ABSTRACT
Briquettes are a form of renewable energy produced from biomass waste, such as sawdust, straw and other agricultural waste. In an effort to increase the efficiency of briquette production, this study aims to design and develop a briquette printer with a pneumatic-based automatic pressing system. The pneumatic system was chosen because of its ability to provide consistent pressing force and good control over the printing process. This research includes the mechanical design of the tool, the selection of pneumatic components, the development of automatic controls, and the functional trial of the resulting briquette molding tool. The results of this study are expected to contribute to increasing the efficiency of briquette production and utilization of biomass waste. From the trial results, this briquette printer is very efficient and easy to obtain or manufacture by the general public or households. With the result that the time needed in one print is 133.8 seconds, there are 6 briquettes. Within 1 hour it can produce 6.21 kg of briquettes and a total of 161 printed briquettes. With an average time needed in one print of briquettes, which is 8.8 seconds. Thus, this briquette printer has the potential to be a solution in increasing the efficiency of briquette production as a sustainable alternative fuel. The use of a pneumatic-based automatic pressing system in this tool can be used as a basis for further development in order to achieve more efficient and sustainable briquette production in the future.
Keywords: Briquettes, Pneumatics, Automatic Pressing Systems, Biomass Waste, Production Efficiency.