PERGAMON Energy Conversion & Management 40 (1999) 437±445

Physical properties of briquettes from waste paper and

wheat straw mixtures
A. Demirbas°
Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Science Education, 61365 Akcaabat-Trabzon, Turkey
Received 5 September 1997

Abstract

Briquetting may be considered as a good idea to utilise low grade combustible materials obtained
from biomass sources. Studies demonstrated that waste paper and wheat straw or their mixtures can be
compressed to a relative density greater than unity and stabilised at that density without binder
material. A reduction in the volume of the material also provides its technological bene®t, i.e., the
material could be transported and stored more economically than is possible at present. The e€ects of
the briquetting pressure on the density, moisture content and compressive strength of the briquettes
were examined at six di€erent pressures (300, 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800 MPa). The optimum moisture
contents and briquetting pressures were found to be, respectively, 18% and 780 MPa for waste paper,
22% and 710 MPa for wheat straw and 18% and 750 MPa for a 20%(w) waste paper±straw mixture.
The e€ect of the temperature on the briquette density of wheat straw was determined. The best wheat
straw briquettes were obtained at 385 K. # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Briquetting; Biomass briquetting; Waste paper; Wheat straw

1. Introduction

In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on the briquetting of coal ®nes,
peat, charcoal, biomass, plastic waste and other combustible wastes [1±10]. Many of the studies
have used piston-and-die type presses in which the pressure is either developed against the
closed end of the die or as the result of friction between the material and the wall of the die. It
has been shown that, by heating the material to a determined temperature, a more stable
product with smaller dimensions could be obtained than was possible with unheated
materials [8, 11, 12]. From a series of tests with biowaste, it has been found that the higher the
temperature, the lower is the pressure needed to provide a given compaction. It also has been
concluded that biowaste, having a relatively high moisture content, could be stably compacted

0196-8904/99/$ - see front matter # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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438 A. Demirbas° / Energy Conversion & Management 40 (1999) 437±445

at an elevated temperature, whereas this was not possible under ambient conditions. The
moisture content to facilitate stable compaction was found to be between 15 and 23% by
weight for sawdust and wheat straw [11, 13]. The protein and the long cellulose ®bres
contained in the combustible waste material were found to be primarily responsible for
bonding and stabilization [10, 11, 14].
Various particulate combustible wastes have been considered for bonding with paper ®bres.
They include coal dust or coal ®nes, chopped polyethylene, sawdust, some powdered biowastes,
milled bark, chopped car tyres etc. The quality of waste paper for the briquetting process is
governed by the bonding ability of the ®bres released when it is hydropulped. The longer the
cellulose ®bres are, the stronger the briquette at a given paper to combustible waste ratio and
the lower the ratio of paper to combustible waste to maintain a minimum handling strength,
damp and dry.
Approximately 2.64  107 tons of wheat straw are produced annually in Turkey [15]. The
disposal of this straw in the ®elds is either by burning or sometimes by ploughing it back into
the soil. Because the calori®c value of straw is about half that of high grade coal (calori®c
value is about 2.8  104 kJ/kg), the surplus straw is equivalent to about 1.3  107 tons of coal
equivalent. The straw stores solar energy during the growing season, and in contrast to fossil
fuels, it represents an annually renewable source of energy. Some tests demonstrated that
wheat straw can be compressed to a high relative density without binder. Tests have shown
that wheat straw can be compressed and stabilized to a density of the order of ten times that
of normal bales by the application of pressures between 200±600 MPa after heating to a
temperature of between 350±400 K [11].
Kraft paper (used in wrapping paper and cardboard), newspaper and used paper waste could
be used to bind coal dust or other particulate combustible wastes together to make a strong
briquette, using processes similar to papermaking technology. Kraft paper especially is highly
acceptable for briquetting because of its longer ®bres and because of the diculty to repulp it.
Paper mill waste, sun¯ower shell, sawdust and brewery waste have also been used as binder
materials at di€erent ratios [9]. Experiments on the briquette properties of paper-bonded coal
fuel briquettes were reported [16].
The compaction and stabilization of straw may have a mechanism that di€ers from that
occurring during the compaction of waste paper. First of all, the proportion of leaf is
considerably smaller, and secondly, the moisture content is usually lower than that of waste
paper.
The aim of the present study was to determine to what extent straw, including waste paper,
could be compacted and to identify the briquetting parameters, such as density, smoothness,
size, compressive strength, ignitability, water resistance, durability, water content,. briquetting
temperature and time.

