The effect of different treatment conditions on biomass binder preparation for lignite briquette

The tests of treating rice straw with sodium hydroxide, lime and sulfuric acid were individually done and the possibility of using a binding agent based on rice straw as lignite briquette binder was studied. In this study, the lignite from Pingzhuang coal basin was selected as the coal for briquetting. It was found that the type of chemical agents and their concentration were the main factors influencing preparation of a binding agent based on rice straw. The binding mechanisms of a rice straw-based binder containing sodium hydroxide were quite different from that made with lime. The experiment showed that the rice straw treated with sulfuric acid could not be used as a briquette binding agent. Additionally, it made clear that comprehensive binders, which were prepared by adding bentonite, coal tar and/or polypropylene amide into rice straw-based binder, would have waterproof property and would benefit the quality of briquettes.