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How to Start a Coal Briquette Manufacturing Plant – Complete Step-by-Step Guide
Coal briquettes are widely used for industrial boilers, metallurgy fuel, domestic heating and commercial combustion. Converting waste coal dust and slack coal into regular briquettes improves resource utilization and creates stable profit for investors. If you plan to set up a coal briquette manufacturing plant, you need systematic planning from market research to equipment configuration. Below is a practical startup guide for new plant owners.
Step 1 – Conduct Local Market & Demand Research
Before purchasing any machinery, complete market investigation to avoid blind investment.
- Confirm local demand: Find buyers including industrial factories, fuel distributors, heating companies and export traders.
- Research competitors: Learn their briquette quality, selling price, shape and supply capacity.
- Define your target product: Decide to produce industrial coal briquettes or civil heating coal balls.
- Check logistics cost: Ensure convenient transport channels for raw coal powder and finished briquettes.
Step 2 – Secure Stable Raw Material Supply
The core raw material for coal briquette production is coal fines, slack coal, coke powder and lignite powder.
- Stable supply source directly controls your production cost.
- Test raw material moisture, particle size and ash content in advance.
- Prepare suitable binders such as bentonite, starch or clay according to coal characteristics.
Note: The ideal moisture of coal powder before briquetting should be controlled within 8%-12% to get high-strength finished briquettes.
Step 3 – Choose Factory Site & Plan Workshop Layout
Select a plant location following these principles:
- Close to raw material source or sales market to cut transport expense.
- Sufficient flat space for raw material storage, production line, finished goods warehouse.
- Stable 3-phase power supply matching machine requirements.
- Meet local environmental and noise regulations.
For a small-scale 1-5 ton/h coal briquette line, the minimum workshop area is around 300㎡. Medium & large production lines require 600–1200㎡. We can provide professional plant layout drawing once you confirm hourly output.
Step 4 – Select Suitable Coal Briquetting Equipment
Machine selection is the most critical investment link. The complete coal briquette production line normally includes:
- Coal Crusher: Crush bulk coal into fine powder
- Powder Mixer: Mix coal powder with binder and water evenly
- Roller Coal Briquetting Machine: Core forming equipment for coal briquettes
- Belt Conveyor: Automatic material transportation between machines
- Rotary Dryer (Optional): Reduce moisture of fresh briquettes to avoid cracking
Investment Tip:
If you only need small-volume production, you can buy a single roller coal briquetting machine first. For long-term mass production, a full automatic production line will greatly lower labor cost.
Step 5 – Understand Standard Coal Briquette Production Process
The mature production workflow:
Raw Coal Powder → Crushing → Mixing → Briquetting → Drying → Finished Coal Briquettes
- Crushing: Break large coal lumps into qualified fine powder
- Mixing: Blend coal dust with binder and water uniformly
- Briquetting: Roller briquetting machine compresses powder into solid pillow-shaped or round coal briquettes
- Drying: Remove extra moisture, improve briquette hardness and storage performance
Step 6 – Calculate Investment Budget & Operation Cost
Your total investment mainly contains these parts:
✅ Equipment purchase (main cost)
✅ Factory rent or construction, machine foundation
✅ Raw material initial stock
✅ Labor cost, electricity and daily operation expense
✅ Packaging and transportation cost
Small-scale coal briquette plant usually needs moderate startup capital. Compared with many manufacturing projects, the briquette industry features short production cycle and relatively fast return on investment when raw material and sales channels are stable.
Step 7 – Complete License & Environmental Formalities
Different countries and regions have different industrial regulations. You need to consult local authorities for:
- Industrial business registration
- Environmental protection permit (dust collection system may be required)
- Power consumption approval
If you plan to export finished coal briquettes, prepare relevant export certification in advance.
Step 8 – Quality Control & Sales Channel Building
Stable briquette quality decides long-term business success. Key quality indicators you need to monitor:
- Briquette density and compression strength
- Burning time, ash content and smoke level
- Low breakage rate during transportation
Build sales channels via local fuel wholesalers, industrial factory direct cooperation, and cross-border trade for overseas buyers.
Common Mistakes New Investors Should Avoid
- Buying mismatched machines without confirming raw material parameters
- Ignoring raw material moisture requirement, leading to fragile briquettes
- Saving budget on auxiliary equipment, resulting in discontinuous production
- No clear sales plan before building the plant
- Unreasonable workshop layout causing low production efficiency
Get Professional Production Line Solution
Every coal briquette project has unique demands based on raw material, target capacity and budget. As a professional manufacturer of roller coal briquetting machines and complete production lines, China Coal Machine can provide customized equipment configuration, plant layout design and technical guidance for new factory investors.
Share your raw material type, required hourly output and available workshop space. Our engineers will work out a matched machinery plan and quotation for your coal briquette manufacturing plant.
