DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to a solar-cell based system for treatment of biomass and method thereof. Particularly, the present invention relates to a solar cell-based system for producing biomass particles through grinding, transporting and heating at the same time in order to make briquettes with a high hydrogen content.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Hydrogen will assuredly play a part in a sustainable energy future. Hydrogen can be produced locally from several sources including methane, gasoline, coal, water and solid fuels such as wood, charcoal, peat, coal, dry dung, corn, wheat and other grains either onsite where it is used, or centrally where it is further distributed. Apart from the production of hydrogen, the day to day use of hydrogen must be wisely introduced. Hydrogen is used in various commercial applications from dying fabrics to welding metal to making fertilizers, plastics and electronics.
[003] Presently, production of hydrogen is constrained on a large scale specifically in India. Large amount of biomass occurs as waste in villages mainly from crops that can be suitably leveraged for production of hydrogen. Biomass are thus converted to briquettes by the process of briquetting. The process of briquetting relates to numerous difficulties including low productivity of the overall process and high moisture content which further reduces the life of briquetting machine.
[004] Existing systems and mechanisms for the treatment of biomass discloses the process of moisture removal either by keeping the solid fuel in the open sun leading to extremely inefficient process or by keeping in a pre-heater. Also, grinded solid fuel is manually transferred to the moisture removal facility leading to inefficient process with regard to whole village or city. Reference may be made to WIPO Patent application WO2009137437A1, wherein it discloses a method of heat treating a solid fuel briquette using energy from at least one of a heat furnace or an electromagnetic energy system of a solid fuel treatment facility as the solid fuel briquette is moved through the treatment facility to a specified internal temperature.
[005] Thus, there is a need of a low-cost and pollution-free technique for the treatment of biomass that enhances the efficiency of the overall system in order to carry out the process of briquetting in an economical manner with minimal labor requirement. When an economically feasible production process of hydrogen can be accomplished the advantages will benefit many industries.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
[006] A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a solar-cell based system for treatment of biomass that increases the productivity of the system by simultaneously carrying out the process of grinding, transportation and heating of the solid fuel.
[007] Another objective of the present invention is to provide biomass particles for making briquettes with a maximum hydrogen content.
[008] Another objective of the present invention is to increase the life the biomass treating system by consuming less energy.
[009] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a low cost and pollution-free system.
[0010] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide an automated and integrated system with minimal labor requirement.
[0011] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, the aspects of the present invention are disclosed.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0012] The present invention relates to a solar-cell based system and method for treatment of biomass. The system aids in treatment of biomass, by converting the waste biomass into biomass that produces large amount of hydrogen upon pyrolysis, which can be further transferred to the briquette machine for the manufacturing of briquettes. The system comprises a grinder configuration, transporting configuration and heating configuration. The system utilizes solar cells to provide power for the operation of all the three configuration. The grinding configuration and transporting configuration are connected through a transfer pipe for transporting the grinded particles to the conveyer belt. The grinding configuration comprises a circular jacket wall; a hopper; a hammer placed inside the inner surface of the circular jacket wall; and a transfer pipe placed at lower surface of the circular jacket wall. The grinder configuration is integrated with a conveyer pulley of the transporting configuration for receiving the grinded particles onto a pulley belt. The conveyor pulley is coupled with a built-in heating configuration powered by solar cells that reduces moisture content from the produced fine particles of biomass. The transportation configuration comprises a conveyer belt, integrated with the heating configuration, comprising of a heating coil; a fan placed on entry side wall of the conveyer belt. The manufactured hydrogen rich biomass particles are received through a receiver, which is connected at the end of the conveyor belt. The system provides three processes, i.e. grinding, transporting and moisture removal through heating, simultaneously which results into an increased output and formation of good briquettes with minimal labor requirement. The solar powered heat-treatment of grinded biomass particles decreases the scope of contamination of the biomass and leads to a pollution-free process of hydrogen rich biomass formation for manufacturing of briquettes. The treated biomass received in the receiver is configured to transfer to the briquetting machine for manufacturing the hydrogen rich briquettes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 illustrates the system for the treatment of solid fuel according to the present invention.
