the briquetting process explained

Our briquetting process ensures the highest quality

Ever wonder how briquettes are made? RUF Briquetting Systems, North America’s leading manufacturer of briquetting machines, has refined our briquetting process through the years to ensure the highest-quality products. Below is an overview of the process, which is nearly identical for both wood waste and scrap metals. Each production process produces one briquette per cycle.

The compression process

• Byproduct material is loaded into a feed hopper.
• A screw conveyor in the hopper carries the material to a precharger chamber.
• The running time of the screw conveyor is calculated every cycle and controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) to ensure the production of a quality briquette in every cycle. The screw conveyor cycle time changes if the particle size or density of the feed material changes.
• Once the screw conveyor fills the precharger chamber, the precharger compresses the material into a pressing chamber.
• The main press piston pushes the material into one of two dies in a pressing mold. The material is formed into a dense briquette.
• Pressures are monitored and compression continues until reaching a preset value to ensure a dense briquette.

Extra step in scrap metal briquetting process

• When the press piston compresses metal against the pressing plate, it squeezes coolant from the material and collects it in a sump located beneath the briquetting machine. Once the liquid reaches a predetermined fill level, a pump is triggered and dispenses the fluid out of the sump and into another container for reuse.

Machine resets for next cycle

• When the compression process is complete, the mold cylinder changes the position of the pressing mold to the other position and the briquette aligns with an ejection opening.
• Ejectors located on either side of the main press piston push the briquette out through ejector holes in the front plate of the briquetting machine.
• The main compression piston and precharger return to their home positions.
• The empty die aligns with the compression piston.
• With the precharger back in the upward position, the conveyor charges feed material into the press chamber to begin a new cycle.
• This process continues until the material in the feed hopper has been depleted.

Interested to see what a briquetter would look like in your operation? Contact us today.