Sooner or later, every enterprise engaged in work related to the sale or processing of any type of coal is faced with the problem of accumulation of fine coal and dust. The dust fraction from 0 to 6 mm constitutes on average at least 25% of the total mass of incoming raw materials and, as a rule, entails difficulties in selling 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 fuel briquettes, despite all the attractiveness of this idea, does not have such a long history. Real interest in this issue has become acute and relevant only recently, due to a significant rise in fuel prices, including coal products.

Most attempts to organize the production of coal briquettes were frustrated either by the high cost of the technology or by the unsatisfactory quality and characteristics of the resulting briquettes associated with the use of cheap but poorly flammable binders, which repeatedly 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 foreign impurities in the production of briquettes, with the exception of simple water.

This allows you to ultimately obtain a briquette in composition and characteristics that is in no way inferior to the original graded coal and avoids the usual disadvantages (foreign odor, high ash content, low calorie content, etc.) The main working unit of the proposed equipment is extruder presses, which are specially designed for briquetting rocks, anthracite pellets, coal slurries, brown coal crumbs, peat, etc. The pressing technology is based on adhesive-chemical processes occurring in visco-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 force the fossil organic components already included in the coal (phenols, resins, wax, etc.) with the participation of water to polarize on the surface of the particles, causing them to bind to each other. When cooled and dried, the briquette hardens and becomes fixed. Briquetted fuel has high thermal power properties, in particular sufficient mechanical strength, water resistance and heat resistance. When burned, the layer of such fuel has good gas permeability, which ensures a complete degree of combustion even with a relatively high ash content. To achieve maximum productivity of briquetting presses, our company has developed storage hoppers with screw pre-pressers, which ensure uninterrupted supply of the charge under the required pressure and at the designed speed. In addition, the briquetting line includes box conveyors with air coolers and a thermal grotto. To obtain the required moisture content of the mixture, mixing drums with a capacity of up to one ton of finished raw materials have been developed.
Due to the simplicity of the technological process, the equipment does not have complex technological components, does not require highly qualified maintenance personnel during operation and repair, and operates reliably in any conditions.

1. Briquetting line 16 tons per shift (shift 8 working hours). The following configuration:

Equipment	Productivity t/h	Number of units	Energy consumption kW/h
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. Briquetting line 40 tons per shift (shift 8 working hours). The following configuration:

Equipment	Productivity t/h	Number of units	Energy consumption kW/h
Hammer crusher	5	1	22
Forced mixer	5	1	3
Extruder press	5	1	40
Conveyor dryer (level 3)	5	1	30
Belt conveyor	5	3	3
Cooling conveyor	5	1	3

Constantly rising energy and fuel prices are forcing consumers to be more selective in their choices or find alternative options to save money while maximizing their return on investment. Nowadays, this is not easy to do, because there are plenty of offers on the market, and new technological types of heating materials often appear, so we have to study existing options so as not to throw money away.

Coal-wood briquettes: types of raw materials

The relatively low price, ease of manufacture, availability of purchase and efficiency of fuel briquettes have led to 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 made from different types of 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 high quality raw materials. Coal dust and fines are quite suitable for this purpose, as well as waste that does not sinter 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 binding component directly depends on the type of main raw material and its quality. Also, depending on the use of a particular component, the technology for producing briquettes and its labor intensity will change.

What are they?

Coal briquette is a solid fuel product manufactured in the form of bars of various configurations and sizes, which are pressed under high pressure and temperature. Cementing components, which can be organic or inorganic, are used to hold together the particles of raw materials and strengthen the products.

The efficiency of this energy carrier lies in its heat transfer parameters and combustion duration, which are higher than those of conventional coal. The shape and density of the briquettes also play a role in efficiency because they allow the fuel to maintain an even, predictable burn and maintain a constant temperature throughout the combustion process. The waste remaining after attenuation in the form of ash is only 3%; for traditional coal this figure is 10 times higher, while the briquettes do not fall apart in the oven until they burn out completely.

Where to use and where not to use

It is mainly used for heating needs in everyday life, but recently it has become more often used in metallurgical and chemical enterprises, as well as power plants and boiler houses. In general, briquettes can be used in any enterprise or in a private home where equipment that runs on solid fuel is installed - coal, firewood, etc.

But you should know that under no circumstances should you use a charcoal briquette to start a fire in barbecues, grills and other ovens for cooking where 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 caustic and harmful substances contained in the coal released will make the food unfit for consumption.

Industrial production

Since the manufacturing technology differs somewhat 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 materials are washed to remove impurities, and then crushed and dried to the required parameters. For this purpose, it is poured into the crusher through the receiving hopper, and then, through a screw, it enters the dryer. Dried coal fines are sorted into fractions: coals measuring from 0 to 6 cm go into the mixer, and larger ones go back into the crusher. After calibration, a binder is added to the mixer to the prepared base raw material.

When the necessary components are loaded, they are mixed into a homogeneous mass, which is distributed into the cells of the molds, where, through hot steam and high pressure, the resulting mixture is converted into a coal briquette. The resulting products are transferred to cooling bunkers for 8 hours. Screening out defective forms and subsequent packaging into 25 kg bags completes the production process.

DIY 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 this manually. Unlike the factory manufacturing process, at home, instead of drying fine coal, it is mixed with water. No need to add binder. The main thing is to comply with two conditions:

• coal fraction - no more than 6 cm and the smaller the better;
• the resulting mass must be plastic and thick so that it can be sculpted by hand or briquetted in a mold using a hand press.

