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Who we are
and what we do . . .
Micro Compound Lever
Biomass Briquette Press This small press is
suggested for single-family use, classroom demonstrations,
or a small village where a small footprint and easy to build press using hand
tools are required. There are two versions, Brace or Notch.
North American lumber standard
1?" x 3?" (38 mm x 89
mm) Micro Compound Lever Press
Construction Manual
North American lumber standard
1?"
x 3?" (38 mm x 89 mm) 2 MB, PDF, English and Metric
This document is about
?Choices?. Briquetting for any operation requires a biomass
mold of one type or another, whether it?s a small village,
single family, or classroom operation. You have ?choices?
and there are no wrong or right, best or worst, good or bad
molds for making biomass briquettes.
A variety of molds will
work equally well and one type may be best suited for you
depending on the availability of construction materials, tools, cost, skill level, and briquetting requirements. This
document provides choices to consider when selecting a
biomass mold design.
Molds for shaping biomass into round, square, sticks, cubes
and chunks. Drilled, slotted, and split PVC molds along
with slotted wood as an alternate to PVC. Two caulking gun presses, split plunger pistons and more.
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The Easy BioGrind?
biomass grinder was designed to grind dry biomass and to
accomplish a number of goals. The objectives were the
flexibility to grind a wide variety of dry biomasses,
low-cost, easy to build using mostly hand tools, easy to
operate, easy to maintain and require no welding.
The grinding process is
accomplished by rotating a concrete grinding head with its
aggregate exposed against a matching concrete grinding cup
with its aggregate exposed, and introducing biomass in
between the two surfaces. The grinding cup is supported with
two degrees of freedom in order to absorb the movement from
an out-of-round grinding head or the accidental introduction
of small stones or stick into the grinding space. The
grinding head is easily rotated using a hand crank at a slow
speed (under 90 rpm). The unit can be powered from a
bicycle, a foot powered treadle, a gasoline motor or an
electric motor. Grinding pressure is easily adjusted by the
weight of a few rocks in a pail. See the
Engineering For Change page E4C
I recommend you consider this new
design by Richard Stanley from the Legacy Foundation. Preparing biomass for
briquette production remains a crucial step in the briquetting process.
Richard has developed (fine tuned and tested in rural Guatemala and
Nicaragua over the past three years) a very successful idea as described in
his new construction manual.
Designing a low cost grinder featuring ease
of use, and easy to build, has been a challenge for both of us. We often
work closely together in a effort to bring you the best ideas possible. You
can contact Richard
HERE
The Easy BioChop?
biomass chopper / cutter was designed to cut both wet and dry
biomass and to accomplish a number of goals. The objectives
were low-cost, easy to build using mostly hand tools, easy
to operate, easy to maintain and require no welding. The
unit runs efficiently at a low crank speed and can be easily
operated by women or children. See the
Engineering For Change page E4C
This is the traditional
large compound lever press used all over the world, and
works with molds diameters from 3 inch to 6 inch.
Mold
designs have greatly improved since the original design of
this press and we suggest downloading:
Small Single Lever Biomass
Briquette Press
(Square Mold)
Measured Drawing
English
570K PDF If PVC is not available
or expensive in your area then the 3 inch square wood
mold could be an alternate.
Mold
designs have greatly improved since the original design of
this press and we suggest downloading:
Biomass Molds Compendium
for a variety of biomass mold suggestions. We
now have a better method for making a square briquette using
a wood mold.
Small Single-Lever Biomass
Briquette Press Suggested for use as a
classroom demonstration briquetting press or where
construction resources are limited
Mold
designs have greatly improved since the original design of
this press and we suggest downloading:
Biomass Molds Compendium See the compendium for a variety of biomass mold
suggestions.
Large Single-Lever Biomass Briquette
Press
If the large compound
lever press is inappropriate for your needs then a large
single lever press might work in your area. Includes
removal jig.
Mold
designs have greatly improved since the original design of
this press and we suggest downloading:
Biomass Molds Compendium See the compendium for a variety of biomass mold
suggestions.
Caulk Gun Briquette
Experimentby: Dr. Zan Smith Good for classroom
demonstrations, formulation testing or small production
runs.
ALSO, see another home heating person, Norman Desrosiers,
and what he
has done
to heat his home.
download his
PowerPoint, 4 MB, pptx
Norm has done a lot of experimenting and developed meaningful
enhancements to the process.
If
you have not read the briquetting instructions available at the
Legacy foundation, I highly recommend reading them thoroughly prior
to starting a briquetting operation. They also have several biomass
briquette presses made from metal. See them
HERE
The Legacy Foundation provides training, technology and
media services for biomass fuel briquette production, environmental
conservation and income generation throughout the world. They have a number of excellent manuals on
briquetting. Visit them
HERE
ALSO, see another home heating person, Norman Desrosiers, and what he
has done to heat his home.Download
his PowerPoint,
4 MB, PPTX
Norm has done a lot of experimenting and developed meaningful enhancements
to the process.
We provide designs on this web site as "open source" but we do ask
that credit and a link be provided back to this site. Thank you.
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About me: I am a retired electronics engineer with a passion for
investigating technical issues, occasionally surrounded with mystery and
often bridging several fields of technology.
