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Design and Fabrication of a Briquetting Machine

Article · March 2022

DOI: 10.37933/nipes.e/4.1.2022.2

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Francis Inegbedion Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki

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 Journal of Energy Technology and Environment Vol. 4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20 ISSN-2682-583x

Design and Fabrication of a Briquetting Machine

Francis Inegbediona* and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilakib
a,b Department
of Production Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
Corresponding Author Email: francis.inegbedion@uniben.edu

Article information Abstract

This research paper reports the design and fabrication of an
Article History appropriate, efficient and cost effective biomass briquetting machine
Received 20 November 2021 that is suitable for local use both in terms of the briquetting press for
Revised 30 November 2021 local manufacture and the briquettes produced. The machine was
Accepted 4 December 2021 designed to compress biomass materials (sawdust, rice husk and
Available online 21 March 2022 palm fruit shell) in the briquetting die easily. The developed machine
was fabricated using 100% local content. The machine comprised of
a hopper, compaction chamber, die/barrel, feed screw extruder, feed
Keywords:
screw housing, bearings power transmission shaft and the frame.
Briquettes; Sawdust;
The developed machine was tested by using it to produce briquettes
Rice Husk; Palm Fruit Shell;
samples from sawdust, rice husk and palm fruit shell under the same
Briquetting Machine
condition of binder concentration. The compressive strengths of
each samples were obtained. Results showed that the compressive
strength of the briquettes samples ranged from 0.9kN/m2 to 1.3kN/m2
with palm fruit shell having the highest compressive strength of
https://doi.org/10.37933/nipes.e/4.1.2022.2 1.3kN/m2. The machine was found suitable to be used in producing
briquettes from sawdust, rice husk and palm fruit shell for both local
https://nipesjournals.org.ng
© 2022 NIPES Pub. All rights reserved
and industrial uses.

1. Introduction

The primary source of energy for such vital activities as cooking and space heating is burning wood
and other agricultural products. An increasing population using limited resources of combustible
materials will eventually result in the shortage of those materials unless urgent steps are taken to
reverse the trend. Briquetting is one way of making efficient use of existing resources and it involves
collecting combustible waste materials and compresses them into solid fuels of convenient shape
that can burn like wood or charcoal [1].

Biomass briquetting is the densification of loose agro residues with or without a binding agent to
produce compact solid composites of different sizes with the application of pressure. A briquette is
formed from the physic-mechanical conversion of dry, loose and tiny particle size material with or
without the addition of an additive into a solid regular shape. Briquettes are mainly used for heat
applications and power generation through gasification of biomass briquettes and for domestic uses
[2].

Obi et al., [3], reported that although the importance of biomass briquette as a substitute fuel for
wood is widely recognized, the failures of briquetting machines in almost all developing countries
have inhibited their extensive exploitation. The constraint in the advancement of biomass
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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

briquetting in developing nations generally, is the development of appropriate briquetting

technology that suits the local condition; both in terms of the briquetting press for local manufacture
and the briquettes. They attributed the failure of these machines to factors which include
inappropriate or mismatched technology, technical difficulty and lack of knowledge to adapt the
technology to suit local conditions, excessive initial and operating cost of the machines, and the low
local prices of wood fuel and charcoal.

Hood [4] reported the existence of a number of developed machines for the production of biomass
briquettes in developing countries. He noted that some of these machines in the rural areas are either
gender unfriendly, have poor production capacity and briquette quality, and depends on direct
human strength for densification. He also noted that there is a need to develop an appropriate
briquetting machine suitable for the local communities in the developing nations. He however added
that for biomass to make a significant impact as fuel for rural communities, it is imperative that an
efficient, cost effective and easy to duplicate technology is developed specifically for rural
communities.

Agidi et al., [5] reported that developing countries are faced with the huge problem of waste
management and agro residues. Agro wastes and sawmill residues are burnt on roadside or dump
yards, which results in pollution they noted that there is a need to convert these residues into usable
fuels. They observed that these residues are very difficult to handle, store and results in very poor
thermal efficiency and create lots of air pollution when burnt directly. They however concluded that
these problems could be avoided by briquetting the waste biomass into a usable energy generating
fuel. This will make biomass briquettes an alternative for fossil fuels, improve waste management
and reduced air pollution.