After the briquetting process, the products should be thoroughly dried. 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 a bunker and get finished products of high quality that are suitable for transportation. However, the cost of the unit itself and its components (electric motor, gearbox, etc.) is high and not everyone can afford it.

Charcoal is a solid, porous, high-carbon product obtained from wood by heating without air (or with little air) in retorts, ovens or heaps. Many companies producing charcoal are faced with the problem of large waste of charcoal in the form of dust and small pieces (dropouts) due to the excessive fragility of the material.

Our company has found a REVOLUTIONARY solution to this problem and introduced to the market a NEW product - 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/hour!!! Special production technology allows us to achieve high quality and environmentally friendly finished products. Charcoal briquettes are produced by pressing a mixture of screenings, crushed into dust, with a binder on an extruder press, thanks to high pressure in the conical compression chamber (about 2000 kg/cm2) and heat treatment at the outlet. This allows us to produce high-quality briquettes of various shapes:
1. Round type “Nestro”, with a diameter from 40 to 60 mm - at the request of the customer.
2. Octagonal or square Pini-Key type “from 50X50 to 63X63 with a hole in the center.

Charcoal briquette (briquetted coal) is an environmentally friendly product that is used for grilling, barbecuing, etc., and it is also an ideal fuel for barbecues, stoves, fireplaces, all types of fireboxes, for heating tents, greenhouses. Charcoal briquettes are an indispensable tool for creating comfort while camping, on a picnic, fishing, or hunting.

The burning time of coal briquettes is 4-5 hours, unlike regular charcoal, which burns for 1-2 hours.

The constant temperature during combustion for 4-5 hours distinguishes briquettes from ordinary charcoal.

The ability to reuse charcoal briquettes - after use, they can be filled with water; under the influence of sunlight and wind, the briquettes dry out and are ready for use again.

Charcoal briquettes burn without smoke, do not spark, and during combustion practically do not emit any volatile substances, which eliminates the possibility of the spread of an unpleasant odor.

Our company produces a whole line of screw (extruder) presses of the PBE series of varying power and productivity. Depending on the type of raw materials, size and power of the equipment, productivity can reach 10 tons of 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, when preparing the raw mixture, binder additives are used, which, after drying and cooling the resulting briquette, determine its quality, strength and its resistance to external influences.

But there is a fairly 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 during the process of strong compression and under the influence of high temperature. They perform the function of a natural glue that connects particles of raw materials when forming a briquette. Strong compression and high temperature are achieved through the operation of a screw when feeding raw materials into a conical chamber, where compaction occurs, and subsequently extrusion of the briquetted mass through a 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 appropriate equipment. It is enough to thoroughly mix such fine-grained raw materials with water until they form a homogeneous plastic mass and the mixture for briquetting is ready. Using PBE presses without the use of binding additives, the manufacturer obtains high-quality briquette products from materials such as fossil coals of grades B, D, G, Zh, K, peat, hydrolyzed lignin, sapropel, animal manure, bird droppings, chalk, lime.

For such production, our company also produces 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/hour	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
Main auger rotation speed, rpm	70-75	0-75	0-75	0-75	0-75
Presser auger rotation speed, rpm	-	0-35,5	0-35,5	0-35,5	0-35,5
Adjustment of auger speed**		a frequency converter **	a frequency converter **	a frequency converter **	a frequency converter **
Main drive electric motor power, kW	11	15	22	30	45
Pre-presser electric motor power, kW	-	3	3	3	5
Thermal heater for the die, kW	-	2	2	3	4
Trimming mechanism**, kW	1,1 **	1,1 **	1,1 **	1,1 **	1,1 **
Parameters of the resulting briquette: Density, g/cm3 Size Form	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

* - productivity depends on the density of the material (peat - 500 kg/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 Sodrugestvo 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 branches of the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. And especially if this equipment meets international quality standards. The Sodrugestvo company has been working in the production of equipment for industrial and agricultural enterprises for many years. And the quality of the products it offers has been tested by the experience of many representatives of this sector of the economy.

To keep up with the times, the company’s employees are constantly mastering new types of equipment for briquette production, including screw presses of varying power and productivity. The company is constantly working to introduce new technologies for the development and maintenance of the equipment life cycle. This makes it possible to increase the service life of equipment, as well as improve the quality of manufactured products, including equipment for the production of fuel briquettes. At the same time, it is worth noting that the quality of the equipment we offer is close to European, while the prices remain Russian.

The screw presses and additional equipment we offer for the production of briquettes are capable of producing products from various types of industrial and plant raw materials: coal dust of various grades, peat, sapropel and other types of raw materials with sufficient lignin content. 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 for obtaining high-quality briquettes using this technology are a fine fraction (0-5mm) and the required moisture content of the raw materials. 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 mixer.

But we won’t talk much about all the advantages that equipment for the production of fuel briquettes has. After all, it is best to check this on your own experience. Convince yourself of the advantages of the equipment of the Commonwealth company, which can become a reliable partner and supplier of equipment for the production of fuel briquettes for your company. The company's employees will manufacture equipment in accordance with your requirements, and will also share many years of invaluable experience.

All equipment for the production of fuel briquettes, including the screw (extruder) press, is manufactured by the Sodrugestvo company taking into account fire safety requirements. All equipment offered by Sodrugestvo is provided with a quality guarantee, and a full range of post-warranty equipment maintenance is provided.