Prospects for Coal Briquettes as a Substitute Fuel for Wood and ...

A. SONE COAL BRIQUETTING TECHNIQUES MAKE COAL AN ATTRACTIVE
FUEL-MOOD SUBSTITUTE BY CONVERTING IT INTO A SMOKELESS,
COMPACT, STABLE, AND INEXPENSIVE FORM OF RIEL.
Coal is often described as a 'tdirtyfl fuelr emitting smoke that is
offensive and contai ni ng constituents that are harmful to human health.
Moreover, sune raw coals are highly friable and are not easily handled
or distributed in their natural state. However, by briquetting and
carbonizing when necessary, coal can be put into a relatively clean,
compact, and stable form for use. The resulting fuel is also not
expensive.
B. COAL BRIQUElTING HAS BEEN SHCWN WORLD-WIDE TO BE A TECHNCLGY
CAPABLE OF USING COPL OF VARIOUS GkADES AND PRODUCING
BRIQUETTES W IM DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS FOR DIFFERENT USES.
Coal brlquetting is a process z~y which raw coal is compacted into
uni form, usual 1 y hard, and 1mpac:t- res1 stant aggl omerati ons, maki ng it
more suitable for use? transport, and/or further processing. It has
been practiced for many years, at least since the beginning of this
century.Cl21 It is also a technology that ha5 been researched
worldwide, in such widely dlspersed places as Germany, USSR, Austral ia,
Korea, India, and the United States. The wide extent of the research
has several reasons. First, all coals are not a1 ike, and often research
has been aimed at developing aF" improved brfquetting process for a
particular coal. Second, briquetting can be done with or without an
additive (binder) to help in agglmerating and giving cohesive strength
to the briquette. Much research has gone into suitable binders, as well
as into processes by which briquetting can be performed without a
binder. Third, same research has been directed at improving the
properties of the briquettes, such as maintaining ignitabil ity while
keeping volatile matter low as well as reducing smoke and sulfur
cmissians upon burning.
It should be emphasized that there is not just a single briquetting
technologyr nor wen a set of two or three or a half dozen well-defined
technologies for coal briquetting. Rather, a set of parameters for the
briquetti ng of coal such as tc-mperature, pressure, pressing time,
binderr type of coalp type of press, pretrealnent, etc., can be varied
to produce unique briquetting processes.
Coal briquetti ng can be performed on 1 ump coal or on coal fjnesr the
latter appl Ication often being an attempt to salvage an otherwise wasted
product of coal handling. The usual process of coal briquetting
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