact of smoke with food. Such equipment is simply not designed for the temperature produced by this fuel, and it will fail, and the released caustic and harmful substances contained in coal will make food unfit for consumption.
Production in industrial volumes
Since the manufacturing technology is somewhat different depending on the type of binder, we can consider the production of coal briquettes based on the most commonly used component - coal tar (coal tar).
First, the raw material is washed from weed impurities, and then crushed and dried to the required parameters. For this purpose, it is poured through the receiving hopper into the crusher, and then, through the auger, it enters the dryer. Dried coal fines are sorted into fractions: coals ranging in size from 0 to 6 cm enter the mixer, and large ones go back to the crusher. After calibration, a binder is added to the prepared basic raw material in the mixer.
When the required components are loaded, they are mixed into a homogeneous mass, which is distributed over the cells of the molds, where, using hot steam and high pressure, the resulting mixture is converted into a coal briquette. The resulting products are transferred to the cooling hopper for 8 hours. Screening of defective forms and subsequent packing in 25 kg bags complete the production process.
Do-it-yourself coal briquettes
For these purposes, you can use a hand press or a homemade screw extruder. You can also, in the absence of equipment, do it manually. Unlike the factory manufacturing process, at home, instead of drying coal fines, on the contrary, they mix it with water. No binder needs to be added. The main thing is to observe two conditions:
- fraction of coal - no more than 6 cm and the smaller, the better;
- the resulting mass must be plastic and thick so that it can be molded by hand or briquetted in a mold using a hand press.
After the briquetting process, the products should be dried well. It should be noted that the coal briquette obtained by manual pressing is unsuitable for transportation, since it is more fragile than the factory one. Also, the manual method has very low productivity: it will take a lot of effort and time to prepare fuel for the whole season.
The use of an extruder speeds up the briquetting process, and the quality of the products is much higher than with the manual manufacturing method. Here you just need to pour raw materials into the bunker and get finished goods high quality, suitable for transportation. However, the cost of the unit itself and its components (electric motor, gearbox, etc.) are high and not everyone can afford it.
Approximately 25% of the mined coal has a fine and pulverized fraction. This type of fuel is not in demand among consumers due to low heat output. It is also inconvenient for heating private houses: it wakes up through the grate and therefore has low efficiency, often a large amount of fine or pulverized fuel blocks the access of oxygen, which causes the furnace to die out. For these reasons, a lot of dust and coal of fine fractions (up to 6 mm in size) accumulates in warehouses, in fuel sheds in private courtyards. The problem is solved in the production of briquetted coal. This technology allows from coal dust at high pressure to make fuel briquettes. Why are charcoal briquettes good? They tolerate transportation and storage well, have a high calorific value compared to the starting materials (at least 6000 kcal / kg), do not emit smoke and gases, burn out completely, without sintering, but decomposing into ash (the ash content of a high-quality coal briquette is not more than 10% by volume, but usually much less).
Coal briquetting technologies
Coal briquettes are made from brown coal, anthracite and hard coal crumbs and dust, semi-coke and coke breeze. Depending on the type of feedstock, binders are added or not.
The formation of briquettes from brown coal occurs without the addition of binders, since the material itself contains up to 20% bitumen. During processing, raw materials are crushed, heated and dried, bringing moisture to 18-20%. After cooling, the resulting crumb is fed into a high-pressure press, where lumpy fuel is formed. After cooling, they can be used or improved in quality characteristics in semi-coking plants.
Briquetting of coal fines can also occur both with and without binders. In industrial production, the following substances are added as a binder:
- oil bitumen;
- lignosulfonates;
- molasses;
- liquid glass;
- cement.
Liquid glass and cement are used in the processing of certain types of coal and fine coke. Such briquettes are used in metallurgy in those processes where the presence of such components is permissible. Coal tar and petroleum bitumen are also used to produce industrial fuels. Such briquettes are not suitable for home heating: benzopyrene and other harmful substances are released during combustion, so they are prohibited by the SES and the demand for them is very limited.
For household briquettes, starches are most often used as a binder, which are added to crumbs until a viscous mass is obtained. Sometimes sugar, cellulose, molasses are added. Clay, gypsum and lime are used less often, as they increase the ash content and reduce the specific heat of the fuel. The type and quantity of the binder component is selected based on the qualities of the raw coal during the production process. serve as a guide mechanical characteristics briquette, but the energy value of the resulting fuel is also important.
The production of coal briquettes for domestic use consists of the following steps:
- Drying. The less moisture in the raw material, the stronger the briquettes will be.
- Removal of volatile constituents. This stage is necessary when processing low-grade coal with a high content of volatile substances. Use for this coke oven or distillation apparatus.
