FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

FINAL YEAR PROJECT PROPOSAL REPORT

IMPROVED DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A MANUALLY

OPERATED BRIQUETTING MACHINE

Submitted in fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Science degree in

Agricultural Engineering degree of Makerere University

By

MWAKA EMMANUEL

06/U/316

206000959
SUPERVISOR: Mr. C.P SEWANYANA

HEAD OF DEPT: DR. LEVI KASISIRA

 Abstract

Briquetting of the agricultural residues represents one of the possible solutions

to the local energy shortages in many developing countries. It constitutes a
positive solution to the problem of increasing rates of desertification in many
areas worldwide. Agricultural residues are not attractive as a household fuel
source for urban areas because they are very bulky and have low energy
intensity.

Previously investigated, briquetting machines lacked high productivity,

expensive and were of complicated designs. The present study puts forward a
machine of simple design, which could be manufactured, locally in both rural
and urban areas and of much higher productivity. The local Sudanese
briquetting experience was overviewed, studying all the alternative available
options and the market potential.

The aim of the project is to improve on the design of a manually operated

briquetting machine with briquetting diameter of 35mm.

This creates the need to design and construct the briquetting machine
prototype that would be able to utilize a human force of about 460N in
operation using the gear systems attached as the power transmission.

The methodology involves reviewing the literature on the existing briquetting

machines and there technologies, creating conceptual designs, analyzing
forces, strength of machine and fabricating the prototype. After there will be
testing of the prototype if its performance is effective.

Keywords: Briquetting, Agro Waste, Urban and Rural Development, Binders.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS:

List of Figures ..........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

List of tables ..........................................................................................4

CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................2

1.0 BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................... 5
1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT....................................................................................... 7
1.2 JUSTIFICATION ..................................................................................................... 7
1.3 OBJECTIVES ..........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.1 MAIN OBJECTIVE..........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES.................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................9

2.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 9
2.1 DIE PRESSURE RANGES FOR BRIQUETTING MACHINES............................ 9
2.2 BRIQUETTING TECHNOLOGIES……………………………….........................
2.3.1 SCREW PRESS TECHNOLOGY................................................................... 10
2.3.2 PISTON PRESS TECHNOLOGY .................................................................. 15

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ....................................................17

3.1 HUMAN POWER AND ERGONOMIC CONSIDERATIONSError! Bookmark not
defined.
3.2 DESIGN OF MACHINE PARTS/COMPONENENTSError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.1 POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM .................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.2 SIZING OF SHAFT..........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.3 DRIVE HANDLE.................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.4 PRESS PISTON............................................................................................... 21
3.2.5 HOPPER ...............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.6 DIE CUT CONE .................................................................................................. 21
3.3 SELECTION OF MATERIALS
3.3.1 BASIC FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN MATERIAL SELECTIONError! Bookmark
not defined.
3.4 PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT............................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.5 TESTING………………………………………………………………………….

3.6 EXPECTED OUTPUT .......................Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.7 ESTIMATED BUDGET……………………………………………………..............

3.8 TIME FRAME…………………………………………………….……………

3.9 REFERENCE:.............................................................................25
 List of figures

Figure 1: conical screw press……………………………………………………8

Figure 2: typical screw Briquetting machine………………………………..9

Figure 3: Heated-die Screw press (Japanese design)………………………

Figure 4: Thai Heated-die Screw press Briquetting machines……….

Figure 5: Mobile piston press Briquetting machine ………………….

Figure 6: Time Frame…………………………………………….18

List of tables

Table 1.1: Availability of agricultural residues in Uganda…………

Table 3.1: Estimated budget……………………………………………..

 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND

Agriculture has for several years formed the backbone of Uganda’s economy,
contributing approximating 30.2% of the gross domestic product employing
over 77% of the population above 10 years of age.

Developing countries like Uganda produce large quantities of agro-residues

such as rice husks, coffee husks, bagasse, groundnut shells, cotton stalks, cow
dung and sawdust as milling residue is also available in large quantities, but
they are used inefficiently causing extensive degradation to the environment.

Briquetting could solve this transportation, storage, handling and

environmental degradation problems associated with agro residues.

Briquetting is a mechanical compaction process for increasing the density of

bulky material. Briquettes are a good substitute to firewood and charcoal for
domestic cooking and agro-industrial operations, thereby reducing the high
demand for both. Besides, briquettes have advantages over fuel wood in terms
of greater heat intensity, cleanliness, convenience in use, and relatively smaller
space requirement for storage Yaman et al. 2000

However, Briquetting agro-residues need a Briquetting machine. The existing

machines are scarcely available to rural people, use electricity and the cost of
fuel is high, bulky and expensive. They need skilled man power to operate and
maintain them.

