A study of wood briquetting fuels and possibilities in application in Georgia

Project B-166-3
A Study Of Wood Briquetting Fuels
And Possibilities In Application In Georgia
Prepared for The Georgia Department of Commerce
~bit ~assey, Director
hy
Tze I. Chiang
Engineering Experiment Station Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia

Project B-166-3
A STUDY OF WOOD BRIQUETTING FUELS AND POSSIBILITIES IN APPLICATION IN GEORGIA
Prepared for The Georgia Department of Commerce
Abit Massey, Director 100 State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia
by Tze I. Chiang
Industrial Development Branch Engineering Experiment Station Georgia Institute of Technology
September 1959

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

i

Summary

ii

I.

Introduction

1

II. Existing Wood Briquette Industries in the United States

2

"Pres-to-logs" Wood Briquetting Machines

2

"Pres- to-logs" Stoker Fuel Machines

3

III. Some Characteristics of Wood Briquettes

5

IV. Economics of Manufacturing

8

Raw Material

8

Capitalization

8

Cost and Return

9

Summary Statement -A Model Wood Briquette Plant

11

v.

Possibilities of Manufacturing Wood Briquettes in Georgia

16

Tables

1. Geographic Distribution of "Pres-to-logs" Machines

for Wood Briquettes

4

2. Geographic Distribution of "Pres-to-logs" Stoker

Fuel Machines

4

3. Economy of Heating Value of Different Fuels

17

Acknowledgments
The writer is most indebted to many persons who answered our inquiries or spent time for consultation. They are Mr. M. C. Lagrone, Jr., Jellico Coal & Charcoal Company; Mr. C. M. Farrar, Vice President, Southeastern Retail Coal Association; Mr. W. R. Boie, General Manager, and Mr. Roy Huffman, Vice President, Wood Briquettes, Inc.; Mr. S. L. Parker, The Pacific Lumber Company; Mr. M.S. Sellner, Mr. J. B. Bishop, and Mr. Alan T. Smith, Weyerhaeuser Timber Company; Mr. W. Jeter Eason, Nickey Brothers, Inc.; and Dr. Hereford Garland, Director, Forest Products Research Division, Michigan College of Mining and Technology.
Deep appreciation is acknowledged to various members of the Industrial Development Branch for their advice and assistance in this project. Mr. William E. Durrett participated in the interviews. Dr. Ernst W. Swanson, Dr. George I. Whitlatch, Mr. John R. Peterson, Mr. Ben W. Carmichael and Mr. Robert Bullock reviewed the first draft. The second draft was reviewed by Dr. Kenneth C. Wagner and Mr. Robert E. Van Geuns. Their comments and suggestions were most helpful. The efforts of Mrs. Betty Jaffe in preparing the report is admirable and appreciated.
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Sunnnary
Two types of wood briquettes processed by 11Pres-to-logs" machines are connnercially successful in the United States. One is log-form briquettes used in fireplaces and railroad dining cars; the other, small-chunk briquettes used mainly as stoker fuels. Both products are made of sawdusts or wood residues.
There are 117 units of 11Pres-to-logs 11 machines producing log-form briquettes and 21 units producing stoker-fuel briquettes in the United States. Buyers of log-form briquettes are interested in burning qualities, whereas buyers of stoker-fuel briquettes are interested in fuel economy. Thus, plants of log-form briquettes are adapted to uses in metropolitan areas or connnunication centers and plants of stoker-fuel briquettes are adapted in rural areas.
Wood briquettes, according to the experiment conducted by the Michigan College of Mining and Technology, have distinct advantages of various burning qualities such as ignition, rate of combustion, smoke, ash, holdfire and reactivity of flame.
Integrated wood briquette manufacture with the existing wood-working plants is the most important factor for assuring a successful operation. For the purpose of indicating all costs involved in establishing a new plant, a model of two 11 pres-to-logs 11 machines for producing log-form briquettes is adopted. The annual capacity of this model plant is 7, 200 tons on a three-shift and 300-day working basis. A total investment of $133,000 is estimated. The profit on total investment will be -10% for one shift, 4% for two shifts, and 16% for a three-shift operation.
In Georgia, the absense of coal mining, the lack of gas facilities in many counties, a great number of houses without central heating systems, and the plentiful supply of sawdusts or wood residues in various localities may prompt one to look into other types of fuel which could utilize local raw material and be manufactured locally. Wood briquettes have distinct burning qualities and heating value. They, therefore, offer interesting potentials as a domestic fuel.
-ii-