[0014] Figure 2 illustrates the Grinding configuration of the system for the treatment of biomass.
[0015] Figure 3 illustrates the side view of the system for the treatment of biomass.
[0016] Figure 4 illustrates the 3-Dimensional view of the system for the treatment of biomass.
[0017] Figure 5 illustrates the different views of the circular jacket wall and hopper.
[0018] Figure 6 illustrates screen with sieve plate.
[0019] Figure 7 illustrates CAD design of the conveyer belt.
[0020] Figure 8 illustrates side boundary of pulley conveyer in which roller shaft is inserted.
[0021] Figure 9 illustrates conveyor belt roller shaft.
[0022] Figure 10 illustrates cross-sectional view of the conveyor belt roller shaft.
[0023] Figure 11 illustrates copper coil of the conveyor belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] The following description describes various features and functions of the disclosed system with reference to the accompanying figures. The illustrative aspects described herein are not meant to be limiting. It may be readily understood that certain aspects of the disclosed system can be arranged and combined in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which have not been contemplated herein.
[0025] The terms and words used in the following description are not limited to the bibliography meaning, but, are merely used to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.
[0026] It is to be understood that the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0027] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
[0028] It is to be noted that the solid fuel material may be any solid fuel such as coal, peat, lignite, wood-based product, an agro-forestry product, biomass and the like.
[0029] Figure 1 illustrates the system for treatment of biomass. The present invention relates a solar cell-based system and method for treating biomass by removing the moisture content and producing hydrogen rich biomass particles. The system is configured to operate not only sequentially but also simultaneously, which boosts the briquette production rate.
[0030] Figure 3 and Figure 4 different views of the system. The system comprises of a grinding configuration (101), a transporting configuration (108) and a heating configuration. In a preferred embodiment, all the three configuration in the present invention are integrated with each other, and are powered by solar power/ cells.
[0031] Particularly, the present invention relates to a system comprising an integrated grinder configuration with transporting configuration having conveyer pulley with a built-in heating configuration. The process of grinding, drying through air and transporting through conveyer belt taking place simultaneously results in increased throughput and production of hydrogen rich biomass, which helps in the formation of good briquettes, with minimal labor requirement. The process is powered with solar power that enhances the efficiency of the overall process of hydrogen rich biomass formation in an economical and pollution-free manner.
[0032] Figure 2 illustrates the grinding configuration of the system for the treatment of biomass. The grinding configuration comprises a circular jacket wall (103) having an inner surface and an outer surface, a hopper (102) mounted on a jacket wall; a roller shaft (104) connected with a motor, a plurality of hammers (105) rotatably connected with the roller shaft (104), a screen (106) and a transfer pipe (107) connected at lower surface of the circular jacket wall.
[0033] In an embodiment, grinding configuration is mounted with a hopper (102) from which the biomass enters the machine. The biomass particles come in contact with the hammers (105) which is being rotated by the roller shaft (104). The roller shaft (104) driven by a motor is attached on backside of the roller shaft. The motor is used to give power to the roller shaft for rotating the hammers (105). The motor connected to the roller shaft is powered by a plurality of solar cells. As the hammer rotates, the biomass particles strike the hammers and get broken in finer particle due to high impact of hammer as well as side wall. The particles which have the size less than the particular screen (106) size are filtered from there to go below on a conveyor belt, however, rest of the particles are again taken in the cycle till they are not broken in finer