Charcoal Briquettes Making Technology for Green Business

TRAINING ON CHARCOAL BRIQUETTES MAKING ON  
9/4/2015.Email: yagrein@gmail.com 

TO BOOK . FEW CHANCES AVAILABLE.

Fuel briquettes are blocks of compressed coal dust, charcoal dust, sawdust, wood chips or biomass, and are used as a fuel in stoves and boilers. Charcoal is not like clay. Charcoal is a material without plasticity and can not be mold into shape without adding a binding material. The technology of forming charcoal dust into briquettes,requires a binding material to be  added to the charcoal dust and then pressure is applied  to form fuel briquettes.

Charcoal Briquettes making

          Cost of briquette machine Ksh 45,000               

 Email: yagrein@gmail.com

Fuel briquettes for use in your own home cooking
You can  save money by making fuel briquettes for use in your own home cooking  in addition to generating income by selling excess briquettes to your neighborhood. Making fuel briquettes can be a sustainable green business since most of the raw materials used in the technology are almost free. Your customers will be happy to buy cheap,  clean fuel . Your neighborhood will be happy with your green business for helping keep their environment clean.

Biomass as Renewable Energy Source
Biomass as a renewable energy source is defined as biological material from living, or recently living organisms. In many countries, people are growing crops and keeping animals. The waste from crops and animals are biomass material that can be used in making fuel briquettes. Agricultural waste materials such as rice husk, coffee husk, coir pith, jute sticks, bagasse (sugarcane waste), groundnut shells, sawdust, mustard stalks, cotton stalks, maize/corn, wheat husk, cattle waste, grass, dry leaves and cassava can all be used in making fuel briquettes.



https://www.flickr.com/photos/gvepinternational/16545204658/in/set-72157650739343097


Green Briquettes: Fuel for Stoves and Boilers
Fuel briquettes are blocks of compressed coal dust, charcoal dust, sawdust, wood chips or biomass, and are used as fuel briquettes in stoves and boiler

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gvepinternational/16545204658/in/set-72157650739343097
s. Smokeless charcoal briquettes are made from carbonized or pyrolysed materials. Fuel Briquettes made from materials that have not been carbonized are a bit smoky.

1.Green recipes for charcoal briquettes making technology

i) 10 kg charcoal dust/fines

ii) 0.3 kg cassava starch

2. Green recipes for charcoal briquettes making technology

i) 40 kg charcoal dust/fines

ii) 4 kg saw dust

iii) 2.5 starch

iv) 1 kg calcium carbonate

3. Green Recipes for  Charcoal Briquettes making technology

i) 100 kg charcoal dust/fines

ii) 3 kg sodium nitrate

iii) 3 kg sodium borate

iv) 2 kg calcium carbonate/whiting

v) 7 kg wheat starch

4. Green recipes for  charcoal briquettes making technology

i) 10 kg charcoal dust/fines

ii) 5 kg saw dust

iii) 1 kg cassava starch

iv) 0.5 kg limestone

5. Green recipes for charcoal briquettes making technology

i) 10 kg charcoal dust/fines

ii) 5 kg saw dust

iii) 0.5 kg cassava starch

iv) 0.5 kg limestone

v) 5 kg sandy soil

6. Green recipes for charcoal briquettes making technology

i) 10 kg charcoal dust/fines

ii) 5 kg saw dust

Iii) 1 kg mashed newsprint/pulp

Finished Charcoal Briquettes Set to Dry

General product Characteristics 
Moisture: 7.1%-7.8%
Volatile Matter: 13.0%-13.5%
Fixed Carbon: 81.0%-83.0%
Ash: 3.7%-7.7%
Sulfur: 0.0%
Calorific(heating) Value: 7,100-7,300 kcal/kg
Density: 970kg/m3

The best green mixture for  charcoal briquettes making technology is the one that after testing works for you.

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Success story of a Kenyan youth savings and credit co-operative society

Gatundu young traders Mpesa

Gatundu young traders’ savings and credit co-operative society is an organization founded by the youth for the youth. Their guiding slogan is ‘’Youth have all it takes to succeed as long as they unite’’. Gatundu young traders’ savings and credit co-operative society registered with the Kenya  ministry of cooperative Development and Marketing Reg Number C/S 12020 in February 2009 and the membership was 20 by then. To date Gatundu Young traders Savings and credit co-operative society has 200 members and a capital base of 2.5 million. The members get loans which they pay at a youth friendly interest rate.  45% of the loans are used in agriculture investment contributing to national food security. The Savings and credit co-operative society headquarters are located in Gatundu Town of Kiambu County in central Kenya region.

