Logs from fallen leaves manufacturing technology. Briquettes made from fallen leaves! A new niche in the biofuels market? Last year the leaves came in a flash
About the controversy that the problem of fallen leaves, which every autumn covers our courtyards, squares and parks with a multi-colored carpet, causes among experts. There are arguments both in favor of leaving it in place - it allegedly helps the soil freeze less in winter, and also serves as a source of nutrients - and against: pests and pathogens overwinter in fallen leaves, and in addition, foliage in an urban environment absorbs everything harmful impurities and compounds in the air, and, accordingly, in the process of rotting leaves under the snow, all this also poisons the soil.
As for our cities, especially large ones, the standard practice, despite the war between the governing bodies and local public utilities, is still the annual collection of fallen leaves in the notorious black bags and their subsequent removal to landfills for disposal.
In fact, the annual volume of fallen leaves around the world is measured in tens, if not hundreds of millions of tons, and it would be strange if someone had not already started to consider autumn leaves from a different point of view - not as a source of inspiration for creative personalities, but as a valuable raw material resource, primarily from a fuel point of view. Indeed, unlike traditionally used gas and coal, as well as wood logs themselves, this source of raw materials is environmentally safer, annually renewable in almost the same quantity, and most importantly - absolutely free and available everywhere.
A pioneer in this direction was the Birmingham-based company LeafLog Ltd, whose founder Peter Morrison, back in 2009, developed and patented a technology for making special logs from dried and compressed fallen leaves, which are used primarily for lighting fireplaces.
When these logs, called Leaf logs, are burned, they produce only the carbon collected by the leaves as they grow on the tree. Combustion occurs practically without smoke, while firewood from leaves releases approximately the same amount of energy during combustion as a similar volume of coal and three times more than wood. At the same time, they burn three times longer than their wood counterparts of the same volume.
The technology for producing such logs consists of drying and compacting the leaves, as well as adding wax to them, which is a binding element and additional fuel. Wax is added in the proportion of 70% leaves and 30% wax. In this case, from a standard 120-liter bag of leaves, one log weighing 1.2 kg is obtained. The logs are sold in packs of 10 and cost from £25 per pack.
There are also examples closer to us: several years ago, Ukrainian entrepreneur Alexander Zhigalov invented his method of making combustible briquettes from leaves, as well as any type of organic waste - shavings, sawdust, tree bark, wood chips, reeds, straw, hay, corn and sunflower waste. . His method uses a wood dust-based component as a binding element. The invention was proposed to local authorities, but has not yet received widespread attention. practical application due to purely bureaucratic difficulties with certification.
In fact, if you want fuel briquettes You can prepare it yourself from the leaves at home, or rather at your country house, using already proven technology for making briquettes from, say, sawdust. The main task in this case is to pre-shred the leaves, for which you can use a lawn mower, a garden vacuum cleaner with a shredder, or a special rotary machine that shreds any plant material using a set of knives. Next, you should mix the crushed leaves with ordinary clay in a ratio of 10:1 with the addition of water to make the solution formative. It is important to distribute the clay evenly throughout the entire volume of leaves, as it will act as a binding element. You can mix the fuel material manually or use a construction mixer as an auxiliary tool. The only obstacle is that there may not be a mixer at the dacha.
To form briquettes, various devices are used - boxes, old pans, any durable containers. Of course, productivity can be increased significantly by using special pressing equipment. The last, no less important stage in preparing briquettes is drying. The easiest option is to air dry, preferably in sunny weather.
It is clear that the use of leaves in the form of fuel, although an environmentally friendly method of their disposal, is nevertheless still very far from its large-scale implementation. Their involvement in country houses and farms in the production of leaf humus, as well as compost, including vermicompost, that is, compost that is formed with the help of earthworms. The only thing you should remember is that when making fertilizers, you should never use city leaves, which during their “ life cycle» manage to accumulate compounds contained in exhaust gases and industrial emissions heavy metals- cadmium, lead, copper, nickel, etc.
Leaf humus improves soil structure and is obtained by rotting fallen leaves in the fall. It is made by collecting, moistening and compacting leaves and then storing them in special plastic bags or metal mesh. It must be borne in mind that different types leaves rot at different rates: for example, the leaves of evergreen plants take two or even three times longer to decompose, so it is recommended that they be crushed very carefully beforehand. On average, humus becomes ready for use within six months to two years.
It should be noted that methods for producing humus and compost from fallen leaves, in principle, require minimal investment and are technically very easy to implement within even the smallest garden plot, not to mention farms, and their detailed description can be easily found on the Internet. The result is a much more valuable and effective agricultural product than widely used chemical fertilizers.