particles less than the specified size of the screen (106). Now the grinded particles enter the pipe as shown in the figure 1 and falls on the conveyer belt and move from there to our desired location. We can adjust the size of belt for that purpose. In our case it will go near till the briquetting machine where it will be collected in a receiver. While moving through conveyer belt from grinder to destination we have also covered the sides and top of a pulley conveyer and installed a heating coil on both top and side walls and there is an opening from which fresh air enters and is blown away by the fan towards the heating coil and get heated through the coil to the desired temperature and evaporates away the moisture from biomass and exits out from another opening (written humid air out.). The fan imparts velocity to the air which results in increased forced convection of the heat from hot air towards the biomass resulting in faster removal of moisture from the biomass. The amount of heat evaporated can be altered by changing the speed of the air blown by fan as well as the coil temperature. As per this embodiment, The 2 big pulleys are installed on which the conveyer belt moves and the one small pulley provides direction to the biomass falling down to conveyer belt. Further, the coil installed in the conveyor belt is used for heating and is made up of copper. The conveyer belt is covered with polypropylene as the temperature is high inside the walls and polypropylene is heat resistant so it will save the conveyer belt from harm.
[0034] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 5 illustrates the different views of the circular jacket wall and hopper. The circular jacket wall (103) of the grinding configuration (101) is configured with an outer surface and an inner surface. As per this embodiment, the radial diameter of its outer and inner surfaces is in the range of 80-85cm and 100-105cm, and the diameter of the circular jacket wall (103) is in the range of 100cm -120cm. The circular jacket wall (103) is made up of material selected from but not limited to rubber.
[0035] The hopper (102) provided in the grinding configuration (101), is configured to be mounted on top of the circular jacket wall (103) for dispensing the solid biomass material inside the jacket wall (103) of the grinding configuration (101). In an embodiment, the hopper (102) have an upper radial dimeter in the range of 1.10-1.15m; a lower radial dimeter in the range of 0.60-0.65m, a height in the range of 0.01- 0.03m; and the height of the walls in the range of 0.75-0.8m.
[0036] The roller shaft (104) configured inside the circular jacket wall (103) is connected with a motor that provides the driving force to rotate a plurality of hammers (105) connected to the roller shaft (104). In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the roller shaft is fixedly attached with a plurality of hammers (105) designed as rectangular blades. The roller shaft connected with the motor drives the plurality of hammers (105) in circular direction around the inner surface of the circular jacket wall (103). Further, the motor causes the hammers (105) to move in a circular motion around the inner walls of the circular jacket wall (103) so as to strike the solid biomass particles into finer particles. The intense impact of the hammers (105), as well as the side walls, breaks the biomass material into fine particles.
[0037] Figure 6 illustrates screen with sieve plate. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a sieve-shaped screen (106) is provided at the bottom of the roller shaft (104) on the inner surface of the circular jacket wall (103) to filter the fine particles and disperse it onto a conveyor belt (109). As per this embodiment, the striked biomass particles which have size less than the particular screen size are filtered through the screen (106) to go below on a conveyor belt via a transfer pipe (107), and remaining biomass having larger size particles are again taken into the cycle till they are not shredded/ broken into finer particles having size less than the screen size. The screen (106) of the grinding configuration (101) is in the form of sieve whose size can be adjusted as per the need of the user. In an exemplary embodiment, the sieve-shaped screen having particle dispersion net is designed with size in the range of 0.30-0.35m; width 1.10-1.15m; inner radial diameter 0.40-0.42m; and outer radial diameter 0.60-0.62m for the filtration of particles. The upper surface of the screen is attached to the inner surface of the jacket wall and lower surface is attached to a dispersion/ transfer pipe (107).
[0038] The dispersion/ transfer pipe (107) placed at lower surface of the circular jacket wall (103) acts as connecting unit between the grinding configuration (101) and transporting configuration (108). In an embodiment, the transfer pipe have a height of lower bottom diameter circle in the range of 0.2- 0.4m. The finer biomass particles dispersed from the transfer pipe are configured to be received on receiving end of a conveyer belt (109).

