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Bamboo Charcoal Briquette Technology Study

The document summarizes research on developing bamboo charcoal briquette technology as a sustainable and economically viable biofuel in the Philippines. The research was conducted in three phases: testing corn effluents as binders, establishing semi-commercial scale production, and providing trainings. Key findings include: the briquettes were comparable in quality to commercial products; briquette strength decreased as binder amount increased; and a complete small-scale production line was profitable and helped generate income and employment while reducing environmental impacts. The research demonstrated bamboo can provide additional products and sustainable energy while preserving forests.

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Geny Atienza
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78 views2 pages

Bamboo Charcoal Briquette Technology Study

The document summarizes research on developing bamboo charcoal briquette technology as a sustainable and economically viable biofuel in the Philippines. The research was conducted in three phases: testing corn effluents as binders, establishing semi-commercial scale production, and providing trainings. Key findings include: the briquettes were comparable in quality to commercial products; briquette strength decreased as binder amount increased; and a complete small-scale production line was profitable and helped generate income and employment while reducing environmental impacts. The research demonstrated bamboo can provide additional products and sustainable energy while preserving forests.

Uploaded by

Geny Atienza
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BAMBOO CHARCOAL BRIQUETTE

TECHNOLOGY
28 April 2008
The diminishing forest resources in the country welcome substituting wood development as an intervention. From the
many renewable resources identified, bamboo is found to be the most promising material substitute for wood around
the world. In this line, Malab et al. (MMSU) ventured on developing the bamboo or kawayan charcoal briquette
technology. This was found to be a promising biofuel that is both environment friendly and economically feasible. The
project aimed to develop other products from bamboo that can add to the income of farmers, while serving as clean
energy sources. This can clearly help mitigate environmental problems on waste utilization and disposal.
The technology was developed in three phases: Phase 1 focused on testing chichacorn (boiled corn kernels fried to
crispy state) effluents as binders, Phase 2 showcased the establishment of semi-commercial scale production of
kawayan charcoal briquettes, and Phase 3 on trainings for the production, promotion and organization of farmer
cooperators. The E-kawayan Processing Center of the Mariano Marcos State University conducted this experiment in
collaboration with the Victor Angel Food Products Processing in Paoay, Ilocos Norte.
Findings

The characteristics of charcoal briquettes were comparable to those available in commercial scale in other
countries of Asia. In terms of quality of measure of the material as fuel, briquettes approximated those produced from
the recommended cornstarch binder. This was the most important quality measure of the material. Material quality
measures of the briquettes include an average density of 0.46 g/cc, ash content of 8-11% and heat value of 7, 995
BTU/lb.

Briquette friability (the bond strength of binders used), decreased with increasing amount of binders mixed
with the charcoal particles. Mixing 1 kg bamboo charcoal with 2500 ml chichacorn effluent produced briquettes that
attain briquette strength with the recommended cornstarch binder.

Briquettes strength compression with recommended binders had higher strength than those briquettes
bonded with chichacorn effluent. However, this did not necessarily influence other charcoal characteristics.

One ton of bamboo wastes required 650 l of effluent to produce 264 kg of charcoal briquettes.

The conventional method of carbonizing, shredding, and molding the briquettes manually was used. This
scheme showed a positive net profit in the bamboo charcoal production using the partial budget analysis.

Three machines were fabricated to improve production. These were 1) drum carbonizer, 2) shredder or
pulverizer, and 3) molder or briquettor. A complete production line was organized to showcase different processes.
This includes waste collection, carbonizing, shredding or pulverizing, briquetting, drying, and packaging. Such setup
indicated feasibility to introduce simple equipment in kawayan briquettes production with a payback period of 1.45
years and a productivity index of 0.89.
Research results have proven it possible to produce additional products from bamboo, generate income and provide
additional employment opportunities in the countryside. In addition, utilizing waste materials helps reduce
environmental hazard and pressure on precious wood resources. All information generated would provide relevant

data for those engaged in the bamboo industry and chichacorn-processing enterprises including households that are
using energy from charcoal.
Source: Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development. Highlights
2007. Los Baos, Laguna: PCARRD.

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