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By the way, there are also more exotic ways of using leaves: for example, in India and some other countries of Southeast Asia, fallen palm leaves are used to make dishes. They are collected, soaked in water, then washed and dried, and then placed under a hot machine press to shape. The result is very durable, and most importantly, heat-resistant eco-ware, which also has an intricate texture and pattern. In these countries, hats, trays, bags, baskets, boxes, bracelets, women's jewelry and many other accessories are also widely and massively made from palm leaves.
If you liked the article, recommend it to your friends, acquaintances or colleagues related to municipal or public service. It seems to us that it will be both useful and pleasant for them.
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Autumn fallen tree leaves are not just trash. By decomposing in the soil, they add mineral and organic substances to it, structure the soil, improving its quality. The gradual destruction of fallen leaves creates conditions for the development of soil microflora and fauna, which, on the one hand, performs the work of processing leaves, and on the other hand, prevents the development of organisms pathogenic to trees.
In the forest, no one prepares the soil - nature makes it itself from the material it receives annually - fallen leaves. The forest floor of their rotted leaves nourishes the trees and protects their health.
During the Leningrad siege, leaves in the parks were not removed and the grass was not mowed. There was no time for that. And when, 30-40 years later, they began to cut down old trees, park workers examined the annual rings on the cut trunks and correlated them with the years of formation. It turned out that the widest and brightest annual rings on the trunks were formed just during the war years, when the trees were in a state close to the forest.
IN last years the removal or burning of leaves was no longer treated as the only possible action for collecting them. They are not swept away completely; they tend to be left in the soil. This achieves a reduction in removal costs, saving landfills, and also maintains the structure and fertility of the soil.
You can process fallen leaves into a fine fraction and leave them right there on your lawns. In the spring, grass will grow through the crushed leaves, and the rotted leaves will gradually turn into humus.
In Moscow, in May 2010, the city government issued decree N 386-PP stating that leaves should not be removed from lawns. If you see leaves being removed from your yard, call " hotline» to the Department of Natural Resources. This cleaning is not legal.
The struggle and unity of opposites
Full-fledged lawns, the so-called “English” ones, are necessary in the city both from an aesthetic and environmental point of view. The roots of lawn grasses, densely intertwined with each other, hold the soil together, preventing contaminated soil from turning into toxic dust that the wind blows into the faces of pedestrians. Lawn grasses themselves are able to live on contaminated soil and clean it by sucking pollutants from the soil and accumulating them in their green parts. When mowing, these toxic substances accumulated in the leaves are “packaged” and ready for disposal, and the lawn continues to grow and again act as a living filter.
Professional gardeners say that a tree and a lawn are always in conflict. They are inhabitants of different ecosystems. The tree needs nutrients from its own leaves, and the lawn is sustainable when it is kept clean and regularly mowed. Most of the tree species used in parks are originally forest dwellers, and the ideal for them will always be native and familiar - forest soil, created year after year from fallen leaves with numerous microorganisms. Thus, fallen leaves are contraindicated for lawns, but trees need them. Since the leaves rot, they recreate the fertility of the earth. As a rule, lost in cities.
Disposal of fallen leaves
If we turn to the Western experience of collecting leaves in cities, then fallen leaves are collected only once a year, when all the trees completely shed their leaves. Is it really necessary to rake leaves from one area several times a season, as is customary to do here? Experts say it may even be harmful to the soil in parks and gardens. And one-time cleaning is economical and reasonable in a European way.
However, the number of all kinds of clever devices for collecting leaves is growing every year. For example, a hand-held blower with a pipe that is worn on the back. But as soon as this device began to appear here, in Europe there were demands for its ban due to the harm to the health of the person wearing it.
Vacuum cleaners, or rather leaf blowers, are produced from portable, backpack ones, with a small volume of loading hopper, to mobile ones, towed by garden equipment. Blockage in suction pipe – common problem for similar machines. When it is necessary to remove leaves from large, relatively flat areas, vacuum cleaners with a large receiving hopper are used, which are placed on special chassis and towed by tractors. The suction pipe of such machines also often becomes clogged. Such machines also cause sharp criticism, since they suck in all kinds of small fauna along with the leaves.