- Grinding.
- Adding binders and mixing it with coal chips. This composition is called a burden.
- The mixture is fed to a press, where briquettes are formed under pressure.
- In some cases (depending on the binder used) heating in an oven up to 300°C is required.
- Cooling.
The developments of recent years have made it possible to form coal briquettes without the use of binders from any waste coal industry. Briquetting in such installations takes place in two stages. First, the crushed coal goes through an initial compaction by removing voids between the particles. Then, by increasing the pressure to 100-200 MN/m 2 is the deformation and compaction of the particles themselves.
In this case, phenols and resins are released, which, when water is added, form a natural binder. The whole process is controlled by a microprocessor. The briquettes obtained in this way burn without smoke and do not emit harmful substances. Needless to say, such a coal briquetting press costs a lot? Hence the high cost of the final product. But coal of any brand is processed, the briquettes are strong, with a high calorific value, they burn without smoke and any significant emissions to the atmosphere.
There are several other technologies that make it possible to make coal briquettes without binders. For this, special roller presses are used, but not all brands are processed in this way. In some developments, some of the feedstock with a high resin content (caking coals) is added to the crumb of high-grade coals. The resulting mixture is heated to the temperatures of plastification of sintering coals, after which the mixture is slightly cooled and then briquettes are formed.
Briquetting coal at home
Since the equipment for the production of coal briquettes cannot be called cheap, buying it for home use unprofitable. But folk craftsmen found a way out of the situation here too. There is such a way to make acceptable fuel from coal dust:
- Take clay 5-10% by weight of the available raw coal, dilute it to a mushy state and mix with coal chips.
- Place the composition tightly into the prepared forms.
- Turn the molded briquette onto a plastic film, where to leave to dry. After a few days, they become strong enough to be stored in low stacks.
This type of fuel is suitable for heating a private house. But it is impossible to transport such briquettes - they crumble. They burn better than dust and give out more heat, but they have a rather high ash content - clay is added to the "own" ash.
There is also a mechanical method of briquetting fine coal and its dust. With the use of such a press, industrial volumes cannot be reached and the resulting products cannot be transported, but it is possible to form fuel quite suitable for your furnace from dust.
That's how these briquettes burn.
Agree, the installation looks quite workable, and having hands to make it is not so difficult.
Briquetting of charcoal
In the production of charcoal, about a quarter of it turns out to be substandard - small pieces and dust. To turn this waste into income, you can make briquettes out of them. Charcoal briquettes can also be made at home, if necessary, you can make raw materials for this (). The principle of charcoal briquetting is no different from the formation of the same fuel from coal:
- Substandard coal is crushed.
- mixed with a binder. AT this case a regular starch paste will do a good job. The output should be a slightly damp mass. Part of the dust rolls into small lumps.
- The resulting mixture is fed into the press, where briquettes are formed.
This video clearly shows the whole technology of charcoal briquetting, but the guys created a mold especially for the customer (church charcoal tablets for incense were ordered). Similarly, you can make a form of any configuration.
conclusions. Briquettes from crumbs of coal and dust (stone and wood) can be made at home. At the same time, it is difficult to achieve commercial results (only due to automation, which means expensive equipment), but it is realistic to make a simple installation for home use.
Sooner or later, every enterprise engaged in work related to the sale or processing of any type of coal faces the problem of the accumulation of coal fines and dust. The pulverized fraction from 0 to 6 mm averages at least 25% of the total mass of incoming raw materials and, as a rule, entails difficulties in marketing this volume or a significant reduction in the cost of its sale.
One of the most effective methods to solve this problem is to use the accumulated coal dust to produce coal briquettes. The production of a fuel briquette, with all the attractiveness of this idea, has not such a long history. Real interest in this issue has become acute and relevant only recently, due to a significant rise in the price of fuel, including coal products.
Most attempts to organize the production of coal briquettes were brought to naught either by the high cost of technology, or by the unsatisfactory quality and characteristics of the resulting briquettes associated with the use of cheap, but poorly combustible binders, which greatly increased the ash content and minimized sales performance.
Our company offers an exclusive set of equipment that allows using a fairly simple technology to avoid the use of binders and other impurities in the production of briquettes, with the exception of plain water.
