Читать книгу Encyclopedia of Renewable Energy - James Speight G., James G. Speight - Страница 125

Bagasse is the fibrous residue remaining after sugarcane or sorghum stalks, for example, are crushed to extract their juice. It is currently used as a renewable resource in the manufacture of pulp and paper products and building materials. However, surplus bagasse presents a disposal problem for many sugar factories. Briquetting technology offers a way to reduce the surplus amount of bagasse.

A briquette (also spelled briquet) is a compressed block of (typically) combustible material (such as charcoal, sawdust, and wood chips) used for fuel. In some cases, the briquettes may be used for transportation before further processing. A piston press is used to create solid briquettes for a wide array of purposes. Screw extrusion is used to compact biomass into loose, homogeneous briquettes that are substituted for coal in cofiring. This technology creates a toroidal (doughnut-like) briquette.

The briquetting process involves the following steps: (i) size reduction in which the bagasse is chopped, rolling, or hammered, (ii) drying in which moisture is removed by open air drying or by using forced, heated air in a large rotating drum, (iii) carbonization in which the bagasse is combusted in a limited supply of oxygen in a buried pit or trench until it carbonizes into charcoal, (iv) feedstock preparation in which the carbonized bagasse is mixed with a binder such as clay or molasses, (v) compaction and extrusion in which the material is passed through a machine-operated or manually-operated extruder to form rolls of charcoal, (vi) drying in which the rolls are air-dried for 1 to 3 days, causing them to break into chunks, and (vii) packaging in which the briquettes in are made ready for sales.

See also: Agave Bagasse, Bagasse.