[0039] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the grinding configuration (101) is provided with the following configuration:

Component Material Specification
Hopper Mild steel/ Zinc/ Chromium Hard
Jacket Wall Rubber Heat resistant and provides insulation
Hammer Mild Steel (Iron+1%carbon) with zinc coating/ chromium Hard
Roller Shaft (connected to motor) Stainless steel Strong configuration

[0040] In another embodiment of the present invention, the transportation configuration (108) comprises a conveyer belt (109) and a receiver (115) at the end of conveyer belt (109) for receiving treated biomass particles, which can be further sent to the briquetting machine.

[0041] The conveyer belt (109) in the present invention is provided for transporting received biomass particles from receiving end of the conveyor belt (109) to the exit end of the conveyor belt (109). The receiving end of the conveyor belt (109) receives the finer biomass particles dispersed from the transfer pipe (107), and the exit end of the conveyor belt (109) is connected to a receiver (115) configured to collect the treated biomass particles. The size of the conveyor belt (109) in the present invention, is configured to be adjusted as per the need of the user. The conveyor belt (109) conveys the biomass particles to a receiver (115) of the briquetting machine to collect treated biomass particles.

[0042] In an embodiment, the conveyor belt (109) is wrapped in a heat-resistant polypropylene material to protect the conveyor belt (109) from the high temperatures produced by a plurality heating coils (110) positioned on the top and side walls.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the conveyer belt (109) is driven by at least two large pulleys (112a & 112b). Further, a small pulley (112c) provided in the present invention, is coupled with the conveyor belt (109) and the transfer pipe (107), so as to give direction to the biomass falling down to the conveyor belt (109). The conveyor belt (109) is assisted with at least two support bars (113a & 113b) that is configured to provide support to the conveyor belt (109) while transporting the biomass through the transporting configuration. In another embodiment of the present invention, the receiver (115) for receiving the treated biomass particles have an inner radial diameter in the range of 0.24; outer radial diameter in the range of 0.50; width in the range of 45.00 ± 0.00 and height in the range of 0.25 ± 0.00.

[0044] Further, a heating configuration of the present invention comprises a plurality of heating coils (110) placed on the top and side walls of the conveyer belt (109) and a fan (111). In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 11 illustrates the heating coils (110) placed on the top and side walls of the conveyer belt (109) are made up of the material selected from but not limited to copper and nichrome, which provides high electrical and thermal conductivity. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the heating coils (110) and conveyor belt (109) is configured with the following specification:

Component Specification
Temperature of coil 100-150 degree Celsius
Carcass (conveyer belt body) Polypropylene
Heating coil Copper/ nichrome

[0045] In another embodiment of the present invention, a pair of air channels (114a & 114b) are installed on the upper surface of the conveyer belt (109). The air channels (114a, 114b) are configured such that, a first air channel (114a) is installed at the receiving end of the conveyor belt (109) to supply fresh air into the system, and a second air channel (114b) is installed at the exit end of the conveyor belt (109).

[0046] In another embodiment of the present invention, a fan (111) is installed near the first air channel (114a) of the system. The fan (111) is configured to control the temperature of the heating coils by regulating the speed of the fresh air towards the coils. Further, the fan (111) blows fresh air from the first air channel (114a) to the heating coil wherein the air gets heated through the coil. The air is heated in the system to evaporate and disperse the moisture away from the biomass particles through the second air channel (114b). The fan (111) imparts velocity to the fresh air, received from the first air channel (114a), which results in increased forced convection of the heat from hot air towards the biomass resulting in faster removal of moisture from the biomass through the second air channel (114b). In an exemplary embodiment, the amount of heat evaporated can be altered by changing the speed of the air blown by the fan (111). In another embodiment, the fan is configured with a regulator to regulate the speed of the fan (111).

[0047] The grinding configuration, the transporting configuration and the heating configuration are connected by a plurality of solar cells. The solar cells are configured to power all components of the system not only sequentially but simultaneously.

[0048] The present invention combines three configuration of grinding, transporting and heating together at a same time. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system is completely operated by the solar cells that provides power to all the components of the system.

[0049] A method for treating biomass comprises the following steps:

a. adding biomass from into a hopper (102);
b. rotating a plurality of hammers (105) connected to a roller shaft through a motor, so as to strike/ break solid biomass particles into finer particles ;
c. filtering finer particles through a screen (106) and breaking/ striking the bigger particles into finer particles at the same time by rotation of the hammers (105);
d. dispersing the filtered biomass particle obtained step (c) to receiver end of a conveyor belt (109) through a transfer pipe (107);
e. blowing fresh air from a fan (111) installed near a first air channel (114a) towards a heating coil (110) into the biomass particles placed on the conveyor belt;
f. removing moisture from the biomass particles through the fresh air blown by the fan (111) towards the heating coil (110), and dispersing moisture through a second air channel (114b);
g. transporting the treated biomass particles through the conveyer belt (109); and
h. transferring treated biomass particles to the receiver (115) of a briquetting machine to collect treated biomass particles.

[0050] In the present invention, size of the solid biomass particles are decreased and grinded to the fine particles prior to increase the heating effect and efficiency for removing the moisture from the biomass. Further, in the present invention, the grinded particles are conveyed to the transportation facility through the transfer pipe wherein the particles are heat-treated through heat coils simultaneously for moisture removal and are collected by the receiver for carrying out the process of briquetting.