This allows you to end up with a briquette in composition and characteristics that is not inferior to the original varietal type of coal and avoid the usual disadvantages (extraneous smell, high ash content, low calorie content, etc.) The main working unit of the proposed equipment are extruder presses, which are specially designed for briquetting rocks, anthracite fines, coal sludge, brown coal crumbs, peat, etc. The pressing technology is based on adhesive-chemical processes occurring in viscous-chemical systems formed by finely dispersed particles of fossil coals, which themselves act as binders. Simply put, during the operation of the press, such physical and chemical conditions are created that cause the fossil organic components (phenols, resins, wax, etc.) already included in the composition of coal to polarize on the surface of the particles with the participation of water, causing them to bind to each other. When cooling and drying, the briquette hardens and becomes fixed. Briquetted fuel has high heat and power properties, in particular, sufficient mechanical strength, water resistance and heat resistance. The layer of such fuel during combustion has good gas permeability, which ensures a full degree of combustion even at a relatively high ash content. In order to achieve maximum performance of briquetting presses, our company has developed storage bins with screw prepressors, which ensure uninterrupted supply of the charge under the required pressure and at the calculated speed. In addition, the briquetting line includes box conveyors with air coolers and a thermal grotto. Mixing drums with a capacity of up to one ton of finished raw materials have been developed to obtain the required moisture content of the charge.
Thanks to simplicity technological process, the equipment does not have complex technological nodes, during operation and repair does not require highly qualified service personnel and works reliably in all conditions.
1. Line for briquetting 16 tons per shift (shift 8 working hours). The following equipment:
| Equipment | Capacity t/h | Number of units | Energy consumption kWh |
| Hammer crusher | 2-10 | 1 | 15 |
| Forced mixer | 2-3 | 1 | 3 |
| extruder press | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| Conveyor dryer (level 2) | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| Belt conveyor | 2 | 3 | 1,5 |
| Cooling conveyor | 2 | 1 | 2,5 |
2. Line for briquetting 40 tons per shift (shift 8 working hours). The following equipment:
| Equipment | Capacity t/h | Number of units | Energy consumption kWh |
| Hammer crusher | 5 | 1 | 22 |
| Forced mixer | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| extruder press | 5 | 1 | 40 |
| Dryer conveyor (level 3) | 5 | 1 | 30 |
| Belt conveyor | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Cooling conveyor | 5 | 1 | 3 |
Our company produces a whole line of screw (extruder) presses of the PBE series of different power and productivity. Depending on the type of raw materials, the size and capacity of the equipment, the productivity can reach 10 tons. finished products per hour per press. It should be noted that with the help of presses of this design, it is possible to briquet almost any fine-grained and bulk materials, if binder additives are used in the preparation of the raw mixture, which, after drying and cooling, determine the quality, strength and resistance of the resulting briquette to external influences.
But there is a rather long list of materials and substances that are briquetted in screw presses without any additives. It's just that such materials already contain substances that are released from the material itself and become plastic in the process of strong compression and under the influence of high temperature. They also perform the function of a natural glue that connects the particles of raw materials during the formation of a briquette. Strong compression and high temperature are achieved due to the operation of the screw when raw materials are fed into the cone chamber, where compaction takes place, and then the briquetted mass is extruded through the molding die.
For such materials, the main requirement for obtaining high-quality briquette products is fineness, which is either a natural property of the raw material, or is achieved by grinding and crushing on the appropriate equipment. It is enough to thoroughly mix such fine-grained raw materials with water until a homogeneous plastic mass is obtained and the mixture for briquetting is ready. With the help of PBE presses without the use of binding additives, the manufacturer receives high-quality briquette products from materials such as fossil coal grades B, D, G, Zh, K, peat, hydrolytic lignin, sapropel, animal manure, bird droppings, chalk, lime.
For such production, our company also manufactures all the necessary additional equipment. These are crushers, mixers, dryers, coolers, etc.
| screw press | PBE-200 | PBE-219 | PBE-273 | PBE-325 | PBE-425 |
| Productivity * , kg/h | 500-800 * | 1000-1200 * | 1500-2000 * | 3000-4000 * | 8000-10000 * |
| Pressing force | up to 10 tons | up to 12 tons | up to 15 tons | up to 20 tons | up to 20 tons |
| Pressing pressure, kg/cm | 275 | 275 | 275 | 275 | 300 |
| Frequency of rotation of the main screw, rpm | 70-75 | 0-75 | 0-75 | 0-75 | 0-75 |
| Rotation frequency of the prepress screw, rpm | - | 0-35,5 | 0-35,5 | 0-35,5 | 0-35,5 |
|
Screw speed control ** |
frequency converter ** | frequency converter ** | frequency converter ** | frequency converter ** | |
| Power of the electric motor of the main drive, kW | 11 | 15 | 22 | 30 | 45 |
| Power of the electric motor of the prepresser, kW | - | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Thermal heater for die, kW | - | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|
Cutting mechanism ** , kW |
1,1 ** | 1,1 ** | 1,1 ** | 1,1 ** | 1,1 ** |
|
Parameters of the resulting briquette: |
1,1-1,5 arbitrary cylindrical |
1,1-1,5 regulated cylindrical |
1,1-1,5 regulated cylindrical |
1,1-1,5 regulated cylindrical |
1,1-1,5 regulated cylindrical |
| Dimensions, mm | 1200x1200x1000 |
1500×1500×2200 |
1500×2100×2200 |
1800×2200×2200 | 2000×2500×2200 |
| Weight, kg | 450 | 850 | 1050 | 1250 | 1850 |
* - performance depends on the density of the material (peat-500kg/m3, coal - 1500 kg/m3)
** - installation is carried out in agreement with the customer
The screw (extruder) press is one of the main types of equipment offered by the Sodruzhestvo company. The screw press is the main element of the line for the production of fuel briquettes, and therefore today it is in great demand in various sectors of the manufacturing and agricultural sector. And especially if this equipment meets international quality standards. The company "Sodruzhestvo" has been working for many years in the production of equipment for industrial and agricultural enterprises. And the quality of the products it offers has been tested on the experience of many representatives of this sector of the economy.