In this research paper, we reported the development of an appropriate, efficient, and cost effective
biomass briquetting machine that suits local use; both in terms of the press itself for local
manufacture and the briquettes produced. Briquettes were produced using rice husk, palm fruit chaff
and sawdust with the developed briquetting machine.

2. Methodology

The methodology adopted in this research paper is to design the briquetting machine, fabricate the
briquetting machine, produce the briquettes and determine the compressive strength of the briquettes
produced using rice husk, palm fruits chaffs and sawdust.

2.1 Machine Description and Manufacturing Processes

1. Feed Screw Extruder: The feed screw extruder machined from a single mild steel shaft
conveys the raw material and feed it through the barrel or die of the briquetting machine. The first
and the second flights of the screw were hard-faced by welding after machining. It creates pressure
and high temperature on the raw materials as it passes through the die to produce the briquettes. The
feed screw extruder is as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: Feed Screw Extruder

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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

2. Feed Screw Housing: The feed screw housing was produced using various machining
processes and it houses the feed screw extruder which converts the raw materials to briquette. It
consists of the cylindrical housing and a tapered die attached to its end. The hopper positioned on
top of the housing by bolts and nuts feeds the raw materials into the compression chamber and they
are conveyed to the die by the feed screw were it is compressed and converted to briquettes. The
feed screw housing is as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2: Feed Screw Housing

3. Bearing Housing: The bearing housing protects the bearings from dust and other impurities.
Bearings number 1162 and 1163, whose specifications given in Fig. 4 was used.

Fig 4: Bearing Housing

4. Die/Barrel: The die/barrel made of mild steel and machined on the lathe to its required
dimensions had a die clearance and the taper angle of 45 mm and 2o respectively. The die clearance
and the taper angle determine the performance of production rate of briquetting machine. The
die/barrel is as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5: Die/Barrel

5. The Bearing: Two pillow frictionless bearings were used to support the shaft on the frame.

6. Power Transmission Shaft: The power transmission shaft produced from mild steel has
dimension 450mm long by 70mm diameter. The shaft produced using various machining processes
carried the main pulley on one end and a coupling on the other end. It transmits power from the
source (electrical motor) through a system of pulleys to the feed screw extruder.

7. Hopper: The hopper, made from 1.5mm mild steel sheet was constructed into a frustum and
it is used to temporarily hold the raw material before they are fed into the compaction chamber.

8. Frame: Mild steel angle bars were used to produce the frame which supports the barrel
housing, the hopper and the shaft”. “The overall dimensions of the stand are 1000mm X 790mm X
500mm”. The function of the frame is to hold all the other parts of the briquetting machine and to
resists vibration while running.

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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

2.2 Design Calculations

1. The Hopper: The hopper was designed as a frustum of a square pyramid. Using similar
triangles, Fig. 7

Fig 7: The Hopper

220 + x x
= . (1)
160 60

x = 132. (2)

Volume of hopper = volume of the big cone – volume of the small cone. (3)

1
( )
V =  R 2 H − r 2 h = 2.235  10 −3 m 3 .
3
(4)

2. Die/Barrel Design

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒. (5)

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠, 𝑚 = 𝜌𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 7860 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 [14] (6)

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑙 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 + 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑. (7)
1
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 = 𝜋𝑑2 𝑙. (8)
4

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑙 = 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 = 530𝑚𝑚. (9)

𝑑 = 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 = 120𝑚𝑚. (10)

𝜋×1202 ×530
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 = = 5.994 × 10−3 𝑚3 . (11)
4

the die is a frustum of a cone and is designed, using similar triangles in Fig 8,
100+𝑥 𝑥
= 50; 𝑥 = 71.4𝑚𝑚. (12)
120

𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑒 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒. (13)
1 1
= 3 𝜋(𝑟12ℎ1 − 𝑟22 ℎ2 ) = 3 𝜋 × (602 × 171.4 − 252 × 71.4) = 5.99 × 10−4 𝑚3. (14)
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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

Fig. 8: tapered die

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑙 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 + 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑒 =
5.994 × 10−3 𝑚3 + 5.99 × 10−4 𝑚3 = 6.593 × 10−3 𝑚3. (15)

3. Weight of Rice Husk

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘, 𝑊𝑟 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 × 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘. (16)

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 × 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦. (17)

𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 = 114𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 [6]. (18)

𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 + 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑙

= 2.235 × 10−3 𝑚3 + 6.593 × 10−3 𝑚3 = 8.828 × 10−3 𝑚3 . (19)

