0.3–0.5 T/H Biochar Pelletizer in Indonesia

From Coconut Shell to a New Carbon Product

Indonesia has a substantial coconut-processing industry, and coconut shells are already used commercially for charcoal and related carbon products. For this customer, the raw material did not begin as purchased biochar powder.

Coconut shells were collected through the company's existing supply network and carbonized before entering further processing. After cooling, crushing and grading, part of the carbonized material met the specifications of existing products, while another portion remained as smaller particles and fines.

The customer wanted to separate a controlled quantity of this material for pellet production rather than changing the entire charcoal business.

That made the project different from a greenfield biochar facility. Carbonization capacity, shell sourcing and most raw-material handling functions already existed. The new biochar pelletizer had to work downstream of those operations.

Coconut-Shell Char Is Not the Same as Woody Biochar

Coconut shell produces a relatively hard carbonized material, so the forming strategy could not simply copy the eucalyptus-biochar settings used in a woody-residue project.

Once the shell has been carbonized and crushed, the resulting particles have little of the natural binding behavior associated with untreated biomass. The fine carbon fraction therefore needs controlled preparation before ring die pelletizing.

The customer screened the material and reduced remaining oversized particles before mixing. Moisture was then adjusted together with a small binder addition selected according to the required finished-product properties.

RICHI did not specify an arbitrary universal binder percentage.

Binder demand depends on char fineness, carbonization condition, moisture and the strength required after pelletizing. The correct proportion is the lowest practical level that allows the pellets to survive cooling, screening, packaging and normal transport without unnecessarily changing the carbon product.

Why the MZLH350 Fit This Project

The amount of char fines selected for pelletization was relatively small compared with the customer's total charcoal output.

For that reason, RICHI selected the MZLH350 instead of sizing the machine according to the capacity of the carbonization plant.

Project ItemConfiguration
Equipment	Biochar pelletizer
Model	MZLH350
Quantity	1 unit
Main Motor Power	37 kW
Rated Capacity	0.3–0.5 t/h
Main Material	Coconut-shell biochar / char fines
Project Type	Existing charcoal plant upgrade
Forming Method	Ring die pelletizing
Main Objective	Densification of selected coconut-shell char fines

The MZLH350 gave the customer enough capacity to establish a separate pellet product without creating pressure to divert material away from more established charcoal products merely to keep a large pellet mill full.

This is particularly important in by-product projects. Total factory output and pelletizable fine-material output are not the same number.

The Product Was Not Coconut Charcoal Briquette

Indonesia already has an established coconut-shell charcoal briquette industry, but this project was not written around conventional barbecue or shisha briquettes.

The customer was testing a smaller cylindrical pelletized carbon product produced through ring die densification.

That distinction matters because a briquette press and a ring die pelletizer create different product geometries and can serve different handling and end-use requirements.

The customer selected pelletizing because it wanted continuous production of relatively small, uniform carbon pellets from prepared fines. It did not need the larger pillow, cube or hexagonal forms commonly associated with charcoal briquette products.

RICHI therefore evaluated the equipment around the required pellet form rather than treating every densified coconut-char product as the same thing.

Preparing the Fine Char Before Pelletizing

The existing plant already handled the major carbonization steps, but the pelletizing feed still required preparation.

Screened coconut-shell char fines were collected separately. Remaining coarse pieces were reduced so they would not interrupt feeding or create an uneven material bed inside the pelletizing chamber.

The prepared carbon powder then entered mixing, where moisture and binder could be distributed more evenly.

Adding liquid directly onto poorly mixed carbon powder would create local wet and dry zones. The wet fraction could feed badly, while the dry fraction might leave the die with insufficient pellet strength.

Uniform preparation was therefore more important than simply adding more binder.

Once prepared, the mixture was metered steadily into the MZLH350. The ring die and rollers applied mechanical compression, and the formed strands were cut to the required length before downstream stabilization and screening.

Pellet Strength Had to Match the Intended Handling Route

The customer wanted pellets that would remain intact during bagging and normal transport, but maximum hardness was not the goal.

A carbon pellet can be made mechanically stronger by changing formulation and compression conditions, yet those changes can also affect cost, ash characteristics and the way the product behaves in its final application.

RICHI therefore treated durability as a product specification rather than a competition to produce the hardest possible pellet.

During trial operation, the customer checked the material after pelletizing, cooling and screening instead of evaluating only fresh strands leaving the die.

This provided a more realistic indication of how much saleable pellet remained after normal handling.

Broken material and suitable screened fines could be returned to the preparation stage at a controlled rate rather than discarded.

Fine Carbon Required Careful Dust Management

One practical concern was present before the pellet mill even started: coconut-shell char powder can generate dust during crushing, screening, transfer and mixing.

Pelletizing reduces the amount of loose powder in the finished product, but the upstream fine-char area still requires suitable control.

RICHI therefore considered enclosed transfer, dust collection at relevant points and good housekeeping as part of the integration discussion.

The customer also needed to apply appropriate fire and dust-risk controls according to its actual carbon material, plant conditions and local requirements.

This was especially relevant because the new machine was being installed inside an existing charcoal-processing environment rather than an isolated new workshop.

The Customer Retained Its Existing Charcoal Equipment

The strongest reason for purchasing only one biochar pellet making machine was that the customer already owned the expensive upstream assets.

There was no reason to replace the shell-carbonization system, char crusher or existing grading equipment simply because a new pellet product was being added.

RICHI instead reviewed where the new machine would enter the process.

Feeding position, foundation, electrical supply, discharge arrangement, access for ring die and roller maintenance, and connection with downstream handling were considered before installation.

This kept the project focused on the missing function: pelletization.

Customer Feedback Focused on Small-Batch Product Development

After commissioning, the customer considered the smaller capacity an advantage rather than a limitation.

The new section could process selected batches of prepared coconut-shell char without disrupting the factory's established charcoal production.

The production team commented:

"We did not want to put all of our charcoal into one new product. The smaller pelletizing section lets us use selected fine material and adjust the product while the rest of the factory continues its normal production."

This is why the MZLH350 made more sense than a larger machine for this particular customer.

Capacity was matched to the new product stream, not to the size of the company.

Shipment from Qingdao Port to Surabaya

The MZLH350 was manufactured and inspected before being packed for sea shipment from Qingdao Port, China, to Surabaya, Indonesia.

Because the pelletizer was being added to an operating plant, RICHI Machinery supplied the technical information required for foundation and connection preparation before equipment arrival.

The service scope also covered installation guidance, commissioning assistance, operating instruction and troubleshooting support.

Operators were trained to pay attention to changes in char particle condition, feeding stability, motor load, die discharge and fines generation rather than relying on one permanent machine setting.

Other Coconut-Based Biochar Projects May Need Different Equipment

The biochar pelletizer in Indonesia was configured for predominantly coconut-shell char, so the MZLH series was appropriate for this densification route.

That would change if the finished product changed.

A manufacturer mixing coconut-shell biochar with composted poultry manure, livestock manure or another organic fertilizer base would be producing a biochar-based fertilizer rather than predominantly densified char. RICHI would then evaluate the FZLH fertilizer pellet machine series and the surrounding fertilizer process.

Capacity can also change substantially.

The MZLH350 used here provides 0.3–0.5 t/h. A customer with a larger continuous char-fines stream may require the MZLH420, MZLH520 or a higher-capacity model, provided the upstream preparation system can actually supply it.

For this Indonesian processor, however, one MZLH350 was the more practical choice. It allowed an existing coconut-shell charcoal business to convert selected fine material into a uniform pelletized carbon product without rebuilding the plant or oversizing the new production section.