Small-Scale Carbon Briquetting in China
by Tim Anderson, june 2005

The Chinese make very effective cooking fuel briquettes from waste cellulose and carbon materials, using local clay for a binder.
The briquettes are cylindrical with a number of air passages through them.
An expat living here told me he had a water heater in Germany in the 1960's that used the same type of briquettes.

click any image to see a 800x600  version in a new window
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A food vendor's bycicle rickshaw with briquette burner.

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Top and side views of the burner, showing the brick lining and damper door to control airflow and remove ashes.

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The source materials. Coal dust, carbon from sawdust, farm waste, and scrap wood is the fuel. The local red clay dirt is the binder.
Sawdust and other carbon-bearing materials such as waste paper are first reduced to charcoal in a furnace. I have not yet seen this part of the process.
Coal dust is used as is. They are ground to a certain size and mixed with the local red clay dirt. The ratio is 80% coal to 20% clay.
At the same time they sprinkle it with water from a watering can and mix in enough water so it will hold together when squeezed by hand.
A certain amound of sand or limestone gravel is present in the dirt and doesn't seem to cause a problem.

Multiple views of the machine used to produce the briquettes
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 .AVI movies
of the briquette maker in action

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When completely burned, there remains a clinker which is removed with tongs.
These clinkers are easily crushed by stomping on them.
That seems to make a decent road surface and good soil for growing crops

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such as this squash plant.


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Copyright 2005 Tim Anderson