I INTRODUCTION
Wood residues of various forms such as sawdust, shavingsJ slabs, and edges, created a disposal problem to many wood-using industries. Although many discoveries have been made in the utilization of wood residues, a great part of them still remain as "left over," with no practical use.
Many attempts have been made to process wood wastes for commercial fuel in the past; most of them failed due to the high costs involved in the processing or the keen competition from other types of fuel. Only one type of process has proved to be commercially successful--"Pres-to-logs" wood briquettes.
There are two types of wood briquettes processed by the "Pres-to-logs" machines. One is a cylindrical briquette approximately 4 1/8 inches in diameter and 12 3/4 inches in length, with a weight of approximately eight pounds. It is used primarily for fireplace and "chunk" fuel heating equipment. The second type of product by the same process is a small briquette suitable for use in domestic stokers. It is 1 1/8 inches in diameter, and from 3/4 to one inch long.
It may be worthwhile to look into these two wood waste briquettes in some detail for the following reasons:
1. There are quite a few low-income families in Georgia without central heating facilities. Domestic stokers and coal furnaces are still used in the rural areas.
2. There is no major coal industry in the State. Most industrial and domestic coal has to be imported from out-of-state suppliers.
3. Continuously rising costs of gas and oil in recent years may cause users to change their fuels for economic reasons if a new fuel is attractive to them.
4. Some firewood dealers have indicated difficulty in securing an adequate supply of oak in recent years.
5. It is noted that a great amount of wood wastes exist throughout the State. Finding uses for them is an important task from the economic standpoint of the State as a whole.
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II. EXISTING WOOD BRIQUETTE INDUSTRIES IN THE UNITED STATES
The only known wood briquette machine maker with a commercially established market is Wood Briquettes, Incorporated at Lewiston, Idaho. Their trade name is "Pres-to-logs." This company manufactures two types of machines--a wood briquette machine and a stoker fuel machine. These machines could be purchased or leased on the basis of an initial payment and an additional charge per ton of fuel produced. More detailed information dealing with the technical matter and costs involved in setting up a plant can be obtained from Wood Briquettes, Incorporated. The company will send advertising material and is prepared to offer detailed plans and engineering services to prospective buyers or lessors.
"Pres-to-logs" Wood Briquetting Machines
There are 117 machines for wood briquettes located in 25 places over the nation. Most of them are located on the West Coast, with a few on the Canadian border. The geographic distribution of the "Pres-to-logs" machines for log form briquettes is shown in Table 1.
Market outlets of "Pres-to-logs" wood briquettes are through the distribution of fuel dealers, food stores, groceries, service stations, ice delivery service, and direct sales to customers at the manufacturing plants. Through advertising and promotion, wood briquettes gradually found uses in furnaces, fireplaces, dining car galleys, ship galleys, restaurants, camping, brooder stoves, service stations, lunchrooms, barbeques, schools, and hot water heating. The pattern of market outlets has varied by places of manufacturing and firms. Generally speaking, wood briquettes are mostly used in fireplaces and largely marketed in specific and localized areas. They could be considered a luxury item because a house with a fireplace usually has some other type of heating. Thus, buyers of wood briquettes are more interested in their burning qualities than in fuel economy.
The market on the West Coast, according to reports, is good. For example the Vancouver plant, with eight machines operating, was oversold from 1949 to 1953. In February 1953, the retail price was $25.32 per ton while
the best quality domestic coal was selling for $19.80 per ton.~/ Vancouver
~/ Gibbons, A. B., "Wood Waste Briquetting Plant," Timber Technology, Vol. 61, No. 2167, May 1953.
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is a city where fuel oil, gas, and coal are all abundant and where dry fir

1ogs

can be

pureh ased

f or

1ess

t han

one

quarter

o f

t

h

.
~s

. 1/
pr~ce.-

"Pres-to-logs 11 Stoker Fuel Machines

This type of machine is a newer product of the Wood Briquettes, Incorporated in Idaho. The machine is designed to compress wood waste into stoker fuel. Many families are still using furnaces or stokers in rural areas. In view of the shortage of coal mines in Georgia, wood briquettes for stoker fuel may be a possibility for development. The geographic distribution of "Pres-to-logs 11 stoker fuel machines is shown in Table 2.
Marketing of wood briquette stoker fuel is different from wood briquette logs. It has to compete with low cost domestic coal and with highly convenient fuels such as gas and oil. Wood briquette stoker fuel is adapted to an area not reached by natural gas facilities and with high cost coal or oil. Land-locked areas without sea or river ports but with abundant wood residues make an ideal location for this type of operation.