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 = 𝑉𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 × 𝜌𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 = 8.828 × 10−3 𝑚3 × 114 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 =
1.006392𝑘𝑔. (20)

𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 = 𝑚𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑘 × 𝑔 = 1.006392 × 9.81 = 9.8727𝑁. (22)

4. Weight of Sawdust

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡, 𝑊𝑠 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 × 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡. (23)

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 × 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦. (24)

𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 = 267𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 [7]. (25)

𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 + 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑙

= 2.235 × 10−3 𝑚3 + 6.593 × 10−3 𝑚3 = 8.828 × 10−3 𝑚3 . (26)

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 = 𝑉𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 × 𝜌𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 = 8.828 × 10−3 𝑚3 × 267 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 =

2.357076𝑘𝑔. (27)

𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 = 𝑚𝑠𝑎𝑤𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 × 𝑔 = 2.357076 × 9.81 = 23.1229𝑁. (28)

5. Weight of Palm Fruit Chaff

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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓, 𝑊𝑝 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 ×

𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓. (29)

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 × 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦. (30)

𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 = 287𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 [8]. (31)

𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 + 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑙 = 2.235 ×

10−3 𝑚3 + 6.593 × 10−3 𝑚3 = 8.828 × 10−3 𝑚3 . (32)

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 = 𝑉𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 × 𝜌𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 = 8.828 × 10−3 𝑚3 ×
287 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 = 2.533636𝑘𝑔. (33)

𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 = 𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑓 × 𝑔 = 2.533636 × 9.81 =
24.85496919𝑁. (34)

6. Shaft: The shaft is made of mild steel and the pulley was keyed to it. The yield strength in
tension, Syt = 770N/mm2 and ultimate tensile strength = 580N/mm2. Assuming the load is gradually
applied, the combined shock and fatigue factor applied to bending moment, Kb = 1.5 and combined
shock and fatigue factor applied to torsional moment, Kt = 1.0. The permissible shear stress, 𝜏, is
taken to be 30% of the yield strength or 18% of the ultimate tensile strength of the material or
whichever is minimum [9].

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝜏 = 0.3𝑆𝑦𝑡 = 0.3(580) = 174𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 . (35)

𝜏 = 0.18𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 0.18(770) = 138.6𝑁/𝑚𝑚2. (36)

𝜏 = 0.75 × 138.6 = 103.95𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 . (37)

𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑑 = 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡,

𝑀𝑡 = 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡,

𝑃 = 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡 (𝑊),

𝑁 = 𝑟𝑝𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡,

𝜏 = 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑

𝑀𝑏 = 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡.

The power transmitted by shaft and the torque in the shaft are related [9] as given in Eq. (38)

𝑃 = 𝑀𝑡 𝜔. (38)
2𝜋𝑁
𝜔= 60
. (39)

𝑀𝑡 ×2𝜋𝑁
𝑃= . (40)
60
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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

30𝑃
𝑀𝑡 = . (41)
𝜋𝑁

The shear stress and transmitted torque are related Eqs. 42 and 43

16𝑀𝑡 ×103
𝜏= . (42)
𝜋𝑑3
𝜋𝜏𝑑3
𝑀𝑡 = × 10−3 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2 . (43)
16
𝑃 0.33 3000 0.33
𝑑 = 36.5 × (𝜏𝑁) 𝑚𝑚 = 36.5 × (103.95×480) = 14.44𝑚𝑚. (44)
also the diameter of the shaft can be calculated as follows,
16√[(𝐾𝑏 𝑀𝑏 )2 +(𝐾𝑡 𝑀𝑡 )2 ]
𝜏= , (45)
𝜋𝑑3
16√[(𝐾𝑏 𝑀𝑏 )2 +(𝐾𝑡 𝑀𝑡 )2 ]
𝑑3 = , (46)
𝜏𝜋
𝑀𝑡 the torque transmitted by the shaft is given by,
30𝑃 30×3000
𝑀𝑡 = 𝜋𝑁 = 480𝜋 = 59.675𝑁𝑚 = 59675𝑁𝑚𝑚, (47)
𝑀𝑏 = 127,306𝑁𝑚𝑚, (48)
16√[(1.5×127306)2 +(1.0×59675)2 ]
𝑑= = 21.34𝑚𝑚, 𝑢𝑠𝑒 25𝑚𝑚. (49)
103.95𝜋

2.3 Biomass-binder Mixture.

Sawdust, Rice Husk and Palm Fruits Shell samples were mixed with cassava starch in proportions
of 100:15 by weight in line with the works of [10, 11]. The starch and the biomass sample were
properly mixed without forming a muddy mixture because the formation of muddy mixture due to
excess addition of water reduces both the durability and density of the briquette [12]. The biomass-
binder mixture was fed into the machine and briquettes were formed, after which they were sun
dried.

