Steps for briquette formation
· Collectionof biomass in required quantity
· Eliminationof any unwanted stuffs from
the biomass and subsequently making it free fromany dirt and soil
· Grindingthe biomass into fine particles
· Passingthe biomass through sieve to eliminate
large chunks of biomass that might bepresent in it
· Preparationof slurry by mixing the biomass
with binder and water
· Mouldingof briquettes in small size from
the prepared slurry
· Dryingof briquettes
Procedure
The first step for briquetteformation is the preparation of slurry. Slurry is the mixture of biomass withbinder and water. For making the
slurry, a fixed quantity of binder is firstmixed with water and made into a sticky paste. The amount of water added shouldjust be enough to make it a paste. After that, the biomass particles must beadded to it in required quantity following which the ingredients
are thoroughlymixed to make the slurry.
The slurry thus formed must now bemoulded into briquettes while it is still soft. Moulding of briquettes may bedone in two ways – either by
hand or by machine. In our case, briquettes weremoulded by hand only.
The briquettes thus prepared are verysoft and wet at the beginning and capable of deformation due to the highmoisture content. Therefore they
are required to be kept in the open or underthe sun to dry. Generally they are kept for about 2 weeks in the sun to dry offand become hard and solid. While drying, it is important to take care that thebriquettes are not subjected to any kind of interference
or otherwise be tamperedwith which might spoil the briquettes.