Penn State ME 414 Project Website

Design of a small scale device for production of smokeless biomass fuel briquettes

Team Members: Scott English, Brian Fronk, Tim Geiger, Ramdane Harouaka, Justin Speer, Chuck Totten

Faculty Coach: Dr. Savas Yavuzkurt

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Penn State Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) seeks to develop a device for small scale production of smokeless biomass briquettes for use in rural Nigeria. Smokeless biomass briquettes will help mitigate indoor air pollution resulting from smoky biomass fuels (such as fuel wood) commonly used in developing areas of the world.

Biomass Energy Solutions (BES) has been contracted to create an initial design as well as construct and test a prototype device. BES will ultimately be responsible for:

· Selection of raw biomass with appropriate local availability and thermal characteristics

· Develop a procedure for processing raw biomass into a smokeless pyrolysed fuel

· Design and construct a manual briquetting device that is low cast, easy to use and durable

· Test finished briquettes for heating values, emissions and durability

FINAL RESULTS

After consulting with research colleagues at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, raw sawdust was selected as a biomass due to its wide availability and proximity to rural areas from the country’s numerous sawmills.

A mechanical press was designed to be operated by one or two individuals as pictured. The press features a TIG welded aluminum frame, with steel acme screw and handle for application of force to the briquette. A steel die produces 3” x 3” briquettes of varying height. Various size and shaped dies could be used with the existing system.

Finished briquettes were tested for heating value (Table 1) and emissions (xl file). A control of raw sawdust was used for comparison. Emissions tests were conducted at the Penn State Energy Institute. Calorimeter testing was completed at the Penn State Coal Utilization laboratory in accordance with ATSM method D5865-04.

Heating Values
	Pyrolysed sawdust (experimental)	Raw sawdust (experimental)	Gasoline (published)
Heating Value (MJ/kg)	14.96	13.46	47.3

Date Created 04.18.2005