[0051] The heat-treatment of the biomass particles along with the operation of motor of grinding configuration (101) and the conveyer pulley of transporting configuration (108) via solar power increases the efficiency of the overall system and method by countless times in a pollution-free manner.

[0052] The solar powered heat-treatment of particles decreases the scope of contamination of the solid fuel which largely happen when the flue gases are used in the conventional systems and methods.

Comparative Exemplary Embodiment:

[0053] In an exemplary embodiment, total time taken by the solar cell based system for treatment of biomass to grind; dry and transport the raw moist biomass to final destination of briquetting is approximately 1 hour for 1500kg of biomass.
[0054] All parts functioning independently.
[0055] The total time taken by all the processes independently for above operations on 1500 kg of biomass is calculated in the below mentioned paragraph. If the configurations of the present invention are not combined then all processes will function independently. The loss of time that takes place is given below:
Between Grinder and Conveyer.
Since, 1500kg is falling per hour or 25kg/min, more containers are required to store the given volume of mass and so extra labour is required to collect the mass from that container and put on to the conveyer. This leads to various disadvantages like:
a) The process is not continuous and it becomes discrete as there is time lapse between filling of container and putting it on conveyer belt.
b) There may be loss of some biomass while transferring from grinder to container than to the conveyer.
c) Connecting conveyer and grinder reduces human intervention. Suppose the machine works for 365 days a year and wage of a labour for 1 day =Rs 400. And 2 labours are required for this purpose of transferring. Total labour cost = 2*400*365= Rs 2 lakh 92 thousand.
d) Contrary to the present invention, if the grinder was independent than also it will need support at some height to function and then extra material for that, which can be solved if the grinder is directly connected and falls on the conveyer belt directly to make it a continuous process with emission of labour as well as increase in efficiency with decrease in time with same cost.

Between Conveyer and heater.
If the conveyor and heater works independently, then there the independent machine take additional time to transport as well to dry, also additional space will be required to arrange equipment for drying. So, the present invention overcomes this limitation of time as well as space constraint, which minimizes space taken as well reduces the time taken as both processes are done together rather separately.
a) Also, extra labours will also be required to transport biomass into the heater.
b) It is difficult to use hot air without having large space at disposal. Alternatively, some other drying methods are used for less space which can be costly as well as if released flue gases then can be harmful to surrounding.
c) To dry the biomass a chamber anyway has to be built and that time while drying it will only be statically put there but, in the present invention, it is travelling that reduces significant amount of time.
d) In 1 hour, amount of biomass received = 1500kg, suppose the operator/user/labour have to put the biomass inside in 10 min then biomass flow/min = 150 kg If one labour puts 25 kg in 1 min. Number of labours required = 6. Their charge for 1 year = 6*400*365 = 8Lakh 76 thousand.
Total labour cost in above 2 processes = 11 lakh 68 thousand which is a very high amount.
Additionally, if a separate chamber for heating is required, so the Surface area of it is:
Mass of biomass going one time= 150kg (It will go 10 times in 1 hour every 6 min)
Density of Rice husk = 100kg/m3
Volume needed = 1.50m3
Safety factor = 1.5
Volume = 1.5 * 1.5 = 2.25m3
Let us construct a chamber with dimensions 1.5*1.5*1 m3
Where,
Length = 1.5m; Breadth = 1.5m; Height = 1m; and Surface area required = 8.25m3.
Though there will be door openings and some exhaust outlet and inlet but when closed the approx. surface area will be equal to above only.
Now, as per an exemplary embodiment, area of conveyer belt Shed in the present invention = 0.6025m3. As per this exemplary embodiment, the present invention surface area is less so material used will be approximately 12 times less, which means 12 times less cost of material. This happens because in the conveyer shed the 2 sides are open as air flows in straight direction for 45 m, so it gets enough times to heat the biomass by flowing and enough time to get heated and exit from other direction. As per this embodiment, the length of the conveyor is as big as 45 m which gives a lot of time to air to travel inside while inletting and exiting and getting heated properly to dry the biomass, which leads to efficient and faster transportation of biomass inside heater with the help of conveyer belt which does not require labours.

