Abstract:
Biomass, such as agricultural residue, can be converted into briquette fuel using
technology to expand the possible applications of biomass and improve biomass utilization
efficiency. The major machines required in a briquette fuel system in some cases drying
chopping cooling machines are also required apart from major briquetting machine. To reach a
high performance index, all machines in the plant must match and be combined to perform
optimally so that it satisfies multiple objectives, such as economy, production stability and
product quality. In this thesis, a mathematical model for a systematic evaluation of biomass
briquetting plant used for power generation was established according to theories of grey
relational analysis. This model was used to select a biomass briquetting machines combination
scheme considering optimization factors like economy which comprises of capital cost and
operating cost, product quality which comprises of calorific value and degree of densification
and production stability which comprises of machine repair cycle and life of major parts. The
most significant influencing parameters controlling each optimization factor were analyzed using
a sensitivity analysis. Based on the grey relation analysis, an optimally performing combination
of machines was selected for a fully operational mustard husk briquette fuel plant producing
briquettes at rate of 6 ton per hour. An optimally performing combination of machines includes 6
machines of GK70 type. The evaluated influencing parameters and proportionate numbers were
chosen objectively as 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 for economy, production stability and product quality
respectively. These results provide a reference for selection of optimally performing combination
of machines in large-scale biomass briquetting plant used for power generation.
