6 T/H Rice Straw Briquetting Production Line
Addressing Subpar Forming Issues, Delivering 16mm Cylindrical Briquettes with Reliable Performance
I. Customer Background & Core Requirements
Customer Overview
A biomass processing firm in China’s central agricultural belt specializes in recycling rice straw into solid fuel briquettes. These products supply local industrial boilers and thermal power plants for clean energy replacement. Previously, the company operated a 3 T/H standard rice straw briquetting line, using locally sourced rice straw—including field-harvested straw and agricultural processing scraps—as raw material.
Core Pain Points
- Rice straw features coarse, tough fibers with uneven lengths (10-30cm), and the original line lacked a targeted crushing process. This left fibers incompletely broken down during briquetting, resulting in loose briquettes with a density of just 0.8-0.9g/cm³.
- Raw rice straw contained impurities (soil, gravel, plastic fragments) and had erratic moisture content (18%-35%). These issues caused frequent jamming of the briquetting machine’s mold and pressure rollers, with briquette crushing rates hitting 15%-20% during transportation.
- Single-stage crushing in the original line failed to reduce straw particles to the optimal size for briquetting, leading to uneven pressure during pressing. Up to 8% of finished products failed to meet the customer’s basic quality standards (16mm diameter, no visible cracks).
Customer Goals
Customize a 6 T/H rice straw briquetting line focused on fixing poor forming quality. The line must produce 16mm cylindrical briquettes with a density ≥1.1g/cm³, crushing rate ≤5%, and operate stably with minimal
II. Customized Solution Design
Combining rice straw’s unique traits (coarse fibers, high impurity content, moisture fluctuations) and the core need for better forming quality, we designed a process centered on a two-stage fine crushing process, complemented by targeted impurity removal and moisture adjustment. Core configuration and workflow are as follows:
1. Pretreatment & Fine Crushing System: Foundation for Stable Forming
Primary + Fine Crushing Combination:
- Equipped with an SN-2800 Disc Crusher (power 90-4×2 kW, output 5-10 T/H) for primary crushing. It cuts long rice straw (10-30cm) into 3-5cm segments, breaks up clumps, and removes large impurities (stones, plastic blocks ≥5cm) via built-in screening.
- Followed by an FS1600-1200 Wood Crusher (power 205.5 kW, output 6-7 T/H) for fine crushing. Fitted with 144 manganese-titanium alloy hammer blades (8mm thick) and operating at 1600r/min spindle speed, it grinds pre-crushed straw into 1-3mm fine particles. This fully decomposes tough fibers, creating ideal conditions for briquetting.
- Impurity Removal & Dust Control: The fine crusher pairs with a bag filter, cyclone separator, pipes, and fan to eliminate dust and light impurities (e.g., straw husks) during crushing. A 3mm-aperture vibrating screen at the crusher outlet filters out uncrushed coarse particles, ensuring only qualified fine materials move to the next stage.
2. Material Conveying & Distribution System: Steady Material Supply
Specialized Conveyor Setup:
- Three TD75 Belt Conveyors (8m length, 1000mm width, 4kW power each) handle raw material feeding and transfer between the disc crusher, fine crusher, and distribution silo, with a conveying capacity of 0-15 T/H. Each conveyor includes supports, motors, and reducers for reliable operation.
- Two TD75 Belt Conveyors (8m length, 600mm width, 3kW power each) are dedicated to briquetting machine feeding, with a 0-15 T/H capacity. The narrow belt design ensures precise material delivery to the briquetting machine inlets, avoiding waste and uneven feeding.
- Dual-Route Distribution Silo: A 5015 Model Distribution Silo (power 3kW×2, dimensions 5×1.5×4m, customizable for on-site conditions) stores and distributes crushed straw particles. It splits materials into two paths to feed the two briquetting machines simultaneously, ensuring balanced load and continuous production.
3. Briquetting System: Core for High-Quality Forming
Dual Briquetting Machine Configuration:
- Two YK1200-120 Solid Waste Briquetting Machines (single-machine power 185kW, output 2-3 T/H) meet the total 6 T/H capacity. Customized for rice straw:
1. Pressure roller material: Cemented carbide coating (3x more wear-resistant than regular steel, adapting to straw particles’ abrasive nature).
2. Mold material: Alloy steel coating (hardness HRC60+, maintaining 16mm cylindrical cavity shape stability for long-term use).
3. 24kW heating system: Preheats the mold during briquetting to activate rice straw’s natural lignin binder, boosting briquette adhesion and density. - Auxiliary Protection & Optimization: Each briquetting machine includes a dust collector, pipes, automatic oil pump, and high-pressure oil pipes. The automatic oil pump continuously lubricates pressure rollers and molds, reducing friction and extending service life. The Zhejiang Huixin-supplied reducer ensures stable power transmission, avoiding sudden load changes that harm forming quality.
