MODELLING OF THE ENERGY BALANCE FOR THE TREATMENT OF SOLID BIOMASS FUEL BY COMPRESSING

Abstract

The aim of the presented research is the implementation of a mathematical model to analyse and plan the production of solid biomass fuel by compressing. The mathematical model reflects the current experimental state of the art of effectiveness of fuel compressing machines. The process of making briquettes is considered to be fairly energy-intensive. Nevertheless, if we compare the energy expenditures to the heating value of the fuel, then it is less than 10%, even when converted into primary energy. The experiments that were conducted by the authors illustrate that the actual energy expenditure is significantly smaller. The main expenditure comes from moving the working parts of the device. The energy that is needed for briquetting is insignificant. The residual bulk-material from agricultural and forest industry has low bulk density which consequently causes several management problems. However, it is beneficial to produce fuel with homogeneous properties using pressure processing. Unfortunately, the raw material does not correspond well to the pressure from the briquette machine; yet, the management can be substantially improved with adding wood to the mixtures.