Technological University of the Philippines

College of Engineering
Department Of Mechanical Engineering
Ermita, Manila
________________________________________________________________

WATER LILY TO CHARCOAL BRIQUTTE MACHINE MAKER

A Research Proposal Submitted to

Dr. Bilomar Floresca

College of Mechanical Engineering

In partial Fulfilment

of the Requirements

in Mechanical Engineering

Project Study 1

Group:

Llorera, Jeshua
Pagkaliwangan, Alma Mae
Castro, Edgar
Cruz, John Patrick
 Chapter 1

The Problem and Its Background

Introduction

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) is an aquatic plant which can live and

reproduce floating freely on the surface of fresh waters or can be anchored in mud.

Plant size ranges from a few inches to a meter in height. Its rate of proliferation under

certain circumstances is extremely rapid and it can spread to cause infestations over

large areas of water causing a variety of problems. It grows in mats up to 2 meters thick

which can reduce light and oxygen, change water chemistry, affect flora and fauna and

cause significant increase in water loss due to evapotranspiration. It also causes

practical problems for marine transportation, fishing and at intakes for hydro power and

irrigation schemes. It is now considered a serious threat to biodiversity. (Water Hyacinth

Intermediate Technology Development Group)

The plant is a perennial aquatic herb (Eichhornia crassipes) which belongs to the

family Pontedericeae, closely related to the Liliaceae (lily family). The mature plant

consists of long, pendant roots, rhizomes, stolons, leaves, inflorescences and fruit

clusters. The plants are up to 1 metre high although 40cm is the more usual height. The

inflorescence bears 6 - 10 lily-like flowers, each 4 - 7cm in diameter. The stems and

leaves contain air-filled tissue which give the plant its considerable buoyancy. The

vegetation reproduction is asexual and takes place at a rapid rate under preferential

conditions. (Herfjord, Osthagen and Saelthun 1994).

 The plant originated in the Amazon Basin and was introduced into many parts of

the world as an ornamental garden pond plant due to its beauty. It has proliferated in

many areas of the Philippines and can now be found on most of our rivers.

These past few years, the Philippines suffered from consecutive typhoons.

Because of this, many water lilies manifest and grew in the big bodies of water. Due to a

huge number of water hyacinths, hundreds of troops and civilians cleared tons of water

lilies from the Rio Grande at the southern part of the Philippines. (Water Hyacinth

Intermediate Technology Development Group)

This invasive species has fibrous tissue, high energy and protein content, and a

moisture content of 95%. It is also primarily used as an ornament in garden ponds.

However, due to its large population in water bodies, it has become undesirable and

harmful to other aquatic species as well as aquatic ecosystems. It also causes the

clogging of waterways, which effectively reduces the flow of water. Moreover, it is also

decreasing the dissolved oxygen level in the water, which is needed by many aquatic

species like fish. (Water Hyacinth Intermediate Technology Development Group)

Background of the Study

The water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), popularly known to Filipinos as the

water lily, is a free-floating plant growing in freshwater. This invasive species, native to

South America, has fibrous tissue, high energy and protein content, and a moisture
content of 95%. It is also primarily used as an ornament in garden ponds. However, due

to its large population in water bodies, it has become undesirable and harmful to other

aquatic species as well as aquatic ecosystems. It also causes the clogging of

waterways, which effectively reduces the flow of water. Moreover, it is also decreasing

the dissolved oxygen level in the water, which is needed by many aquatic species like

fish. (Optimized drying parameters of water hyacinths by Edgardo V. Casas and others,

Diliman, UP Science, December 2012).

The focus of the study is on the fabrication of a new briquetting machine that will

perform well in order to meet the desired objectives of the study. The project aims to

provide a new machine with good quality and good performance, to help the people in

samahang may kapansanan in Taguig in their production activities. Better performance

of the machine will provide comfort for the workers. The proposal is not just intended for

educational purposes but can also be used for industrial purposes. The briquettes

produced by the machine can be consumed by the community people.

The new and innovated Briquetting machine is necessary to help the workers in

their production therefore lessening their effort and time consumption in producing

charcoal briquettes. The new machine will also provide a more effective and efficient

way of removing and compressing the remaining water inside the wet briquette.

although the machine is specifically designed for prototyping the material needed for its

fabrication will coming from commercial equipment. the machine is designed for safe

operation by researchers.
Conceptual Framework

This figure presents the development of the Charcoal Briquette maker.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

1. Exixting design
concepts

2.Hardware 1. Design
Requirements
a. Materials 2. Fabrication
b. Equipment Water Lily to
Charcoal Briquette
3. Operation maker
3.Software
Requirements 4. Tessting and
a.Autocad or Evaluation
Solidworks

4. Standards
Figure 1 The Research Paradigm

Figure shows the paradigm of the study. the model represents the chronological

order of the development activities from conceptualization to the final evaluation of the

project.

The input box shows the preliminary requisites in the project conceptualization.

it includes the information and literature regarding the existing design concepts,

literature and researches, design consideration and choice of materials and

preparations of equipment for the fabrication.

Statement of the Problem

This research proposal will aim to determine if Water Lily can be an effective

source of biofuel energy.

Specifically, this will aim to answer the following questions:

1. Can we use water lily as an alternative fuel source?

2. What are the means to create a charcoal briquette from water lily?
2.1 raw materials needed
2.2 process required
3. Machine needed to produce it.
4. The quality and advantages of the charcoal produced vs. the typical charcoal

being used.

General Objective

The main focus of this study was the improvement of the processing of charcoal

briquettes by making an automated machine that can enhance the products production.

Specifically, it aimed to achieve the following sub-objectives:

1) To innovate the machines being used in the process.

2) To fabricate the proposed machine in accordance with standards and

limitations.
3) To evaluate the performance of the project in terms of:
3.1) Standard
3.2) Efficiency
3.3) Cost

Significance of the Study

 This study aims to help our community by turning one of its problems to a

solution which is turning Water hyacinth into odorless and smokeless charcoal

briquettes. It can be a permanent substitute for wood-based and petroleum-based fuel.

Aside from that the researchers aims to make a machine can produce these briquettes

automatically and faster. Results of this study will be helpful in the development of more

effective drying procedures for water hyacinths.

Scope and Delimitation

The study is mainly concern about the process and production of charcoal

briquettes from water lilies. The proposal also covers the fabrication of the machine that

will make it. The effect of the effects of the smoke coming from its emission will be

coming from the previous researches due to lack of time and finance to support the

research.

Definition of terms

Water lily - is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live

as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The

family contains five genera with about 70 known species. Water lilies are rooted

in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on or emergent from the

surface, the leaves are round, with a radial notch

Charcoal - is a light weight, black residue, consisting of carbon and any remaining ash,

obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation
substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis the heating of wood or

other substances in the absence of oxygen.

Briquette - is a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material

such as charcoal, sawdust, wood chips, peat, or paper used for fuel and kindling to start

a fire. The term comes from the French language and is related to brick.