}j Gibbons, A. B., "Wood Waste Briquetting Plant," Timber Technology,
Vol. 61, No. 2167, May 1953.
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Table 1

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF "PRES-TO-LOGS" MACHINES FOR WOOD BRIQUETTES

City
Vancouver Victoria Sacremento Scotia Caldwell Coeur D'Alene Lewiston Potlatch Altona Libby Missoula Reno Fredericton Port Newark Bernalillo Fort Williams Klamath Falls Salem Springfield Johnson City Memphis Deer Park Everett Longview Spokane

State

Number of Machines

British Columbia

12

British Columbia

4

California

5

California

4

Idaho

2

Idaho

2

Idaho

12

Idaho

4

Manitoba, Canada

2

Montana

6

Montana

3

Nevada

2

New Brunswick, Canada

1

New Jersey

2

New Mexico

2

Ontario, Canada

6

Oregon

4

Oregon

2

Oregon

4

Tennessee

2

Tennessee

4

Washington

4

Washington

12

Washington

14

Washington

2

Total

ll7

Table 2

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF "PRES-TO-LOGS" STOKER FUEL MA.CHINES1:_/

Location
Vancouver, British Columbia Barbados, British West Indies Lewiston, Idaho Libby, Montana Missoula, Montana Swastika, Ontario, Canada Memphis, Tennessee Colville, Washington Deer Park, Washington Seattle, Washington Spokane, Washington Twisp, Washington

Corporation
MacMillan S. Bloedel, Ltd. D. M. Simpson and Company Potlatch Forests, Incorporated J. Neils Lumber Company Missoula Pres-to-logs Company Haileybury Lumber Company Nickey Brothers, Incorporated Fred Draper Lumber Company Deer Park Pine Industry Fred C. Christensen Spokane Pres-to-logs Company E. Wagner and Son

1/ Ranging from one to three machines per installation, total 21 units.

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III. SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOD BRIQUETTES
The briquetting technique was applied to hydrocarbons without introducing heat as early as 1856 in England. It was used on an irmnense scale by the German brown coal industry to reduce costs in transportation and help the war economy. This conception of space-saving method has been realized effectively in the post-war development in Europe and America. Wood briquettes are an example.
"Pres-to-logs" wood briquettes are heat-bonded by the natural wood lignins. The raw material consists of sawdust, shavings or ground wood that has been dried to less than 10 per cent moisture content and graded to fairly uniform particle size. No binder or other material is added. The pressure used is enough to generate sufficient heat to render the interlocking of wood particles.
The "Pres-to-logs" press was originally developed for softwoods such as white pine and Douglas fir. It is known that different combinations of softwood and hardwood residues could be used with fairly good results.
Michigan College of Mining and Technology conducted an experiment on stoker wood briquettes through help from Wood Briquettes (Lewiston, Idaho). Three types of wood briquettes were tested: (1) all softwood, (2) half hardwood and half softwood, and (3) all hardwood. The result was that the all softwood product was of maximum quality from the standpoint of strength and density of the briquettes required for handling and stoker firing. The half softwood-half hardwood was not as strong as the all softwood but quite suitable for the purpose. The all hardwood was not quite adequate for stoker firing.
A surmnary of the conclusions reported by the Michigan College of Mining and Technology which were based on several tests on wood briquettes.!:_/ is listed below:
l l Garland, Hereford, Possibilities for Production! Wood Briquettes
Stoker Fuel in Northern Michigan, Forest Products Research Division, Michigan College of Mining and Technology, Houghton, Michigan, June 1950.
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1. Ignition of the briquettes was rapid. 2. Rates of fuel consumption during periods of holdfirel/ oper-
ation were very satisfactory and appreciably less than required for coal. Ignition was maintained through one 15-hour overnight period without operation of the stoker. 3. The wood briquettes were very responsive to heat demand during periods of intermi ttant operation and the rate of burning was very uniform during periods of continuous operation. 4. Although the rate of heat released by the stoker furnace unit was only slightly more than half of that obtained with coal (using the same feed speed), the "Pres-to-logs" fuel fed at 20-24 pounds per hour at a feed setting that normally feeds coal at 30-33 pounds per hour. 5. The ash from the wood briquettes does not form clinkers and is light and fine. A considerable portion of it leaves the furnace as fly ash. 6. The density of emitted smoke was negligible and was not objectionable even during the period right after the stokers were shut off, when smoke densities are highest with coal. 7. The required air is low in comparison with coal at the same feed rate.
A comparison between stoker wood briquettes and stoker coals was also made by the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in terms of holdfire fuel consumption, uniformity of combustion and reactivity of flame.
1. Holdfire consumption: Coals requiring more than five minutes per hour to maintain combustion are regarded as unsatisfactory for household stoker use. Wood briquettes required only one minute per hour.
2. Uniformity of combustion: Although coal produced higher heat value (14,000 BTU per pound) than wood briquettes (8,350 BTU per pound), coals have an ideal heat value of only 60 per cent of their BTU due to variation between complete and incomplete combustion. Wood briquettes have a uniform combustion comparable to gas.
1/ Holdfire is the term used to describe the automatic operation of the stoker for a few minutes each half-hour or hour merely to prevent the fire from dying out.
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3. Reactivity of flame: Wood briquettes have another advantage over stoker coals in the reactivity of flame after the "off" period. Shortly after the beginning of an "on" period the briquette bed attains full flame.
-7-

