The Briquette Press

Aside from water supply and potability, sustainable fuel sources for household cleaning and cooking are one of the largest issues facing the third world. Fuels are typically derived from wood, contributing significantly to global deforestation, erosion, and desertification. Smoke inhalation from wood and fuel sources such as yak dung contribute significantly to respiratory illnesses, especially in children. Half the world’s 2 billion fuel wood users face fuel shortages; as a result many families in the third world may spend up to 70% of their day collecting wood for fuel reducing the amount of time available for subsistence farming or working a job.

Alternate fuel sources, such as biogas, are complex in nature, involving concepts that are difficult for rural communities to grasp and utilizing technologies beyond their financial means. In answer to the growing need for an appropriate, sustainable fuel source, particularly one that could be utilized in urban areas, the briquette press (BP) was developed. There are many designs for briquette presses, however the application is always the same; compressing combustible biomass under high pressure to create a brick that can be burned as a substitute for charcoal or wood.The brilliance of the briquette lies in the ability to use any combustible biomass as a fuel source; sawdust, rice hulls, agro wastes (leaves, grass, etc), paper, charcoal fines and so on. Since one or more of these sources of biomass is almost always available, communities, whether rural or urban, usually have the ability to manufacture briquettes. The benefits of the briquette do not stop there. Unlike charcoal and fuel wood, briquette composition can be customized. By utilizing different materials in varying ratios, different burn characteristics can be accomplished. Briquettes can achieve temperatures in excess of 800 degrees (75% hotter than charcoal in an open pit) or burn times of up to an hour and a half. The design of the briquette makes it extremely efficient in the chimney-less stoves and three stone fires that are ubiquitous to the third world. By comparison, wood burns at only 6 to 10 percent efficiency in the same conditions. As a result, only 250g of briquette per person per day are needed (or roughly two briquettes) compared with the estimated average of 1.2kg of fuel wood per person per day. In communities where significant amounts of daily activity are devoted to finding wood, this represents an incredible improvement in time management, not to mention a significant impact on global forest conservation efforts.

Briquettes have further uses. Natural additives like lemon grass and eucalyptus leaves can turn briquettes into a mosquito repellent. Sawdust from fruit trees can improve the flavor of roasted foods. Briquettes made from agro wastes serve as an excellent planter for potting seeds, replacing expensive, non-biodegradable plastic planters.

The briquette’s final benefit lies in the simplicity of their construction and their appropriateness as a micro enterprise. The briquette press is a compound press made from raw lumber that can exert pressures in excess of 200 pounds per square inch. Gathering of biomass fuels can be done by children, and preparation and pressing can be done by a small family or as a community effort. A single press operated by a 6 person team can generate 750 to 1000 briquettes a day; enough to supply 500 people per day. The cost-effectiveness of briquettes means that not only can they provide sustainable fuel they can also compete with fuel wood and charcoal in local markets, providing income for the families.
For more information:

General information for the Briquette Press

Instructions and Schematics for making and using a Briquette Press

Stove Design for use with Briquettes

List of Other Resources on Briquettes