4. Post-Processing & Automation Control: Ensuring Consistent Quality
- Briquette Cooling & Screening: Two TD75 Belt Conveyors (8m length, 600mm width, 3kW power each) handle briquette discharge. The conveying process naturally cools freshly pressed briquettes (60-70℃) to ambient temperature, minimizing cracking from thermal expansion and contraction.
- Intelligent Control System: Three electrical control cabinets with soft start functions manage the entire line. The system monitors key parameters—crushing particle size, feeding speed, briquetting machine pressure—in real time. If material moisture is too high/low or particle size is irregular, it automatically adjusts feeding speed or triggers an alarm, maintaining consistent forming conditions.
III. Implementation Results & Data Verification
The production line was installed and commissioned in Q2 2024. After three months of continuous operation with local rice straw (15%-20% moisture content), all indicators met or exceeded customer expectations:
| Indicator | Customer Target | Actual Achievement | Improvement Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly Capacity | 6 Tons | 6.1-6.5 Tons | 1.7%-5% above target |
| Briquette Specification | 16mm cylindrical, density >1.1g/cm | 16mm cylindrical, density 1.15-1.2g/cm' | 16mm cylindrical, density 1.15-1.2g/cm' |
| Briquette Crushing Rate | <5% | ≤3.2% | 36% lower than target |
| Equipment Failure Rate | ≤4% | 2.8% | 30% lower than expected |
| Unit Energy Consumption (kWh/Ton) | ≤120 | 105.6 | 12% lower than estimated |
Additional Benefits: The 16mm cylindrical briquettes’ stable quality—low crushing rate, uniform density—helped the customer secure a long-term supply contract with a local thermal power plant. Product pricing increased by 12% compared to previous low-quality briquettes, significantly boosting profit margins.
IV. Core Considerations for Customized Design
1. Adapting to Rice Straw Traits
A two-stage fine crushing process addresses coarse rice straw fibers. The disc crusher first cuts long straw into segments, and the fine crusher grinds them into 1-3mm particles, ensuring full fiber decomposition and better forming adhesion.
Briquetting machine pressure rollers and molds use cemented carbide and alloy steel coatings, respectively, enhancing wear resistance against straw particles (which contain small soil grains). This extends mold service life from 2 months (original line) to 6 months.
2. Optimizing Forming Quality
A 24kW heating system was added to the briquetting machine. Moderate temperatures (80-90℃) activate rice straw’s lignin, a natural binder that strengthens cohesion between particles and solves loose briquette issues.
The dual-route distribution silo and two briquetting machines enable balanced feeding and stable pressing pressure. This avoids uneven stress from excessive single-machine load, reducing briquette cracking.
3. Cost-Effective & Practical Configuration
Equipment selection aligns with the customer’s budget and on-site conditions. The distribution silo can be customized to fit workshop space, eliminating the need for additional factory renovations.
Belt conveyors feature appropriate lengths and widths for the production process, avoiding unnecessary power waste while ensuring efficient material transfer. The total 739.5kW power balances production efficiency and energy consumption.
4. Environmental Protection & Operational Safety
The fine crusher is equipped with a complete dust removal system (bag filter + cyclone separator), controlling dust emissions to ≤20mg/m³. This meets national environmental standards and improves the workshop working environment.
Electrical control cabinets with soft start functions reduce equipment startup impact on the power grid. The real-time monitoring system alerts to abnormalities (e.g., material blockage, excessive temperature) promptly, ensuring safe, stable operation.
V. Customer Feedback
“Poor rice straw briquette forming used to be our biggest headache—they were loose and broke easily during transportation, leading to frequent customer complaints. This customized 6 T/H line with the two-stage fine crushing process fixed the problem entirely. The 16mm cylindrical briquettes are dense and stable, with a crushing rate of just 3% or so. Operation is simple, and 3 people can manage the whole line. Thanks to higher product pricing and sales volume, we recovered our investment in just 8 months.”
—— Li Ming, General Manager of the Customer Enterprise
VI. Recommendation for Similar Scenarios
This solution’s design is highly applicable to the following scenarios:
- Processing agricultural straws (rice straw, wheat straw, corn stover) with coarse fibers and high impurity content, facing poor forming quality issues.
- Needing to produce 12-20mm cylindrical or square briquettes with high density (≥1.1g/cm³) and low crushing rate.
- Requiring 3-8 T/H production capacity while balancing equipment investment, energy consumption, and labor costs.
Would you like me to put together a custom equipment checklist with technical specs for your specific capacity (e.g., 3 T/H or 10 T/H) of rice straw briquetting production line?