To keep up with the times, the employees of the enterprise are constantly mastering new types of equipment for the production of briquettes, including screw presses of various power and productivity. The company is constantly working on the introduction of new development and maintenance technologies life cycle equipment. This makes it possible to increase the service life of the equipment, as well as improve the quality of products, including equipment for the production of fuel briquettes. At the same time, it should be noted that the quality of the equipment we offer is close to European, while prices remain Russian.
The screw presses offered by us and additional equipment for the production of briquettes are capable of manufacturing products from various kinds industrial and vegetable raw materials: coal dust of various grades, peat, sapropel and other types of raw materials with a sufficient content of lignin. In the process of preparing raw materials, there is no need to use any additives as a binder. Lignin itself acts as a natural "glue". Mandatory conditions To obtain a high-quality briquette with this technology, this is a fine fraction (0-5 mm) and the necessary moisture content of the raw material. The fine fraction is obtained using a crusher. And the humidity is regulated by drying or vice versa by adding water and thoroughly mixing in a forced-action mixer.
But we will not talk much about all the advantages that equipment for the production of fuel briquettes has. After all, it is best to test it on your own experience. See for yourself the advantages of the equipment of the company "Commonwealth", which can become a reliable partner and supplier of equipment for the production of fuel briquettes for your company. Employees of the company will manufacture equipment in accordance with your requirements, as well as share many years of invaluable experience.
All equipment for the production of fuel briquettes, including the screw (extruder) press, are manufactured by the Sodruzhestvo company, taking into account fire safety requirements. All equipment offered by Sodruzhestvo is provided with a quality guarantee, as well as a full range of post-warranty maintenance of equipment.
Charcoal is a solid porous high-carbon product obtained from wood by heating without air access (or with little air access) in retorts, ovens or heaps. Many companies that produce charcoal are faced with the problem of a large waste of charcoal in the form of dust and small pieces (screenings) due to the excessive fragility of the material.
Our company has found a REVOLUTIONARY solution to this problem and introduced a NEW product to the market - equipment for the production of charcoal briquettes in the form of an extruder-briquetting press with a thermoactive output die, PRODUCTIVITY from 500 to 1500 kg / h !!! Special production technology allows to achieve high quality and environmental friendliness of finished products. Charcoal briquettes are produced by pressing a mixture of screenings, crushed into dust, with a binder on an extruder press, due to the high pressure in the conical compression chamber (about 2000 kg / cm2) and heat treatment at the exit. This allows you to produce high-quality briquettes of various shapes:
1. Round type "Nestro", with a diameter of 40 to 60 mm - at the request of the customer.
2. Octagonal or square type Pini-Key "from 50X50 to 63X63 with a hole in the center.
Charcoal briquette (briquetted coal) - environmentally friendly pure product, which is used for cooking grills, barbecues, etc., and it is also an ideal fuel for barbecues, stoves, fireplaces, all types of fireboxes, for heating tents, greenhouses. Charcoal briquette is an indispensable tool for creating comfort in field conditions, at a picnic, fishing, hunting.
Duration of burning of coal briquettes makes 4-5 hours, unlike usual charcoal which burns 1-2 hours.
The constancy of temperature during combustion for 4-5 hours favorably distinguishes briquettes from ordinary charcoal.
Ability to reuse charcoal briquettes - after use, they can be filled with water, under the influence sun rays and wind briquettes dry up and are ready to use again.
Charcoal briquettes burn without smoke, do not sparkle, practically do not emit any volatile substances during combustion, which eliminates the possibility of spreading an unpleasant odor.