IV. ECONOMICS OF MANUFACTURING
There are many factors which will affect cost and return of a manufacturing plant. In the case of a wood briquette plant, integrated operation seems to be the most important factor of all. Due to low value of product, small marketing distance and keen competition of other fuels, wood briquette production must be kept under a least-cost basis. Utilization of wood waste of an existing plant would provide a free supply of raw material which has, otherwise, to be purchased at a cost. Under the advantage of integrated operation, investment costs of building and auxiliary equipments may be partially cut down or even entirely eliminated. Costs incurred in salary, wage, supplies, etc. are also expected to be lowered to some degree by using the existing resources. As a matter of fact, most of the existing wood briquette plants are operated on this basis.
The extent of integration is different from one plant to another. For the purpose of indicating all costs involved, a. model plant is set up, based upon an entirely independent operation. Although no general cost data could be applied in a. specific situation, the figures shown in this section nevertheless serve as a rough guide. Visits to existing plants will help a. potential investor in understanding a. plant operation and in obtaining information which he cannot otherwise get.
Some major considerations, raw material, capitalization, and cost and return, will be discussed in connection with this model plant.
Raw Material
Softwood sawdusts are generally adapted to briquetting. Edges, tops, shavings, etc. could be ground for this purpose. Sawdust of different species could be sent to Wood Briquettes, Incorporated, for testing suitability of making wood briquettes.
Each "Pres-to-logs" machine has a capacity of 12 tons dry wood material or 20 tons of green material per 24 hours. Green materials with a moisture content greater than eight to 10 per cent should go through a drying process first. If the source of raw material is seasonal or otherwise irregular, some provision should be made for storage and rehandling. Capi taliza.tion
The initial fixed investment will vary considerably according to the facilities already available at a. proposed site and the moisture content of
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the raw materials. A one-machine "Pres-to-logs" plant will cost around $45,000 and a two-machine plant will cost slightly less than twice as much. A "Pres-to-logs" stoker fuel machine costs about $10,000 less than the "Pres-to-logs" machine. Other plant construction costs would be approximately the same.
Extra equipment is required when wood residue is in green condition. A flash drier which would cost from $7,500 to $10,000 is needed.
One man is sufficient for operating two machines and an extra man is almost essential on the day shift. Besides, one or two helping hands may be needed in warehousing and yard works.
A stoker fuel machine requires a space six by seven feet. For a "Presto-logs" machine, a 12 by 10-foot space is ample. Including storage and operation, a space of 5,000 square feet under simple construction should be needed for a two-machine plant.
Cost and Return
Production costs vary greatly from place to place and from one firm to another. For the purpose of estimating production costs, a model plant of two "Pres-to-logs" machines is adopted. The operating conditions are: 12 ton output capacity per day per machine in a three shift and 24 hour operation; 300 operating days per year; and purchased green wood residue. The production cost of this model plant is expected to be higher than the plant with integrated operation.
All cost figures used in this study represent approximations, without a specific commitment or guarantee that a plant could be built and operated for the specific cost given.
For the model, a summary statement is presented, followed by a breakeven chart. This chart illustrates the relationship among sales, costs, and the resulting profits. Variable costs are those that change directly in proportion to changes in production volume. These costs are the raw material costs, labor costs associated with production, and certain overhead costs. Fixed costs are the costs which do not change in proportion to changes in production volume. These are the costs of administration, insurance, taxes, and depreciation. The production output, where total costs and sales are equal, is the break-even point. It is illustrated by the intersection of the total costs and sales line on the break-even chart. The break-even point is 4,012 tons of wood briquette sale, which will cover
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not only all costs paid currently but also the cost of replacing fixed assets through a depreciation charge. Sales beyond 4,012 tons will make a profit and sales below 4,012 tons will incur a loss. This is a long-run concept.
In the short run, sales should be made to cover all out-of-pocket costs such as salaries, insurance and property taxes, plus all variable costs. The breakdown point is 3,225 tons, which is the volume for covering current costs but is below the level required to replace fixed assets.
After the summary statement and break-even chart, there are detailed statements of income, expenses, and investment. Readers can go from the summary statement to any degree of detail desired.
All statements and figures of cost and return in this section is for logform wood briquettes. As for stoker-fuel wood briquettes, all conditions required for production are identical with log-form briquettes except for $10,000 less in equipment cost per machine. For this reason, fixed costs incurred by a stoker-fuel briquette manufacturer will be 50 cents less than log-form briquettes per ton on a three shift basis.
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SUMMARY STATEMENT A MODEL WOOD BRIQUETTE PLANT WITH TWO "PRES-TO-LOGS" MACHINES

