Solid Fuel

Solid fuel refers to various forms of solid material that can be burnt to release energy,

providing heat and light through the process of combustion. Solid fuels can be contrasted with

liquid fuels and gaseous fuels. Common examples of solid fuels include wood, charcoal, peat,

coal, Hexamine fuel tablets, wood pellets, corn, wheat, rye and other grains. Solid fuels are also

extensively used in rocketry as solid propellants. Solid fuels have been used throughout human

history to create fire and solid fuel is still in widespread use throughout the world in the present

day. Charcoal is one of the examples of solid fuels. It is the lightweight black carbon and ash

residue produced by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation

substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis. Common charcoal is made from

peat, coal, wood, coconut shell, or petroleum.

Solid fuels, compared to liquid fuels or gaseous fuels, are often cheaper, easier to extract, more

stable to transport and in many places are more readily available.[8][9] Coal, in particular, is

utilized in the generation of 38.1% of the world’s electricity because it is less expensive and

more powerful than its liquid and gas counterparts.

Charcoal Production

There are several methods for processing wood residues to make them cleaner and easier to use

as well as easier to transport. Production of charcoal is the most common .Charcoal is mostly

pure carbon, called char, made by cooking wood in a low oxygen environment, a process that

can take days and burns off volatile compounds such as water, methane, hydrogen, and tar. In

commercial processing, the burning takes place in large concrete or steel silos with very little

oxygen, and stops before it all turns to ash. The process leaves black lumps and powder, about
25% of the original weight. When ignited, the carbon in charcoal combines with oxygen and

forms carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water, other gases, and significant quantities of energy.

It packs more potential energy per ounce than raw wood. Char burns steady, hot, and produces

less smoke and fewer dangerous vapors. The process of making charcoal is ancient, with

archaeological evidence of charcoal production going back about 30,000 years. Making charcoal

is still practiced at home in third world economies. Because charcoal burns hotter, cleaner, and

more evenly than wood, it was used by smelters for melting iron ore in blast furnaces, and

blacksmiths who formed and shaped steel.

Briquette Production

As for high calorific solid wastes, briquetting is one of the ways to turn the wastes into treasure.

Briquetting technology is used to densify the loose combustible materials into solid composites

of different shapes and sizes with the presence of pressure and binding agents.

The briquettes are made through raw materials preparation. Mechanical fragmentation of raw

materials by a crushing machines(which is up to the quality and size of the materials and the

technology applied, and the procedure can be staged).Drying of the crushed materials when the

moisture content is too high for briquettes production. Briquette the processed materials by using

various types of briquetting machines such as the screw pressing machines, stamping pressing

machines and hydraulic briquetting machines). The briquettes are made in the process of

pressure agglomeration, in which the loose materials is molded into a permanent , geometrical

and defined dimensions by the compaction pressure and intermolecular forces and bonds when

necessary.
Reference:

1. "The Guide to Solid Fuels" (PDF). Solid Fuel Association. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

2. Jump up^ "Guide To Solid Fuel". Coal Products Ltd. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

3. "Solid". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09

4. http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/zen_of_charcoal.html

5. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/articles/2014/08/how-to-make-briquettes-

from-daily-wastes.html