Members in a training session

This savings and credit co-operative society was started as a solution to the discrimination of the youth in kenya by the established financial institutions. The founder member Jonn Njoroge Munyua is the current chairman of Gatundu Young Traders savings and credit co-operative society and the vision bearer.  Njoroge is also the Managing Director of smart works Traders Company dealing with detergents chemicals in Gatundu town,in addition to being the secretary to original youth pioneers group based at kimunyu location Gatundu District. His leadership dates back ten years when he was elected the chairman of Vision Youth Group at the age of 30 years. Having grown up on the farm, he was introduced to farming by his parents who were good farmers. He developed interest in farming, worked on the family farm while young and latter on inherited piece of land.

Executive committee

He learnt about many profitable enterprises and technologies during agricultural trainings by agriculture extension officers, among which he started implementing installation of energy saving stoves services, manufacture of liquid detergents and making of fireless cookers for sale. Full of passion John Njoroge Munyua visited a bank seeking a loan for the projects implementation .He got a rude shock on realizing the bank required security/collateral which he didn’t have. The youth never got discouraged but conceived the idea of forming a revolving fund group consisting of young people, shared a few friends who supported the idea. The revolving fund group held its first meeting in June 2008 and latter registered as Gatundu young traders saving and credit co-operative society.  John Njoroge got his first loan from the revolving fund group which he used boost energy stoves installation services and detergents chemicals projects. The projects continue to flourish to this date greatly contributing to environmental conservation and community livelihood improvement.

Gatundu Young traders savings and credit co-operative society has grown tremendously and in the year 2010 and 2011 it was honored as the best organization in capacity building to the members, and best sustained and improved savings and credit co-operative society in Gatundu District respectively.In 2012 Gatundu young traders savings and credit organization has managed to roll their first M-pesa project which will generate income for the organization. Gatundu young traders’ savings and credit co-operative society is solely working with the members’ contribution and the funds are insufficient to meet all the requirements. The young traders are making efforts to pursue the Youth Development Enterprise Fund, a Kenya Government fund for assistance in overcoming inadequacy in a the working capital. The youth savings and credit co-operative society is a role model to many young traders and is therefore calling for any relevant support from like minded organizations and individuals, who have the objective of improving the livelihoods of the youth in Kenya. Glory to God on High and long live GYTS organization.

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Certification process for organic farming in Kenya

It is a must for all producers and processors of organic products for export to register their enterprises, with an accredited and certified body by European commission. Inspection is first and foremost carried out by the certified body before registration. The farms/firms must undergo this exercise in order to be awarded an organic certificate. The farm applies for inspection by filling a form from the European Union accredited body. The accreditation body then sends an inspector who carries out the exercise taking into account the following:-

1.      The surrounding of the farm .For example if the location is near a quarry or a factory, this can cause rejection due to dust and fumes emitted which cause contamination of the produce.

2.      Inside the farm the inspector checks

v     The Soil: The soil is checked for heavy metals like lead, mercury etc.

v     Source of water: The water must be fresh and of good quality, from a well, river, rain etc. The water is tested for heavy metals, macrobiotic matter, pesticides, etc.

3.      The inspector interviews the owner, manager or the workers who are expected to be aware of the organic laws. The owner should not own another enterprise producing a similar crop under conventional agriculture.

4.      Seed and seed treatments must be organic and if unavailable conventional seeds can be used. The seed must however not be GMO or chemically treated.

5.      Seedlings if grown under organic conditions are allowed to be used in production.

6.      Fertilizer and plant protection scheme. The following are recommended to be in use

v     Inputs from organic production

v     Natural or naturally derived substances

v     Low solubility mineral fertilizers

7.      Documentation system: Good record keeping is a requirement for certification

8.      Map of the farm: There must be a map indicating the location in case the inspector wants to visit the enterprise without notice.

9.      The storage facility: In case the storage is away from the farm, the facility should also be inspected

10.  Packaging and labeling of the produce: the containers must be well sealed to avoid contamination.

If the inspector is satisfied with all the above conditions, he/she presents the findings to the registration committee for approval. If the committee approves the enterprise, the owner is issued with an international number and later organic farming certificate is issued. The certificate is thereafter required to be renewed annually.For more information read http://www.organicfarmermagazine.org/ 

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Shiitake mushrooms cultivation

Shiitake mushrooms cultivation is popular in the eastern countries. The product has a striking taste, high nutritional value, medicinal properties and high market prices. Shiitake mushrooms are at times also referred to as ‘Japanese’ type. Traditionally shiitake mushrooms cultivation is mainly done on hardwood logs. However its cultivation can also be on other substrates such as sawdust [from soft or hard wood], corn cobs, rice straw, and coir dust using the plastic bag cultivation technology. The substrates to be used for cultivation should also be sterilized instead of pasteurization due to the slower growth of mycelia, in order to avoid contamination and reduced production. Some commonly used substrates preparation formulations consists of 100kg sawdust, 1 kg ammonium sulphate, 5 kg rice bran, 5 kg urea, 1kg calcium hydroxide and 70% moisture. These materials should be composted for at least 30 days turning at 4 to 5 days interval until the compost turns dark brown and has no smell of ammonia prior to cultivation.

