Modeling of a Straw Ring-die Briquetting Process

Abstract

Efficient utilization of biomass resources is crucial for providing renewable energy and mitigating the risk of environmental pollution caused by crop straw burning in China. Straw ring-die briquetting forming is a convenient densification technology to make the low density biomass into briquette fuel; however, the energy consumption of this process is still a challenge. Productivity and torque modeling were carried out in this study on the basis of theoretical derivation. Generally, the straw briquetting process is divided into a compression deformation stage and an extrusion forming stage with the die structure (ring die and roller radius ratio λ) and friction angle φ being the main factors that affect the productivity. Mechanical modeling based on material compaction and calculation modeling based on die-hole pressure were considered for the calculation of σαx in the torque model. A calculation case was then conducted according to the theoretical model, and actual productivity and torque testing were performed for validation purposes. Results show that this deduced productivity model is successful because the deviation is 4.61%. The torque model determined by the calculation model based on die-hole pressure had a better accuracy with a deviation of 6.76%.

Keywords

• Briquetting
• Straw
• Productivity
• Mechanical modeling
• Torque