2.4 The Principle of Operation of Briquetting Machine.

The briquette machine is a single extrusion die screw press that consists mainly of driving motor,
speed reducer gearbox, feed screw, die, and the housing with a hopper. The motor transmits power
directly to the screw through the speed reducer. As the machine is running raw materials are fed
into the compaction chamber through the hopper; the raw materials are compressed in the barrel by
the screw, and extruded through the die. The screw continuously forces the materials into the die.
In an extrusion die screw press pressure is built up along the screw rather than in a single zone as in
the piston type machines.

2.5 Compressive Test

Compressive test was carried out on samples of the briquettes using a compressive testing machine.
The machine consists of a hydraulic jack, a load measuring gauge and a dial gauge. This was done
to determine the compressive strength of the briquettes produced or the maximum load it can
withstand.

The briquettes were placed in-between two jaw plates of the machine and pressure applied via the
hydraulic jack to compress the briquettes plate until it starts to fail. The pressure displayed on the
pressure gauge and dialed gauge were taken.

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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

3. Results and Discussion

Producing briquettes from the machine developed a known quantity of sawdust, rice husk and palm
fruit shell was sourced from a local sawmill, rice mill and an oil palm mill and pulverized in order
to increase the surface area and to enhance binding efficiency. Briquettes were produced from
sawdust, rice husk and palm fruit shell using the developed briquette machine. The compacting force
of the rotating feed screw was able to gently push the mixture of the raw material inside the hopper
into the die where compression took place. 5kg of the pulverized sawdust, rice husk and palm fruit
shell were each mixed thoroughly with the binder. Briquettes produced were thereafter sundried.

The mean biomass loading time, compaction time, and ejection time for the briquetting machine are
shown in Table 1. The developed briquetting machine is shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 to 12 shows
the respective briquettes produced using the developed briquetting machine.

Table 1: Production time components of the briquetting machine

Mean Production Time Time [sec]
Sawdust Rice Husk Palm Fruits Shell
Biomass loading time 35 35 37
Biomass compaction time 45 42 45
Briquette ejection time 27 25 28

The developed briquetting machine is shown in Fig. 9

(a) (b)

(c)
Fig. 9(a), (b) and (c): The fabricated screw press briquetting machine.

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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

Fig. 10 to 12 shows the respective briquettes produced using the developed briquetting machine.

Fig 10: Briquettes from Rice Husk Fig 11: Briquettes from Sawdust

Fig 12: Briquettes from Palm Fruits Shell

The compressive strength of all the briquettes produced ranged from 0.9kN/m2 to 1.30kN/m2. The
compressive strength of all the samples was determined and results are presented in Table 2 and
Fig. 13. These results were compared with the Gbabo et al., [5] and it was observed that the machine
was suitable to be used in producing briquettes from sawdust, rice husk and palm fruit shell for both
local and industrial uses.

Table 2: Compressive strength for briquettes from different materials

Briquettes Samples 1 (kN/m2) Samples 2 (kN/m2) Samples 3 (kN/m2)
Saw Dust 0.90 1.10 1.00
Rice Husk 1.10 1.15 1.15
Palm Fruit Shell 1.25 1.20 1.30

Fig.13: Compressive strength for briquettes from different materials

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 Francis Inegbedion and Tina Ishioma Francis-Akilaki/ Journal of Energy Technology and Environment
4(1) 2022 pp. 11-20

4. Conclusion

A briquetting machine was designed, manufactured and tested for its suitability for production of
briquettes using saw dust, rice husk and palm fruit shell. The briquetting machine produced used a
power screw to compress the raw materials to produce briquettes. Compressive test was carried out
on samples of the briquettes using a compressive testing machine. Results showed that the
compressive strength of all the briquettes produced ranged from 0.9KN/m2 to 1.30KN/m2. These
results were compared with literature and it was observed that the machine was suitable to be used
in producing briquettes from sawdust, rice husk and palm fruit shell for both local and industrial
uses.

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