The Leafeater has recently been supplied to Russia, a leaf harvester capable of handling any kind of waste – dry or wet, sweeping bottles, cigarette butts, pieces of paper, etc. into its hopper in addition to leaves and grass. The mechanical machine is easy to operate, reliable and durable. Towed by any garden tractor, the Leafeater has a small turning radius and a low weight of about 150 kilograms, so it does not damage the lawn or plow up the soil. Leafeater has a spacious hopper for loading leaves. The innovative design of the machine completely eliminates the possibility of blocking the mechanism. In Sweden, Leafeater is used in city parks, gardens, zoos, cemeteries, private plots, and farms. In addition to Russia, these machines are supplied to other European countries - Finland, Spain, Estonia.
Harvesting rank report card
In the gardening system, all objects are divided into classes and categories depending on their purpose and location. In St. Petersburg, for example, there are 5 classes of objects, with different requirements for maintenance and intensity of care. The highest cost standards are established for the maintenance of class I objects “the city’s most important places in terms of location and value, the most visited city parks, gardens, public gardens, areas near public and historical buildings and structures, the most important street highways.” There, cleaning is carried out several times a day in the fall. Class II is “district facilities: parks, gardens, squares, boulevards, streets, roads and driveways.” Class III includes green spaces of local importance - intra-block landscaping and neighborhood gardens. Class IV includes landscape and historical parks, landscaping facilities of various departments, schools, hospitals, and preschool institutions. Class V includes forest parks and forests within city limits. Fallen leaves are intended to be left only in forest parks, urban forests and partly in landscape and historical parks.
Disposal of collected leaves is usually carried out outside the city limits. It should not remain on the territory, collected in heaps - this is contrary to sanitary standards and rules for the operation of green spaces. As we see, the rules in St. Petersburg directly contradict those in Moscow. Leaves should not be burned - this is dangerous from an environmental point of view, since all accumulated toxic substances enter the air. Burning garbage, including leaves, is prohibited within the city. The removal of collected leaves must be provided for by the operating organization and the owner.
The disposal of leaves must be approached selectively, that is, the issue must be resolved for each green space object separately, taking into account all its features. But besides burning and processing into compost, which is considered inappropriate, fallen leaves can serve as raw materials for the most unexpected things.
The simplest solution - distilling ethyl alcohol from leaves, like sawdust, has not been implemented for some reason.
So far, Birmingham residents Peter Morrison and Sharon Warmington, who created the company BioFuels International, have managed to make good money from leaf fall.
The company specializes in the production of logs from fallen leaves. This is not just business, but a fight for the environment under the slogans of salvation environment and against the greenhouse effect. Each Leaf Log log weighs just over one kilogram and is about thirty centimeters long. According to studies, it turned out that leaves left to rot on the ground, when decomposing, emit methane, which, when released into the atmosphere, is 20 times higher than the negative indicators of carbon dioxide. Methane is what heats the room when using logs from BioFuels International, but in this case it enters the atmosphere carbon dioxide, which the tree previously received from the air. Thus, firewood from fallen leaves has double benefits for the environment. In the UK, a pack of 10 Leaf Logs costs £35 or $56, with free domestic delivery. The burning time of one “log” is 2-3 hours, which is three times longer than its natural counterpart.
This type of fuel is becoming increasingly popular in England, where last year alone 50,000 leaves fell from each major tree, amounting to a total of approximately a million tons.
So, enterprising Birmingham residents have an almost inexhaustible resource. Success new technology the creation of “deciduous” firewood interested businessmen in other countries and in last year Orders from abroad began to arrive, which, if approved by the British, would allow the creation of similar franchise enterprises around the world.
By the way, they tried to use fallen leaves in construction, making cladding panels from them. However, things didn’t work out, but the technology remained. Now a Japanese company is using it to produce “healing” green tea panels. But these are no longer fallen leaves, but specially collected ones.
The New York company VerTerra went even further. She produced disposable plates and cups made from fallen leaves. The dishes are made using a special technology using steam and heat. Moreover, no chemicals are used in its production. An important feature of this cookware is that it can be used in the microwave, oven and refrigerator. The price of one plate is approximately 1 dollar.
- Each of us has burned fallen leaves at least once, but not everyone would think of lighting a stove with them. Stuffing an armful of leaves into the oven is extremely troublesome and, most importantly, not very effective. But if you go the other way, that is, to make firewood from fallen leaves, then in this case the process of heating a stove or fireplace with fallen leaves takes the form of burning ordinary firewood.
It is in the question “How to make firewood from fallen leaves?” entrepreneurs from Birmingham have succeeded quite successfully and in an original way.
The idea behind this unusual fuel
was born to Morrison when he was sweeping up a pile of autumn leaves in his house. Turning the fallen leaf over in his hands, the inventor decided that this material was worthy of a second life. After several experiments with foliage, the future entrepreneur created a fuel tablet containing, in addition to foliage, a number of binding additives. This tablet boiled a liter of water and inspired Peter Morrison to new experiments.
