Briquettes are used to start and maintain fires in boilers, grills, and fire pits. Biomass and charcoal are popular types. Biomass briquettes are made from sawdust and are used as a substitute for coal or oil. Charcoal briquettes can contain various ingredients, including sawdust, wood products, starch, and ignition aids. Coal is also used as fuel for commercial road vehicles in areas where oil is scarce.
A briquette is a piece of combustible material commonly used to start and maintain a fire, whether in a boiler, grill, or open space such as a fire pit. It is commonly shaped like a square or rectangle, but can also be found in lump or other molded shapes. The size of the tile is dictated by how it will be used. The larger briquettes are often used in production environments and the smaller versions are mainly used in fireplaces and for grilling food outdoors. The most popular briquettes are the biomass and charcoal varieties.
Most biomass briquettes are made from sawdust or similar wood waste products. The manufacturing process generally involves compressing sawdust and forcing it into a machine that heats it and extrudes briquettes in the shape of small fireplace logs. The particles in the log are held together by a natural substance in the sawdust, so no binders are needed.
The commercially produced fireplace logs preferred by many homeowners are actually biomass briquettes. A similar biomass briquette is commonly used as a substitute for coal or oil to heat boilers in manufacturing plants. It is often preferred over other fuel sources because its use does not release harmful fossil fuels into the environment. Another popular reason to use biomass briquettes for boiler fuel is that they are reportedly 30% to 40% cheaper to burn than oil or coal.
Charcoal briquettes are commonly used for cooking food on outdoor grills, barbecues and hibachis. The lumpy shape, typically made from hardwood materials, is favored by some cooks. This preference is generally attributed to the fact that lump coal produces much less ash than briquettes.
Depending on the brand, charcoal briquettes can contain many ingredients. In addition to sawdust, other wood products can be part of their composition. Starch is commonly used as a binder for charcoal briquettes. Ignition aids are often added to some briquettes and generally include paraffin, petroleum solvents, borax and sodium nitrate. Limestone is often added to turn the ashes white, which warns some cooks that fire is the correct temperature for grilling foods.
A less common use of coal, usually in the form of large briquettes or lumps, is as fuel for commercial road vehicles, usually buses. This is a regular practice in areas where oil is scarce or completely unavailable. Coal-powered buses were popular in Japan just after WWII and are used today in parts of North Korea.
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