Many people in Uganda still adopt the traditional method of Briquetting using
hands. This method of Briquetting is associated with a number of problems;
Time consuming, Tedious, Accuracy is compromised, requires a great deal of
skill and effort to briquette, low production and wastage.

This project seeks to come up with a fast briquetting technique,

which can be employed by those involved in briquette making. Fast
briquetting results into increased output per day to meet the
briquette demand plus minimized amount of hand working.

Table 1.1 below shows a brief summary of the availability of some of the agro-
residues in Uganda

Table1.1: Availability of agricultural residues in Uganda

Residue Availability Remarks

(MT/year)

Coffee husks 280,000 12,000 tons (4.3%) used

commercially

Rice husks 10,350 No commercial use

Bagasse 425,000 Half used for heat and power

generation

Cow dung 30,000 No commercial use

Source: Da Silva et. al., 2003.

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

The available Briquetting machines are expensive, use electricity and require
high technology in terms of operation and maintenance, and yet most of the
targeted population (rural areas) have no electricity and cannot afford the
available expensive machines.

The traditional way of making briquettes by hand is labor intensive and the
briquettes made are not uniform, as the pressure exerted on them by hand is
not uniformly distributed.

Loose biomass is associated with low energy densities. Combustion properties

limit use of agro-residues as fuel.

Deforestation and wood fuel shortages are becoming pressing

problems in Uganda and as such, attention has to be paid to other
types of biomass fuel, which include agro- residues, but for
effectiveness the agro residues have to be compressed thus need
for a briquetting machine.

1.2 JUSTIFICATION

If the local population accepts the prototype of the improved briquetting

machine, the benefits below shall be achieved;

The amount of briquettes made per unit time or

per day shall be increased.

Since the machine shall use no fuel, no

electricity, then no cost will be incurred in
paying the bills associated with the energy
sources mentioned.

Less effort will be required to operate it.The
machine will be affordable to the local
population, will not require skilled personnel to
operate and maintain it, and will produce
uniform briquettes.

The agro-residues will be briquetted to improve on their fuel properties. Hence

savings on energy

Deforestation will be reduced, as briquettes will substitute for charcoal and

woody biomass

1.3 OBJECTIVES

1.3.1MAIN OBJECTIVE

To improve on the design of a manually operated briquetting

machine.

1.3.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

To identify locally available materials for the construction

To design the power transmission system for the machine.

To construct a prototype of the machine

To test and determine the performance of the machine

prototype and

Compare the performance with our briquetting machines

1.4 SCOPE

This project will be limited to the design machine mainly briquettes

composed of charcoal dust and cow dung used in both rural and
urban areas. It’s designed to compact and compress the mentioned
agro-residues to a cylindrical briquette of 35mm.
 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

Briquetting is a mechanical compaction process for increasing the density of

bulky materials. This process can be utilized for forming fine or granular agro-
residues into a designed shape. Briquetting improves the handling
characteristics of the materials for transport, storing etc and can help in
expanding the use of biomass in energy production, since densification
improves the volumetric calorific value of a fuel, reduces the cost of transport
and can help in improving the fuel situation in rural areas. Raw materials for
Briquetting include waste from wood industries, loose biomass and other
combustible waste products.

2.1 DIE PRESSURE RANGES OF BRIQUETTING MACHINES

There are three die pressure ranges of briquetting machines namely;

1. The high-pressure machine where the pressure reaches values more

than 100 MPa. This type is suitable for the residues of good lignin
content. At this high pressure the temperature rises to about 200-
250°C, which is sufficient to fuse the lignin content of the residue, which
acts as a binder and so, no need of any additional binding material.

2. The medium pressure machine, with a pressure ranges between 5 MPa

to 100 MPa, which results in lower heat generation. This type of
machines requires in most of the cases the use of an additional heat
source to melt the internal lignin content of the feedstock and eliminate
the use of an additional binder.
 3. The low-pressure machine that work at pressure less than 5 MPa and
room temperature. This type of machines requires the addition of binding
materials, and is considered to be the most suitable type for the
carbonized materials due to the lack of the lignin material due to the
carbonization process and the low energy requirement for this type of
machines

2.2 BRIQUETTING TECHNOLOGIES

There are two common types of Briquetting presses (technologies) employed in
developing countries screw press and piston press technologies.

2.2.1 SCREW PRESS TECHNOLOGY

In the screw-presses, pressure is applied continuously by passing the material

through a screw with diminishing volume. There are cylindrical screws with or
without external heating of the die and conical screws.

However, if the die is not heated then temperatures may not rise sufficiently to
cause lignin flow and a binding material may have to be added. This can be
molasses, starch or some other cheap organic material. It is also possible to
briquette carbonized material in a screw-press and in this, as lignins have been
destroyed; a binder has to be employed. Some low-pressure piston machines
may also require the use of binders though this is unusual.