Income (Schedule A2 Unit Sales at Capacity
Sales Variable Costs
Variable Profit Out of Pocket Fixed Costs Cash Income Non-cash Fixed Costs (Depr.) Net Income

Per Ton $15.00 8.10 2 6.90

Break-Even ~Tons2
To Cover Out of Pocket Costs To Cover All Costs, Including Depr.

1 Shift 2, 400 tons

2 Shifts 4,800 tons

3 Shifts 7,200 tons

$ 36,000 19 440
$ 16,560 222304
$ -5,744 5 2890
$-11,634

$ 72,000 382880
$ 33,120 222304
$ 10,816 5!890
$ 4 2926

$108,000 582320
$ 49,680 22!304
$ 27,376 5!890
$ 21!486

3,225 4,012

3,225 4,012

3,225 4,012

Investment
Fixed Investment (Schedule B) Working Capital (Schedule C)
Total Investment

$110,000 7!680
2117 2680

$110,000 152360
21252360

$110,000 232040
21332040

Per Cent Return On Fixed Investment On Total Investment

-10.58% - 9.89%

4.48% 3.93%

19.53% 16.15%

Payout Period
Period for Cash Income to Cover Fixed Investment

10 Years

4 Years

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BREAK-EVEN CHART

1 SHIFT

2 SHIFTS

3 SHIFTS

110

100

90

,

80
70
V) 60
I-
V)
u 0
0 z < 50
V)
UJ
..J
~
40

BREAK-EVEN FOR OUT OF POCKET COSTS 3,225 TONS

, BREAK-EVEN FOR
TOTAL COSTS 4,012 TONS

30

20 10

1,500

3,000

4,500

OUTPUT (TONS)

6,000

7,500

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STATEMENT ON THE MODEL PLANT'S INCOME AND EXPENSE

Unit Sales at Capacity Sales

Per Ton $15.00

1 Shift 2, 400 tons

Schedule A

2 Shifts

3 Shifts

4,800 tons 7, 200 tons

$ 36,000

$ 72,000

$108,000

Variable Costs
Wood (Schedule A-1) Labor (Schedule A-2) Overhead (Schedule A-3)
Total Variable Costs Variable Profit

