[Stoves] binder for char briquettes

[Anand Karve]

Dear Stovers,
we use starch paste as binder while making char briquettes. The paste
is made by dissolving starch in boiling water. These briquettes have
to be dried for about 4 days before they can be sold. In the case of
biomass briquettes, the lignin in the biomass acts as a binder because
it melts when pressure is applied to the biomass. There is no need to
dry these briquettes after they have been made. Can you suggest a
binder having similar properties for making char briquettes? Sugar
melts at about 100 C, and India produces a lot of it, but briquettes
contaning sugar would attract ants and cockroaches.
Yours
A.D.Karve
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Dr. A.D. Karve
Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)