If the die is heated then the temperature is normally raised to 250-300 °C,
which produces a good quality briquette from virtually all organic feeds
provided the initial moisture is below about 15%. The briquettes from screw
machines are often of higher quality than from piston units being harder and
less likely to break along natural fracture lines.
Screw presses are usually sized in the range 75-250 kg/in though larger
machines are available.

The capital costs of screw machines may be a little less than piston units
though because of size differences it is difficult to make direct comparisons.
However, their maintenance costs are usually much higher because of the
considerable wear on the screws, which have to be re-built rather frequently.
They also have a higher specific energy demand than piston machines.

The merits and demerits of this technology are:

The output is continuous and the briquette is uniform in size.

The outer surface of the briquette is partially carbonized facilitating easy
ignition and combustion. This also protects the briquettes from ambient
moisture.

A concentric hole in the briquette helps in combustion because of
sufficient circulation of air.

The machine runs very smoothly without any shock load.

The machine is light compared to the piston press because of the
absence of reciprocating parts and flywheel.

The machine parts and the oil used in the machine are free from dust or
raw material contamination.

The power requirement of the machine is high compared to that of piston
press.
Examples of the screw press machines are shown below:
Figure : conical screw press.

Figure 1: screw press with heated die Source: Bhattacharya et al,

Figure 2: typical screw Briquetting machine

Figure 3: Heated-die Screw press (Japanese design)

Figure 4: Thai Heated-die Screw press Briquetting machines
2.2.2 PISTON PRESS TECHNOLOGY

In the piston press, pressure is applied discontinuously by the action of a

piston on material packed into a cylinder.

Piston-presses can be driven either by mechanical means from a massive

flywheel via a crankshaft or hydraulically.

The mechanical machines are usually larger, ranging in size from 0.45 to 0.3
t/h, whilst hydraulic machines normally range up to 0.25 t/h though some
models are somewhat larger.

Mechanical presses generally produce hard and dense briquettes from most
materials whilst hydraulic presses, which work at lower pressures, give
briquettes, which are less dense and are sometimes soft and friable.

Hydraulic piston press is different from the mechanical piston press in that the
energy to the piston is transmitted from an electric motor via a high-pressure
hydraulic oil system. This machine is compact and light. Because of the slower
press cylinder compared to that of the mechanical machine, it results in lower
outputs.
Piston presses are reliable, once they have been installed properly with dies
shaped correctly for the raw materials used. Problems arise if the die has not
been shaped correctly or if the feeding mechanism has not been sized for the
material to be used.

Below are the advantages and disadvantages of the piston press

technology.

There is less relative motion between the ram and the biomass hence, the
wear of the ram is considerably reduced.

It is the most cost-effective technology. Some operational experience has
now been gained using different types of biomass.

The moisture content of the raw material should be less than 12% for the
best results.

The quality of the briquettes goes down with an increase in production
for the same power.

Carbonization of the outer layer is not possible. Briquettes are somewhat
brittle.

Figure 5: Mobile piston press Briquetting machine (Sudan)

 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

The following shall be considered in the methodology

 Human power and ergonomic considerations

 Design of the componenent parts

 Selection of materials

 Prototype development

 Testing

3.1 HUMAN POWER AND ERGONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

The average power a normal person will be considered according to Grand Jean
(1988). The average force for a push or a pull in vertical plane is considered
460N.

The height of the machine will also be considered for the proper operation and
the person operating at an appropriate position. This will be based on the
average height of humans.

3.2 DESIGN OF THE COMPONENENT.

The machine will consist of the following parts:

3.2.1 Power Transmission

It is manually done by hand but the out power will be stepped up by using the
gear system.

The mechanism is the crank mechanism using bevel gears to increase the
torque.

The machine is going to be manually operated and from literature, an adult

person may generate about 0.26kW of power for very short durations but this
power drops drastically as time increases.
Power is given as, Power = 0.139 – 0.069logt, t as time in hours

Considering the power generated by a woman, which is 70% of the above

(Grand, 1988), then;

Power = 0.70x power calculated above.

Inside the main shaft with the following weight and strength. The forces are in
Newton’s and length in mm. N is the reaction at the right hand side, which is to
be determined.

From the power calculated, then the torque is given by

T=P/ω

And ω=2 πN/60

Where

T= torque, Nm

P=power, watts

N=speed, rpm

ω=angular velocity, rad/s

For the gears, power input, P1= T1W1,

Power out, P2= T2W2

Speed ratio= w1/w2 = d2/d1= N2/N1

Where T1= torque of the driven gear, T2 = torque of the driving gear

W1= angular velocity of the driven gear, W2= angular velocity of the
driving gear.

d2 and N2 is the diameter and number of teeth on the driven gear.