Use of solar Power for the process:
For power input, the present invention uses solar power and as per the calculation provided below, it is clear that for producing electricity of 350 KW for whole year, energy required is 148.83KW for 192 days which is a fair deal and since energy requirement is still on higher side, a solar panel is installed to give power.
[0056] Figure 3 and 4 illustrates integrated grinder and conveyor configuration on which respective calculations were done for producing 864 tonnes of biomass in 4 months if machine works for 12 hours a day and from that 350KW of electricity was supplied every day. The machine only works for 192 days a year and rest 173 days where there is no need of it to work as it is enough to fulfil the requirement.
[0057] In an alternate embodiment, Figure 5 illustrates a pair of semi-hoppers wherein two such type of semi hoppers are used to combine it into a full hopper, so for finding total volume applying formula for the complete hopper is:
Volume of hopper (combined of the 2 semi-hopper) =
[1/3*p*75*(552+302+55*30) + (p*302 * 20) + (p* 552 * 5)]cm3 = 0.6094455 m3 = 0.6 m3
Grinding machine capacity = 0.75 tonne/hr
There are 2 grinding machines so,
Total Capacity= 2*0.75=1.5 tonne/hr = 1500 kg/hr
For minimum density of briquette, volume = 100 kg/m3 then minimum mass at one time in hopper =0.6*100= 60 kg.
For which the hopper need to be loaded with minimum 1500/60 times = 25 times in 1 hour.
Time taken for 1 loading= 60/25 = 2.4 minutes which can easily be executed by 1 labour reasonably.

[0058] In another exemplary embodiment, for a rotor speed of about 2250rpm, hammers should be 20 to 25 cm, 5-8 cm wide, and 6.4 cm thick. (Data directly taken from a standard hammer milling machine). A common range of tip speed seen in hammer mills is commonly in the range of 16,000 to 23,000 ft/min.

Vtip = 3.14*D* shaft rpm
16,000 = (3.14 * D * 3600)/12 in/ft
D = 17 inch (Diameter of hammer tip arc)
[0059] The distance between hammer and screen should be 12 to 14 mm for size reduction of cereal grains. The following stresses are induced in the shafts:

a. Shear stresses due to the transmission of torque (i.e., due to torsional load).
b. Bending stresses (tensile or compressive) due to the forces acting upon machine element like gears, pulleys etc.
c. Stresses due to combined torsional and bending loads.
The material used for shafts is required to have the following properties:
• It should have high strength
• It should have good machinability.
• It should have high wear resistant property
For the shaft case bending moment of the shaft is much more then twisting moment so neglect it for this calculation.
Power transmitted by the shaft=350kw
• Speed of the shaft =2250 rpm
• Shaft Arm length =27cm
• Shear stress =650 kg/cm²
• Bending stress =300 kg/cm

General formula for shaft:
MI =FY
M=Bending moment, N-mm
I=Moment of inertia of cross-sectional area of the shaft about the Axis of rotation, mm
F =Bending stress, N/mm2
Y=Distance from neutral axis to the outer-most fibre, mm
where, Moment of Inertia, for a round solid shaft is:
I = pd4/64
y = d/2
Substituting these values in the above equation Bending Moment M= (pd3 /32) ? F
Bending Moment:
Moment found out= 54000 kg-cm
We know M= (pd3 /32) ? F
54000= p /32 ? 300 ? d³
d= 12.2cm =122.3mm
Multiply by safety factor of 1.5
Take diameter of roller shaft as 18cm
Power of motor of roller shaft is 18.75KW
There are 2 grinding machines so 2 roller shafts are required, and total power = 18.75*2 =37.5KW

Item Specification
Hammer size Length= 24cm Width=7 cm and Thickness = 6.4 cm
Case diameter 80cm
Case thickness 10cm
Jacket Wall thickness 10cm
Roller shaft dimensions Diameter = 18cm, length=27cm
Roller shaft Power 18.75KW*2=37.5 KW
Total Capacity 1.5 tonne/hour
Speed 2250 rpm
Dimensions of hopper Bigger Radius= 55cm, Smaller radius =30cm, Height = 75cm, height of pipe= 20cm, thickness= 1cm