$ 2.80 2.50 2.80
$ 8.10 $ 6.90

$ 6' 720 6,000 61720
$ 19 I 440 $ 161560

$ 13' 440 12,000 13 1440
$ 381880 $ 331120

$ 20,160 18,000 20 1160
$ 58 1320 $ 49,680

Fixed Costs
Out of Pocket Fixed Costs Salaries (Schedule A-4) Insurance (Schedule A-5) Property Tax (Schedule A-5) Maintainance (Schedule A-5) Development and Sale (Schedule A-5) Total Out of Pocket Fixed Costs Cash Income

$ 9,000 2,661 2,661 3,991 31991
$ 22 I 304 $ -5,744

$ 9,000 2,661 2,661 3,991 3 1991
$ 221304 $ 10,816

$ 9,000 2,661 2,661 3,991 31991
$ 22 1304 $ 27,376

Non-Funds Fixed Costs
Depreciation (Schedule A-5) Net Income

$ 5 1890
~-111634

$ 5 1890 $ 41926

$ 51890 $ 211486

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Wood Cost

Schedule A-1

1 ton of sawdust or shavings costs $1.50 at green weight of 2,000 lbs. with 40% moisture.

1 ton yield:

1,200 + 77 = 1,277 lbs. (dried to 6% moisture) 1,277 X .85 = 1,085 lbs. (process shrinkage)

$1.50 .- 1,085 lbs. .14 per pound

Cost per ton:

2,000 X .14 $2.80

Machine operator Odd job

Labor Cost $1.50/hour $1.00/hour

Schedule A-2

Operation Machine operator Yard Warehouse
Total Cost per ton:

No. Men 1 1 1
$60 .- 24 $2.50

No. Shifts 3 2 1

Hours 24 16 8 48

Daily Cost $36 16 8 $60

Variable Overhead Costs

Supplies (Labels, oil, ink, wire, etc.) Power: 122 KWH/ton, @ 1.6/KWH

$10/day

Fuel Wood for heat: 850 lbs./ton, $1/ton

Schedule A-3 $0.42/ton 1. 95/ton 0.43/ton $2.80/ton

Plant Manager Stenographer

Salaries

Annual Depreciation and Other Charges For Fixed Investment

Original

Building depreciation at 20 years

$ 28,800

Equipment depreciation at 16 years

71,200

Taxes at 2% of total investment (three shifts)

133,040

Insurance at 2% of total investment (three shifts)

133,040

Maintainance at 3% of total investment (three shifts) 133' 040

Development and sale at 3% of total investment (three shifts)

133,040

Total

Schedule A-4 $6,000 3,000 $9,000
Schedule A-5 Annual Charge
$ 1,440 4,450 2,661 2,661 3,991
3,991 $19,194

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Building Construction Foundation Land Total Building

Fixed Investments
$ 23,000 3,200 2!600

EguiEment Two "Pres-to-log" machines and auxiliary equipment One flash drier Total Equipment Total Fixed Investment, Estimated Contingency (10%) Total Fixed Investment

$ 61,200 10 1 000

3 Months Wood Supply 1 Month Finished Goods 1 Month Invoice Payable
Total

Working Capital Investment

1 Shift $ 1,680
3,000 3!000 $ 7,680

2 Shifts
$ 3,360 6,000 6 1000
$15,360

Schedule B
$ 28,800
$ 71 z 200 $100,000
10!000 $110,000
Schedule c
3 Shifts $ 5,040
9,000 9!000 $23,040

