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Why Is the Charcoal Briquette Market Popular in South Africa?

Charcoal Briquette Plant in South Africa

By Lydia HuangPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Charcoal Briquette Plant in South Africa

Compared with traditional charcoal, charcoal briquettes using biomass as raw materials have advantages and broad market prospects.

Especially in South Africa, the market for charcoal briquettes is booming. It makes us wonder: Are there natural advantages in building a charcoal briquette plant in South Africa? Why is the charcoal briquette market popular in South Africa?

Advantages of charcoal briquetting in South Africa

1. Barbecue tradition and tourism

Barbecuing is a deep-rooted tradition in South Africa and the largest number of charcoal briquettes are used. The popularity of bbq food and tourism will continue to grow in the charcoal briquette market in South Africa in the next few years.

In South Africa, residents and tourists enjoy parties and braai. For cooking fuels like kerosene and LPG, they prefer igniting charcoal briquettes because they are less expensive and more convenient.

Furthermore, the country is one of the most popular destinations for international tourists on the African continent. It can be said that charcoal briquettes are used by locals and are also very popular among travelers, especially those who want to try grilled food.

2. Charcoal raw materials

Common charcoal carbonization raw materials:

  • Wood waste: Wood, hardwood, sawdust, shavings, etc.
  • Agricultural waste: Olive husks, coffee husks, palm husks, bamboo, rice husks, etc.

Charcoal powder is converted from various biomass feedstocks. South Africa is famous for its dense forest area and is rich in forestry waste. About 49% of wood consumption is used for wood fuel and charcoal.

Most African countries are based on agriculture. Olive shells, rice husks, coffee shells, and sawdust are readily available. South Africa is one of the largest producers of crops such as cereals, maize, chicory root, grapefruit, and sisal. You can easily obtain agricultural waste and waste crop straws.

3. Charcoal briquette price

Charcoal briquettes are made from the powder left after the processing of biomass and forestry and agricultural waste. This powder is mixed with chemicals, such as binders and accelerators, to produce charcoal at a lower price.

In the international market, the average price of charcoal briquettes ranges from $10 to $100. The relatively low price of charcoal briquettes has positively impacted the growth of the South African charcoal market.

4. Environmental awareness

In recent years, the world has advocated the protection of forestry resources and environmental greening, and it is not recommended to directly use wood to burn charcoal. The introduction of charcoal machines into society is conducive to the healthy development of the national economy.

Briquettes are a renewable energy source. With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, people are inclined to use clean energy. Biomass briquettes are the best option and one of the good and cheap alternatives to coal.

Charcoal briquetting process

Mechanism charcoal, also known as artificial charcoal and regenerated charcoal, is a charcoal rod-shaped object extruded from wood scraps. Main features: high density, high calorific value, no smoke, odorless and less pollution, it is an internationally recognized green product. The production process of charcoal briquettes is not complicated. It is mainly composed of the carbonization process and coal making process. The general process is as follows:

  1. First, the raw materials that need to be crushed, such as straw, branches, bark, hemp, and other materials, are crushed by the roller crusher.
  2. The pulverized materials are dried by a rotary dryer. The dryer will remove excess moisture and will make the charcoal shape more smoothly.
  3. Environmentally friendly charcoal rotary kiln causes incomplete combustion of wood under the action of high temperature and carbonizes the material. A rotary kiln is a common equipment for preparing charcoal.
  4. Briquetting is a key step in charcoal shaping. Use a briquette machine to turn charcoal powder into regular shaped lumps that can be pressed into different shapes such as round, square, pillow, and oval. This facilitates transportation, storage, or direct sale. In the South African charcoal briquettes market, oval-shaped products account for the largest market share.

The application market of charcoal briquettes

Charcoal briquettes are widely used, and the application markets of briquettes in South Africa are mainly barbecue, metallurgical fuel, chemical industry, and agriculture.

  • Living charcoal: Charcoal briquettes are widely used as fuel for cooking, and preparing grilled food. It is most widely used for barbecues (BBQ) and braais, but can also be used as insulation products.
  • Metallurgical industry: To produce high-quality steel, smelters need a lot of charcoal, which can also be used as a reducing agent for electric furnace smelting.
  • Chemical industry: It can replace coal and oil, used as fuel for iron and steel plants, copper plants, rubber plants, ceramics, and other industries. It is also often used as a raw material for carbon disulfide and activated carbon.
  • Agriculture: The application of charcoal powder in the soil can increase the ground temperature, improve the soil and maintain soil moisture.

Charcoal market forecast in South Africa

The resources of traditional fuels are limited, and the price has remained high. In this context, one of the most concerning issues in Africa is to find an efficient and cheap source of fuel. Charcoal briquettes are rapidly gaining popularity as a substitute for traditional fuel sources.

South Africa is the second-largest economy in Africa. Driven by the growing global demand for charcoal, the South African market is expected to continue to show an upward trend in the next decade. It is a market trend to replace traditional charcoal with machine-made charcoal.

Analysis of research data on the charcoal briquette market in South Africa: It is predicted that the South African market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% from 2020 to 2030, and the market value is expected to reach $286.7 million by 2030.

Conclusion

In South Africa, charcoal briquettes have obvious advantages, and the demand for charcoal briquetting machines is increasing day by day. Charcoal briquette plants are constantly being built because of the favorable charcoal price and the vast charcoal market.

If you want to know more detailed information about the briquetting plant, you can read South African Charcoal Plant Establishment.

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About the Creator

Lydia Huang

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