Conveyer belt with solar heater arrangement:
Keep the coil at temperature= 100 degree Celsius
The capacity of grinder = 1500kg/hour = 25 kg/min
Amount of total heat required to remove moisture from the biomass = MC?T + ML
Where M = Mass of moisture in 1 hour
C = specific heat capacity of water = 4200J/Kg K
L= Latent heat of vaporisation of water = 2257 KJ/kg
Since, moisture till 10 percent is acceptable and maximum can be 20 percent in crops so preferably excess moisture in crops taken=10 percent.
10 percent of 1500 =150 kg = Amount of total moisture in biomass for 1 hour
Now generally present invention’s briquette machine is configured to function in winter as well as summer.
Minimum temperature in winter= 5 degree Celsius
Temperature at which water vaporises =100 degree Celsius
?Tmax = 100-5 =95
Total energy required = 150[4200*95+ 2257000] =3.984 * 108 Joule
Power required = Energy/3600(1 hour)
Power required = 3.984 * 108 / 3600
= 110.66 KW
r O = 0.25*0.5 = 0.125m/s
Length of conveyer belt = 45 m
Time taken for 1 particle to reach another end after drying 45/0.125
T = 360 sec =6 min
The pulley makes 10 complete revolutions in 1 hour to collect all particles.
Where, width of pulley= 3.5 m
For example, the biomass remains on only 3 metre width and take 25 cm on both sides as buffer zone.
Mass of biomass on whole conveyer belt at a moment = 150 kg
Out of which,
Dry biomass =135 kg and moisture = 15 kg
Volume of moist biomass = Mass/Density
Now density of initial biomass =100kg/m3
Density of water =1000kg/m3
Volume = 135/100+ 15/1000
Neglect water,
Total Volume on conveyer belt= 1.35m3
Volume = Length* Width * Height
Let height above conveyer belt = 10 cm
1.35 = L*3*0.1
L= 4.5m
Effective length of biomass = 4.5m
So, biomass are in heaps of mass of 5 kg at distance of 1 m covering length of 0.5m and in total 30hepas. Each part will apply force of 49N on that area.
• Bottom of conveyer belt material = Mild Steel
• Coating of Polypropylene on top of the conveyer belt because of installation of a heating mechanism through air, also which has a high temperature and polypropylene is heat resistant and save our conveyer body from getting corroded.
In an embodiment, figure 7-10 illustrates design of the conveyor belt. The specification of which are as follows:
Parts Characteristics
Roller shaft of conveyer Radius = 0.25m, RPM = 5 rpm, Length = 3.5m
Conveyer belt Length = 45 m, Width = 3.5 m
Maximum Power supplied to coil 110.66 KW
Number of rounds 10
Dimension of shed Length= 40m * Width= 4.5 m * Height=1.5m Thickness = 0.01mm
Dimensions of the coil installed on the top. Diameter of the helical coil=0.15m, Number pitches= 500, length of pitch = 40mm, coil thickness= 10mm
Number of coils 58

Copper Coil for heating
a) Material of coil = Copper.
b) Temperature of coil = 100 degree Celsius
Item Specification
Temperature of coil 100-150 degree Celsius
Carcass (conveyer belt body) Material = Polypropylene
Heating Coil Copper

Calculation of maximum power requirement by solar panel for briquetting:
The total power is calculated for producing the amount of briquettes, which are capable of producing 350KW of electricity for 365 days a year.
• Power by heater = 110.67KW
• Power by Roller shaft of grinder = 2*18.75 = 37.5KW
• Power by Roller shaft of conveyer belt = 0.06*11 = 0.66KW
Total power = 110.67+ 37.5+0.66 = 148.83 KW
Power required is 148.83 KW and that too for only 64*3 = 192 days in a year rest of the days 0 power is required. The power requirement if taken by solar panel helps a lot in clean energy generation.

[0060] The advantages of the present invention includes:
• Continuous processing of biomass to remove moisture through grinding, transporting and heating all at the same time;
• Manufacturing of biomass with rich hydrogen content and minimal water content;
• Automated functioning of system;
• Minimal human intervention required.

[0061] While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims.