3.2.2 SIZING OF THE SHAFT

Using the modified Goodman approach (Shigley 1986) which gives the shaft
diameter as

d= {32n/π [(KfMa / Se) 2+( Tmax / Sult) 2]} 1/3

Where;

n=factor of safety

Kf =fatigue stress concentration

Tmax=maximum torque

Se= endurance limit of material used

Sult= maximum tensile stress of material used

But the endurance limit is given by;

Se = Ka Kb Kc Kd KeSe

Where;

Se= endurance limit of material used

Ka =size factor

Kc=load factor

Kd =temperature factor

Ke=miscellaneous effect factor

The length of the shaft can be determined after knowing all the reactions on it,
shearing force and the bending moments

I=IX-X + Ah2 (Ryder, 2000) is the moment of inertia equation used in
determining centroid of a system.

LT= 2D + 6 (shigley, 1989). Is the equation use to determine an

appropriate bolt diameter D, once the length LT is known

Safety factor n = yield stress/design Stress (bacon 1998). This caters for
the uncertainties and failures that are assumed may occur causing the
machine failure.

3.2.4 DRIVE HANDLE

This provides the compression force through human force required to effect the
briquetting action through the press piston. Its diameter determine according
to drive speed. It allows reciprocating motion to take part effectively.

3.2.5 PRESS PISTON

It has to compress the feed in the hollow cylinder through the die cut cone.

3.2.6 HOPPER

It’s intended to have a conical shape with a square base and neck coned.

The height of the hopper, h the base b. on comparing the diameter 35mm of
briquette, the length of hopper can be analyzed.

The hypotenuse and height of trapezoidal section can be determined using

trigonometry.

From literature, the repose angle is selected as 39o

Total hopper volume V = volume of big cone- volume of small cone + volume of
rectangular section.

Mass of briquetting materials= density x volume

3.2.7 DIE CUT CONE

This depends on the final diameter of the briquette, which is 35mm.

3.3 SELECTION OF MATERIALS

Material selection is of great importance as far as machine design and

manufacturing are concerned. The selection of materials is going to be done
basing on the functional requirements such as Briquetting to a certain size,
shape, cost requirements, availability and accessibility of the materials, in
order to avoid obsolescence, over design, weight and cost. On top of knowing
the latest materials, a good knowledge of both strength and their properties is a
basic requirement.

3.3.1 BASIC FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN MATERIAL SELECTION

Strength

Ductility

Weldability

Hardness

Impact

Cost

Availability

Fatigue properties

Machinability

Safety

3.4 PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT

A prototype will be developed and constructed in accordance to the design

analysis that has already been created

3.5 TESTING

The constructed manually operated Briquetting machine will then be tested in

order to evaluate its effectiveness and performance.
The results from the performance will be compared to those from the other
hand Briquetting technologies.

3.6 EXPECTED OUTPUT

This project is expected to minimize the amount of hand work and the costs
involved in Briquetting.

The design will also be affordable, durable, easy to operate and will require less
maintenance.

3.7 COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN OF THE PROTOTYPE

3.8 ESTIMATED BUDGET ( Table3.2)

Description Amount

Labour 100,000

Stationary and secretarial services 50,000

Materials 500,000

Transport 200,000

Other services 100000

Miscellaneous 50,000

TOTAL 900,000
3.9 TIME FRAME (Figure 6)

Activities Octobe Novembe Decembe Januar Februar Marc Apri Ma

r r r y y h l y

Data
collection

Proposal
writing

Proposal
presentin
g

Data
collect. II

Designing
parts

Prototype
const.

Project
writing

Testing &
presentin
g
 REFERENCE

a) Abasaeed, A. E. (1988). Briquetting of the Carbonized Cotton Stalks

for Household Utilization (Second Report). Khartoum: ERC.
b) Elmagzoup, E. (1986). Briquetting of Carbonized cotton stalks for
household utilization (First Report). Khartoum: ERC.
c) Pietsch, W., Size enlargement by agglomeration, John Wiley & Sons
Ltd., England, 1991.
d) P.D. Grover & S.K. Mishra et al April 19969- biomass Briquetting:
technology and practices
e) Singh and Singh, 1982; Wamukonya and Jenkins 1995; Yaman et al.
2000; Olorunnisola, 2004.
f) Ajit K. Srivastava, Carroll E. Goering and Roger P. Rohrbach
(1995).Engineering Principles of Agricultural Machines. Revised
printing.
g) Joseph Edward Shigley, Charles R. Mischke, 1989. Mechanical
engineering design. 5th edition copy right by McGraw-Hill.Inc.
h) Meriam and James L., 2003 Engineering mechanics 2003
i) D. H Bacon and R. C Stephens, 1998. Mechanical technology 3rd
Edition.
j) Mr. Makumbi. 2008, class notes.