2013 Volume 75 Issue 3 Pages 167-174
We attempted to mold rice and wheat straw pellets using an extruder, to investigate its applicability and obtain findings for establishing an efficient molding method. The trial showed that rice straw holding 30-45 % water could be molded into a cylinder even if it was fed directly into the molding part using a molding plate with holes diameter of 6-9 mm and thickness of 19 mm. The powder ratio was 10-30 % in this case. There was a tendency for a higher throughput to be obtained if shorter rice straw was fed into the molding part. On the other hand, wheat straw fed directly into the molding part could not be successfully molded into a cylinder. Wheat straw with added bentonite or flying-out flour (a byproduct of devil’s-tongue flour production) could be molded, but at lower throughput.