Now in Birmingham there is a whole plant producing such environmentally friendly firewood. The plant has no shortage of raw materials, since in this city and its environs alone, municipal services annually collect and transport 16 thousand tons of autumn leaves to a landfill.
Technology for the production of such eco-firewood is not only about drying and compacting biomass. IN final product entrepreneurs add wax, which is a binder and additional fuel. The ingredient ratio is 70% leaves and 30% wax, so Birmingham logs are 70% carbon neutral.
The weight of this log is 1.2 kilograms with a length of 28 centimeters.
Another advantage of such logs is the fact that they can be easily set on fire, which does not require any kindling liquid or a torch. The shell used as a filler for the biomass is a cardboard tube.
In 2008-2009, BioFuels was a success at a whole series of exhibitions environmental issues. Tellingly, some of the prizes went to Birmingham entrepreneurs not for “conscious ecology”, but for an original business idea.”
Independent testing has shown that Leaf Log firewood produces 27.84 MegaJoules of energy per kilogram, which is comparable in heating value to high-quality coal and more than wood.
At the same time, the burning time of one log
is 2-3 hours, which is three times longer than a wooden block of the same weight. And, most importantly, the harmful “exhaust” from such a log is small.
Leaf Logs are not suitable for barbecues only, as they have a very high flame when burning. They can be used anywhere an open fire is needed. The British note that Leaf Log burns almost smokelessly, not counting the very beginning and the very end of combustion.
(photo from www.leaflog.com)
You live in a forested country, surrounded by forests and groves, but there is nothing to heat the stove with. All the dead wood was cut down and taken away to you, but cutting down living trees is somehow wrong. Where can I get some poleshki? Do it yourself! Look under your feet, collect leaves, compress them well, add some impregnation and... voila - environmentally friendly and economical!
That's exactly what Birmingham couple Peter Morrison and Sharon Warmington and their company BioFuels International are doing, turning leaf litter into logs - Leaf Log.The idea for this unusual fuel came to Morrison more than two years ago, when he was sweeping up an army of autumn leaves in his home. Turning the fallen leaf over in his hands, the inventor decided that this material was being wasted. The engineer experimented with the foliage, as a result of which he created a fuel tablet containing, in addition to the foliage, a number of additives. The tablet boiled a liter of water, which inspired Peter to try new things.But our heroes from Birmingham look at fallen leaves from a completely different angle: for them it is a source of income, the basis of a business that goes under the banner of the fight for the environment and against the notorious global warming.
In Britain alone, the weight of leaves falling in one autumn is about a million tons (50 thousand leaves per large tree). It is, of course, unrealistic to collect them all, but even a small fraction from this free source is a good help in reducing the burning of fossil hydrocarbons.
Meanwhile, in addition to the fact that such logs allow you to enjoy the fire blazing in the fireplace, they also “clean” the atmosphere. After all, leaves left to humus, during the process of decomposition, release methane into the atmosphere, and it is more than twenty times a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. When leaves are burned in a fireplace, carbon taken from the air by the tree during the previous summer is released into the atmosphere.
There is now a whole factory in Birmingham producing Leaf Log. And he has yet to cover the vast expanses of Birmingham alone with recycling - in this city and its environs, municipal services annually collect and transport 16 thousand tons of autumn leaves to landfill. What can we say about spreading the idea throughout the country.
The technology for producing such eco-logs is not only about drying and compacting biomass (by the way, about one unpressed “big black garbage bag” with leaves is consumed per log). The British add wax to the final product, which is a binder and also additional fuel. The ingredient ratio is 70% leaves and 30% wax, so Birmingham logs are 70% carbon neutral.
Independent testing has shown that Leaf Log firewood produces 27.84 megajoules of energy per kilogram, which is comparable in combustion value to high-quality coal and more than wood. In this case, one log burns continuously for 2-3 hours, which is three times longer than a wooden block of the same weight. And the harmful “exhaust” from such a log is small.
Nature is an almost unlimited source useful resources, many of which are widely known. Most of them are expensive or difficult to obtain. But by being creative in finding the resource your business needs, you can find inexpensive or even free sources of raw materials. Fallen leaves can become such original free material and an unusual source of income.
Leaf business can become not only economical thanks to free raw material, but also very profitable. After all, during the autumn the mass of fallen leaves amounts to millions of tons. It is unlikely that it will be possible to use all of them for production, but there will definitely not be a shortage of the required resource. For many, it will also be important that the business project will have a positive impact on the environment. Setting up a leaf business can have several options, and the most practical will be a combination of several production methods.