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V. POSSIBILITIES OF MANUFACTURING WOOD BRIQUETTES IN GEORGIA
Georgia has a rather short winter season compared with the northern states. The market demand for domestic fuel is not comparable to the cold areas. On the other hand, many houses in Georgia have no central heating sys tern, due to the short winter season. For this reason, fireplaces may be used for heating purposes during the winter by many people. Moreover, the absence of coal mining and the lack of gas facilities in many counties in Georgia may prompt one to look into other types of fuel which could utilize local raw material and be manufactured locally. Wood briquettes have distinct burning qualities and heating value. It may therefore be worthwhile to recommend them as a domestic fuel.
Wood briquettes for stoker fuel or fireplace are not on the Atlanta market at the present time. Most fuel dealers interviewed did not know of their existence. It is believed that these two products are not sold in Georgia because the bulky nature and low sale value of the products limit the distance of transportation. The existing out-of-state plants mostly serve their own localities.
In considering a wood briquetting plant for Georgia one should ask how large the market is. Two questions have to be answered: (1) an estimate of the present consumption of different type of fuels in a specific locality, and (2) the possibility and rate of replacing other type of fuels by wood briquettes.
Marketing of wood briquettes of log form is different from wood briquette stoker fuel. The first product is used in fireplaces, furnaces, dining cars, etc. Buyers of this product may be interested more in its burning characteristics such as cleanliness, little ash, no smoke, long burning time, full combustion, etc. rather than in the cost. Fireplaces are reported coming back in new houses. It is expected that more people would use firewood if a better wood fuel is introduced. Log form wood briquettes sell well in metropolitan areas. The logical site for a plant should be in the vicinity of Atlanta, Savannah, or other large cities in Georgia.
Atlanta has an annual market of $100,000 for oak wood used for fireplaces in 1958. Oak wood fuel was sold at $30 per cord in winter and $25 per cord in summer. Considering the cost, wood briquettes are similar to
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oak wood in term of heating value, but with an advantage in burning quali-

ties. It was reported that the supply of oak wood for fuel is becoming

difficult in the recent years. Wood briquettes may capture one-third of

the oak wood market without assuming an enlarged market created by a new

product. Sale value ($33,000) would be the equivalent of approximately

one half of 4,012 tons, which is the break-even point of a two-machine

wood briquette plant.

Other outlets must be considered. A wood briquetting plant in Mem-

phis, Tennessee, sold a great part of its product to the railway dining

cars. It is quite possible that Atlanta's position as a rail center may

provide an important outlet for Georgia. With six units of log-form wood

briquette machine in operation in Tennessee, it should not be difficult

to put a two-machine plant in Georgia.

Marketing of wood briquettes of stoker fuel presents a different

problem. This product is used primarily in furnaces and stokers. It com-

petes with coal, oil and gas in one way or another. The main considera-

tion in competition with other fuels is in the economy in heating value

and convenience in handling. Wood briquettes have distinctly better burn-

ing qualities over the best quality domestic coal, as was mentioned in

the previous section. They are comparable with oil and gas in combustion.

In considering economy of heating value, they are just below coal and gas

but higher than oil. (See Table 6.) Based on these characteristics, wood

briquettes may be able to compete successfully with other fuels in certain

areas.

Table 3

ECONOMY OF HEATING VALUE OF DIFFERENT FUELS

Type of Fuel Wood briquettes Coal Gas Oil 1/=2

Unit

No.

Ton

1

Ton

1

Therm

1

Gallon

1

B.T.U.
16,700,000 28,000,000
100,000 137' 000

-p r-1. .c-ea-/
$15.00 17.50
.08
.16

B.T.U./cent
11' 133
16 ' ooo.1
12,500
8,563

~/ Based currently on available Atlanta prices. Price of wood briquettes is assumed.
b/ Coal combustj.on is irregular and its ideal heat value is only 60% of
its B:T.u.

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There is ample evidence that consumers do not take cost alone as a consideration for domestic fuels. The trend of domestic fuel consumption is going toward a more attractive, clean and convenient type of fuel such as gas, even if it costs more. Wood briquette stoker fuel has the qualities of high heat value and cleanliness. It should therefore be able to capture some part of the domestic fuel market in Georgia.
Farming towns and sawmill towns are logical sites for a wood briquette stoker fuel plant. The considerations for locating a plant in a rural area are (1) proximity to raw material supply, (2) the frequent absence of gas facilities, and (3) the fact that coal is easily replaced as a domestic fuel. Gas facilities are still not extended to most counties in the southeast and northeast regions of Georgia. Most of these counties have over 75 per cent of their land area in commercial forest and a lot of sawmills locate there. It should not be hard to find an appropriate site for a wood briquetting plant in these areas.
Numerous small scale sawmills and logging operations may pose as a real deterrent to any effective utilization of wood waste, however. Small plants do not have large enough excesses of sawdust or planer shavings on hand. Also, they do not have a large enough capital for investment. The pooling of several small plants' raw materials and funds under a cooperative may be one possible solution for utilizing wood wastes.