2. Experimental

The chemical and structural analyses of the samples used in this study are given in Table 1.
The samples of wheat straw, paper waste and their blends at di€erent percentages were
briquetted at ambient and elevated temperatures in a calibrated laboratory scale Shimadzu
 A. Demirbas° / Energy Conversion & Management 40 (1999) 437±445 439

Table 1. Chemical and structural analyses of samples (wt% of dry and extractive free basis)

Sample Cellulose HHV* Lignin Ash C H O N

Wheat straw 28.9 17.0 19.0 13.6 45.4 5.1 34.1 1.8
Waste paper 73.2 14.7 15.8 2.7 44.7 6.1 48.1 0.4

*Higher heating values as MJ/kg

hydraulic press (model SSP-10A), using a punch and die set (25 mm ID  60 mm height or
(13 mm ID  40 mm height) for 1±30 min (for laboratory tests) under pressures of 300±800
MPa. The briquettes obtained were cylindrical in shape.
In order to determine the stability of the briquettes, measurements of length were taken
immediately on removal from the die, after one week of exposure to the atmosphere and again
after ®ve weeks exposure. The compressive strength of the briquettes was determined by a
modi®ed version of the TS24 [17] standard test.
A series of tests has been done to determine the density, ignitability, size and dustiness,
calori®c value, moisture content and water resistance of the briquettes formed.
Another series of experiments was performed to determine the e€ects of di€erent moisture
contents of the samples and of the briquetting pressures on the compressive strength of the
briquettes without binder material.
Only the wheat straw was heated to the desired temperature before squeezing. As the heat
was applied externally by means of an electrical element surrounding the die, time was required
for heat to penetrate to the centre of the sample. After a period of 12 min, the centre
temperature rise was measured by means of a thermocouple. In order to examine the e€ect of
temperature, the load was standardized at 60 MPa, and the die was heated to various
temperatures for 12 min. The water resistance of the briquettes was arbitrarily tested by
immersing the briquettes in a container ®lled with cold tap water and measuring the time
required for the onset of dispersion in water.

3. Results and discussion

While the product was basically a cylindrical solid fuel and might look very simple to make,
in fact the process incorporates several critical steps and some fairly sophisticated machines.
The process ¯ow chart is shown in Fig. 1.
Density is an important parameter in briquetting. The higher the density, the higher is the
energy/volume ratio. Hence, high-density products are desirable in terms of transportation,
storage and handling [8]. The density of biowaste briquettes depends on the density of the
original biowaste, the briquetting pressure and, to a certain extent, on the briquetting
temperature and time. The bulk densities of conventional wheat straw bales are about 0.10±
0.12 g/cm3. The bulk density of rice husk briquettes produced by tumbling agglomeration, a
method to determine bulk density, has been reported to be 0.32 g/cm3 [18]. The density of
extruded rice husk char briquettes has been reported to be 0.81 g/cm3 [13].
440 A. Demirbas° / Energy Conversion & Management 40 (1999) 437±445

Fig. 1. Flowsheet for paper-bonded straw briquetting process.

Fig. 2. E€ect of briquetting pressure on the briquette density.

 A. Demirbas° / Energy Conversion & Management 40 (1999) 437±445 441

Fig. 3. E€ect of briquetting pressure on compressive strength of the paper waste briquette.

Fig. 4. E€ect of pressure on compressive strength of wheat straw briquette.

