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Briquetting Discussion Forum |
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What are briquettes? How do you make them? How can you use them? Below are some of the first questions from the Dochi women's group when they were first introduced to the new technology:
Q: What can you use to make briquettes?
A: You can use many different things. You will learn yourselves how to make the best ones. You can use eucalyptus, mango, avocado, but the leaves from the fruit trees take longer to decompose.
Q: Can you use cowdung as an ingredient?
A: You could, but it smells bad and you must pound it completely in order to make it generate enough heat.
Q: Can plastic also be used?
A: [From the Legacy Foundation] The typical 7-gram shopping bag found throughout Africa and other areas of the world is usually made of polyethylene. This could be combusted safely as long as the temperature is above 200 degrees C. The properly made briquette usually achieves a temerature of 800 deg c within five minutes, rising above 200 within two or three minutes. Additionally, combustion and waste incineration experts from the UK and Sweden have stated clearly that incineration is probably the best way to handle plastics disposal. One 7 gram bag per a standard 140 gram briquette is the recommended ratio yet even at that the bag must be chopped to cornflake size to assure water draining and adequate drying. Within these guidelines, plastic bags can be used. Outside them, the Legacy Foundation would not recommend their use.
Q: What materials are used to bind the briquettes?
A: Currently the chief binder used is paper because success with leaf fermentation in the field has been limited. In Kasikeu, Kenya, the Nyumbuni Women's Group has found that the leaves from cotton trees, which have silky hairs, work well as a binder when completely dry. It is most recommended to ferment the leaves until just before they rot as this process breaks apart the plant fibers in such a way that they can rebind during the briquetting pressing process. This process, when done properly, completely removes the need for an additional binder and also reduces mixing time.
Q: What can you use to start the burning of the briquettes? Do you need to use kerosene?
A:
You don't need kerosene or oil: you can just use a little paper. It's
not different from lighting charcoal. Everyone has their own way of
piling them to get the best flame. The only requirement is that the
chimney (the hole) is pointed up.
Q: How long do they burn?
A: The flame lasts for a long time. After you have cooked your food, you
will still be able to do other things with them, such as heat water for
cleaning or for a bath. Briquettes generally burn for 30-45 minutes and it usually takes three to cook ugali. The times vary depending on the recipe used to produce the briquettes. Different leaves will burn for different periods of time and different combinations will have different burning properties.
Q: Can you do other things with them besides cook?
A:
Yes. You can use them in an iron, you can use them to make chapatti,
for nyama choma, or to roast maize. You can also use them to cook
rice, just as you would use charcoal, piling the briquettes above and
below the pot. You can also break them up and use them to keep things
warm rather than cooking.
Q: What stoves can briquettes be used in?
A: Any stove can be
used but the briquettes must be a little higher off the ground because
they need air circulating around them. You could rest the briquettes
on the stove itself, for example.
Q: Can you make briquettes without the press machine?
A: Not
effectively. You need the force of the machine to compress them enough
and the chimney hole in the middle is crucial for generating heat.
Q: Can you make different sized briquettes?
A: Yes-you simply need to make a different sized mold. Some of the bigger stoves take bigger briquettes.
Q: How do you store them?
A: On the floor, in a guinea sack, or you can hang them on sticks on the wall, with the stick through the hole. They will never go bad-you can make them and store them for the rainy season.
Q: Where can they be sold?
A: Anywhere. Hotels, schools, in the market--wherever charcoal is sold.
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