Production of fuel briquettes
The preparation of pressed preparations from leaves may be very promising. These briquettes can be shaped into tablets or cylinders. This fuel option is unlikely to be suitable for heating a house, but it will be very useful for cooking on a grill or creating a cozy fire in the fireplace. In England, such “firewood” pressed from leaves is sold in organic stores for $56 for a pack of 10 pieces. The inventors of these eco-logs have successfully participated in many exhibitions. They received several prizes for their contribution to environmental protection. They received a number of awards for great idea for business.
To obtain raw materials in large quantities, it will be useful to negotiate with the heads of parks and forestry enterprises. After all, they are often interested in collecting and removing leaves from their territories. When creating unusual firewood, the leaves must be dried and compressed as much as possible. One log requires a large bag of collected leaves. The authors of the idea from Britain use wax in logs as a binding element and additional flammable material.
Logs made from fallen leaves have several advantages over conventional firewood or compressed sawdust briquettes:
- The heat of combustion of leaf logs is comparable to high-quality coal and is significantly higher than the thermal energy released during the combustion of wood fuel.
- The weight of firewood from deciduous biomass is half, and the volume is 10 times less than traditional firewood, taking into account the combustion efficiency. A deciduous log burns almost 3 times longer than a wooden log of the same weight.
- The compactness and low weight of pressed logs make them easy to transport.
- Such briquettes do not require kindling; they ignite quickly and easily.
- In the middle of the combustion process, eco-logs emit significantly less smoke and harmful combustion products.
The environmental aspect of business deserves special attention. After all, harvesting traditional firewood leads to deforestation. As for leaves left to rot over the winter, during the process of decay they release methane into the atmosphere, which has a pronounced greenhouse effect. Burning leaves is also not the best solution, because this releases significantly more harmful combustion products than when burning pressed logs. In addition, huge fires of fallen leaves cause death to plants and insects in the ground. So selling last year’s leaves can bring the entrepreneur not only benefits, but also the opportunity to contribute to improving the environment.
It will be very profitable to supplement the production of briquettes from compressed leaves with the creation of compost. It can be used by gardeners to wrap plants for the winter, protect them from drying out in the summer, or to improve the structure of the soil. Leaf humus has a loose structure, has conditioning qualities, and helps retain moisture at the roots of plants.
It is better to prepare compost in rainy weather, but if the leaves are dry, they need to be moistened. Those who are simultaneously engaged in the production of logs can use the dust remaining after pressing. Deciduous material is compacted into boxes with mesh walls. To speed up the process of humus ripening, it will be useful to add green grass to the foliage. Alternating layers of garden soil and moistened leaves, as well as the use of crushed leaf material, speeds up the process and improves the quality of compost. You can chop the leaves using a garden vacuum cleaner or lawn mower when collecting.
If everything is done correctly, the young compost will be ready in about a year, just in time for the flower beds, garden trees and shrubs to wrap up for the winter cold. This humus can be used for mulching the soil, for leveling flower beds, and added to garden plots and in flower containers, use as a soil acidifier. Having sold last year's batch of compost, you can begin collecting and preparing a new portion of fallen leaves. If desired, part of the humus can be left to ripen. This process usually lasts 1.5–3 years. Aged leaf humus is well suited for planting seedlings, sowing seeds, and when mixed with garden compost, for growing indoor plants.
By implementing two business projects simultaneously, you can get a virtually waste-free production option. The profit is obvious, and the costs, given the free raw materials in huge quantities, are minimal.
Engraved patterns on leaves
Another one unusual idea application of autumn leaves is suitable creative people. By carving the leaves you can get original paintings amazing beauty. This type of art, sheet carving, originated not so long ago in China. The process of creating engraved images on leaves is long and painstaking, requiring skill and skill. The leaves undergo special treatment - they are disinfected and impregnated with a special composition. Then the top layer of the sheet is removed, and the image is engraved onto the remaining thinnest part of the sheet, taking into account the natural pattern of the veins. As a result of such jewelry work, real works of art are born. Chinese craftsmen use sycamore leaves for carving. They look similar to maple, but are denser and more durable.
Spanish artist Lorenzo Duran Silva creates paintings on the leaves of different trees. Unlike the works of Chinese masters, these are silhouette images; the design is cut out through the entire thickness of the sheet. The created masterpieces are placed under glass in a frame. The cost of such paintings on leaves is high and depends on the complexity of the design and the amount of effort expended. The most expensive carved sheet was sold by Lorenzo Duran Silva for £2,400.