442 A. Demirbas° / Energy Conversion & Management 40 (1999) 437±445

The e€ect of the briquetting pressure on the briquette density is shown in Fig. 2. The e€ect
of the briquetting pressure on the compressive strength of waste paper briquette is given in
Fig. 3. The e€ect of the briquetting pressure on the compressive strength of wheat straw
briquette is shown in Fig. 4. From Figs. 2±4, both briquette properties increased with an
increase in the briquetting pressure. The compressive strength is an important criterion of
briquette durability.
The e€ects of the briquetting temperature and time on the density of briquettes obtained
using straw are given in Fig. 5. As can be seen from Fig. 5, at the lower pressures, the densities
of the briquettes increase with increasing temperature and time. In order to compact to a given
density, there is some interchangeability between temperature and time, although the higher the
temperature and the longer the time, the greater will be the stability and durability of the
briquette. The stability of the straw briquette was increased by a temperature in excess of
350 K during compression. It has been suggested that the thin layers of wax which surround
the stems of the straw ®bres might be responsible, its melting and subsequent solidi®cation
serving to provide adhesion between the individual ®bres [11]. In order to examine this e€ect, a
heated sample of straw was carefully de-waxed by re¯uxing in a benzene±ethanol mixture until
no further extraction occurred.
The e€ect of moisture content of the briquette obtained on the compressive strength are
shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The moisture contents to facilitate stable compaction were found to lie
between 13 and 18%, and 16 and 22% by weight for straw and waste paper, respectively. The
importance of a reasonable moisture content in achieving stability is clearly evident.

Fig. 5. E€ects of temperature and time on density of straw briquette obtained under 800 MPa pressure.
 A. Demirbas° / Energy Conversion & Management 40 (1999) 437±445 443

The e€ect of moisture content of the briquettes is managed by control of the machine and
the mixture factor. The expression of water during briquette formation and compaction
depends upon the draining quality of the feed mixture. The briquetting time and pressure play
signi®cant roles in de-watering and bonding. Obviously, the moisture content also depends
upon the ratio of particulates to ®bre. To stabilise and optimise the moisture content of the
exiting briquettes, it is important to keep the process variables under control to give a desired
operation. The press rate can be varied to suit the de-watering rate, and water can ¯ow out
under pressure with suitable downstream requirements.
It is reported that, for the briquette samples, as the moisture contents increased, the calori®c
values of the samples decreased [10].
The e€ect of binder material percentage on the compressive strength of the briquette is given
in Fig. 6. From Fig. 6, it can be said that kraft paper and newsprint are good binders for the
briquetting of wheat straw. Waste newsprint is the targeted source of cellulosic ®bre, but it can
be also used ®bre from industrial paper wastes. Waxed or plastic coated papers or boards are
more dicult to break down and require special treatment before they can be incorporated
into the briquette mixture.
A combustible material should be easily ignitable, particularly for household use. Too low
porosity, low volatile content and high ash content are likely to reduce the ignitability [8].
Qualitative observations have shown that, as the densities of the briquettes increased, their
ignitabilities decreased. It is very dicult to obtain optimum parameters for acceptable
ignitability of the briquette.

Fig. 6. E€ect of binder material (waste paper) percentage on compressive strength of wheat straw briquette.
444 A. Demirbas° / Energy Conversion & Management 40 (1999) 437±445

Because of its very easy ignitability, waste material is not suitable to ®re directly for
domestic purposes. In general, briquetted waste paper is likely to be more dicult to ignite
because of its low porosity due to the higher density. As a result, as the density of the
briquette increased, its ignitability decreased [19].
Calori®c value is a major quality index for fuels. The gross calori®c values of straw and
waste paper were found to be 17.3 and 16.4 MJ/kg, respectively. Biocoal produced rice husk by
agglomeration showed calori®c values around 17.58±18.13 MG/kg [20, 21]. The biowaste
materials used in the briquetting process have low calori®c values. The water resistance of the
briquettes changed with the type and concentration of the binder materials. Higher water
resistance was observed for briquettes obtained with a wheat straw and paper mill waste blend
containing 20% binder material. These briquettes began to disperse after 25 minutes of
immersion in tap water.

4. Conclusions

The results obtained from the present study lead to the following general conclusions:

1. This study indicated that waste paper may be used as a partial binder material alone or in
briquetting of wheat straw. Briquetting of wheat straw is very dicult at ambient
temperature.
2. For briquette quality control, the physical parameters, such as density, moisture content and
compressive strength, were found to be the best indicator of additive quality.
3. Tests have shown that combustible biowastes can be compressed and stabilized to densities
of the order of 7±10 times that of normal bales by the application of pressures of between
470±780 MPa. Only the wheat straw was heated to a temperature of between 345 and 435 K
before compression.
4. The briquette obtained from wheat straw was resistant to attrition, but may be reconstituted
to its original form by soaking in water.
5. Physical parameters such as density, moisture content and strength [22] were found to be
best indicators for briquette quality. Briquetting of wheat straw samples without binder
material gave products low water resistance.

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