The compost bags are prepared and filled, and then spawning is done. Incubation follows in the darkroom at a temperature of 24 to 28 ºC. It takes about two months before the mycelia can completely penetrate the substrate. Another one month is required to allow the fruiting bag to mature completely. When the shiitake mushrooms mycelia begin to turn brown and ‘popcorns’ start to appear  on the substrate the bags are ready to be opened at the top and placed in the fruiting room. The cultivation room should be well ventilated and lighted for good fruiting body formation. The fruiting bodies start forming after two to three weeks. The room should be watered at least 1 to 2 times a day to avoid watering the shiitake mushrooms bags directly. This keeps the relative humidity at about 85 to 95% .The temperature for fruiting should be 10 to 20 ºC depending on the strain.

The fruiting bodies are ready for harvesting once they are slightly open. The bags will continue to fruit as long as the right conditions are maintained.

The yields can be upto 35% - 100% of dry weight of the substrate within 5 to 6 months. The produce can be stored fresh in the refrigerator in perforated polythene bags for at least 3 to7 days. Shiitake mushrooms are usually dried to improve smell and taste. Drying of Shiitake mushrooms  should be done gradually under the sun or in special driers with adjustable heat control, starting at 30 ºC and increasing every hour by 1 º to 2º, then 12hrs at 50 ºC and finally 60 ºC for one hour to increase the luster of the cap. In conclusion shiitake mushrooms cultivation is therefore a worthwhile agribusiness activity.

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Energy saving stoves for climate change reduction in Kenya

Wood , charcoal and Paraffin ( paraffin is fossil fuel) cookers are commonly used for domestic purposes in rural and urban areas of Kenya. Approximately 90 percent of the countries rural population use firewood for cooking on traditional open fire cookers. Inefficient charcoal and paraffin cookers are commonly used in the urban areas. Firewood wood and charcoal fuels don't com bust completely when burned inefficiency. Consequently toxic gases harmful to people and the environment are produced by inefficient firewood and charcoal cookers.The Gases produced by these cookers include carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. On a personal level the traditional stoves are unhealthy and labor-consuming. On a global level the cookers produce large amounts of green house gases. These toxic gases from such inefficient stoves destroy the ozone layer.The work of the ozone layer is to reduce the strength of the radiation or sun rays reaching the earth. Due to ozone layer destruction, the sun rays reach the earth with great strength causing excess increase of temperatures, excess evaporation from water bodies , excess transpiration or loss of water from plants and trees. The resulting moisture escapes into the space and after condensation falls as heavy destructive rains. The high temperatures have adverse effects on natural vegetation, agricultural production and human health.

Improved stoves in use

Lack of energy saving stoves is a major cause of mass tree felling across Africa, where every year incredible hectarages of trees are cleared to produce firewood and charcoal. The challenge therefore lies in introduction of energy saving stoves to replace traditional energy inefficient cookers,which are used by the rural and urban households in Kenya. The energy saving stoves will reduce the emission of harmful gases and minimize deforestation. This calls for a simple, affordable and locally produced energy saving stoves to ensure speedy adoption. The fuel saving technology will play a great role in preservation of vegetation and biodiversity in Africa. The energy efficient cookers are approximately 50% more efficient than an open fire. Reforestation is also necessary on a continuous basis in order to create sustainable sources of firewood.

 In addition to the saving on greenhouse gases emissions, energy efficient stoves economize on firewood, saves money , time used for fetching fire wood as well as improves family health.Therefore traditional open fire cookers are a health hazard. Due to incomplete combustion they  release tiny particles of matter into the air, which are so small that they are breathed in by people and animals. When inhaled, they get stuck in the respiratory tract, causing acute respiratory infection, increased hospital admissions for asthma and heart diseases.These  are some of the leading causes of illness in Kenya and Africa. Energy saving stoves is the way forward for developing countries in the fight against climate change in addition to saving on medical bills. Link- http://kariokor.olx.co.ke/modern-smokeless-firewood-jiko-iid-458602160

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