China’s original new process for biomass briquetting

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Source: China Petroleum and Chemical Network, April 14, 2009 – http://newscenter.chemall.com.cn/NewsArticleg.asp?ArticleID=170112. Reporters learned from the Beijing Academy of Environmental Sciences that a wet-process, low-pressure roller-compaction technique for producing biomass briquettes, along with TX additive technology, has been successfully developed independently by Beijing Wenxinde Long Co., Ltd. This achievement resolves the bottleneck issues in briquette production, particularly the problems associated with domestic biomass briquette development, such as high energy consumption of processing equipment, low production capacity, easy wear of components, and the challenges of crushing and bonding materials to form briquettes. It is reported that biomass briquettes produced using the new process can, compared to the briquettes used in coal chemical gas generation furnaces and the lump coal used in ordinary boilers, replace 1 ton of standard coal with 1.2 to 1.5 tons of biomass briquettes. This allows for a 15% to 30% reduction in coal consumption, a 50% to 70% reduction in dust emissions, a 60.74% decrease in dust concentration, and a 41.86% reduction in SO2 concentrations. When used in conjunction with a biomass briquette boiler, the need for induced draft fans and forced draft fans can be eliminated, resulting in a 95% reduction in electricity consumption; the overall energy-saving effect is even more significant. The greatest advantage of the new biomass briquette production process is that it allows 10% to 80% of biomass waste such as straw and wood to be incorporated according to customer requirements, enabling the efficient utilization of large amounts of agricultural straw and wood waste as resources and energy. It can serve as an ideal and economical clean fuel for China’s coal chemical industry as well as for boilers that use loose coal. According to Yang Mingzhen, a professor-level engineer at the Beijing Academy of Environmental Sciences, around 60% of the more than 4,000 fixed-bed gasifiers used by over 500 coal chemical enterprises in China utilize briquetted coal. Approximately 20% of the more than 5,000 gas mixers used in industries such as chemical ceramics and building materials also use briquetted coal to produce gas. In addition, 4.8 million industrial boilers burn loose coal. If these are switched to use biomass briquettes, the issues related to the source of raw materials for industries such as coal chemistry and building materials, as well as energy conservation and emission reduction, can be addressed at the source. In particular, emissions of SO2 and CO2 can be reduced significantly, and sulfur fixation and dust removal can be achieved without the need for additional equipment. According to Zhang Wenxin, chairman of Wenxin Delong Company, this new process uses wet bonding; the raw materials do not need to be dried, it involves low-pressure molding, resulting in low energy consumption. Additionally, it requires less investment in equipment and thus leads to lower production costs. This technology not only overcomes the technical barriers that have hindered the development of biomass briquettes in China, but it also promotes the widespread use of clean fuels in China’s coal chemical industry, as well as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly boilers. The TX additive used in the production of briquettes offers three benefits: it eliminates the need for drying, provides water resistance, and helps to remove sulfur. It represents a significant technological breakthrough in improving the quality of biomass briquettes.