,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1) A solar cell based system for treatment of biomass, comprising:
• a grinding configuration (101) for treatment of biomass, comprising:
o a circular jacket wall (103) having an outer surface and an inner surface;
o a hopper mounted on top of the circular jacket wall (103) for dispensing the solid biomass material inside the jacket wall (103);
o a roller shaft (104) configured inside the circular jacket wall (103);
o a plurality of hammers (105) fixedly attached to the roller shaft (104);
o a motor connected to the roller shaft (104) to drive the hammers (105);
o a screen (106) provided at the bottom of the roller shaft (104) on the inner surface of the circular jacket wall (103); and
o a transfer pipe (107) connected at lower surface of the circular jacket wall (103) to transfer grinded particles;
• a transporting configuration (108) configured to receive grinded particles, comprising:
o a conveyor belt (109) comprising:
? a receiving end to receive finer biomass particles dispersed from the transfer pipe (107); and
? an exit end connected to a receiver (115) of a briquetting machine to collect treated biomass particles;
• a heating configuration built into the transporting configuration, comprising:
o a plurality of heating coils (109) placed on top and side walls of the conveyer belt (109);
o a first air channel (114a) installed at the receiving end of the conveyor belt (109) to supply fresh air to the heating coils (109);
o a fan (111) installed at the first air channel (114a) to heat air and control temperature of the heating coils (109) by regulating the speed of fresh air towards the coils (109);

o a second air channel (114b) installed at the exit end of the conveyor belt (109) to disperse moisture away from the biomass particles;
• a plurality of solar cells connected to the grinding configuration (101), the transporting configuration (108) and the heating configuration;
wherein,
the grinding configuration (101), the transporting configuration (108) and the heating configuration of the system (100) powered by the plurality of solar cells are operated simultaneously to increase throughput and production of hydrogen rich biomass.

2) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of hammers (105) of the grinding configuration (101) moves in a circular motion around the inner walls of the circular jacket wall (103) so as to strike and break solid biomass particles received from the hopper (102) into finer particles.

3) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the screen (106) of the grinding configuration (101) is sieve-shaped to filter biomass particles having size less than the size of the screen and disperse fine particles on the conveyor belt (109) via the transfer pipe (107), and wherein remaining biomass having larger size particles are again rotated inside the circular jacket wall (103) till biomass particles are not shredded/broken into finer particles having size less than size of the screen (106).
4) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein upper surface of the screen (106) is attached to the inner surface of the jacket wall (103) and lower surface of the screen (106) is attached to the transfer pipe (107).

5) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein transfer pipe (107) placed at lower surface of the circular jacket wall (103) acts as connecting unit between the grinding configuration (101) and transporting configuration (108).

6) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt (109) comprises of:

a. at least two large pulleys (112a & 112b) to transport biomass particle to the receiver (115);
b. a small pulley (112c) coupled to the conveyor belt (109) and the transfer pipe (107) to give direction to biomass falling down to the conveyor belt (109);
c. at least two support bars (113a & 113b) to provide support to the conveyor belt (109) while transporting the biomass through the transporting configuration and the heating configuration.

7) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt (109) is wrapped in a heat-resistant polypropylene material to protect the conveyor belt (109) from high temperatures produced by the plurality heating coils (110).

8) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fan (111) of the heating configuration imparts velocity to the fresh air received from the first air channel (114a), so as to increase forced convection of heat from hot air towards the biomass and remove moisture from the biomass through the second air channel (114b).

9) A method for treating biomass, comprising steps of:
a. adding biomass from into a hopper (102);
b. rotating a plurality of hammers (105) connected to a roller shaft through a motor, so as to strike/ break solid biomass particles into finer particles ;
c. filtering finer particles through a screen (106) and breaking/ striking the bigger particles into finer particles at the same time by rotation of the hammers (105);
d. dispersing the filtered biomass particle obtained step (c) to receiver end of a conveyor belt (109) through a transfer pipe (107);
e. blowing fresh air from a fan (111) installed near a first air channel (114a) towards a heating coil (110) into the biomass particles placed on the conveyor belt;
f. removing moisture from the biomass particles through the fresh air blown by the fan (111) towards the heating coil (110), and dispersing moisture through a second air channel (114b);
g. transporting the treated biomass particles through the conveyer belt (109); and
h. transferring treated biomass particles to the receiver (115) of a briquetting machine to collect treated biomass particles.