Leaf processing equipment. Problems of processing leaves. Unusual business on leaves: idea, organization

I live in Moscow in a quiet (by Moscow standards), cozy area, immersed in the greenery of trees. Naturally, in the fall, fallen leaves cause a lot of inconvenience to utilities. Every day during this period, in a nearby square, one can observe how public utilities collect fallen leaves, pack them in huge plastic bags and take them, apparently, to a landfill. Where else would it be? Do not burn them, aggravating the already unfavorable ecological situation in the metropolis.

- Stop, what if you burn it? Burning not just for the purpose of disposal, but for the benefit and with great commercial benefits?

So, or something like this, argued Peter Morrison (Peter Morrison) and Sharon Warmington (Sharon Warmington), who, perhaps, were the first in the world to develop the technology for making special logs for burning stoves or fireplaces. They thought of it, filed a patent and earned a lot of money on it. Millions dollars. Not counting also the money that these cunning people, in the good sense of the word, will earn in the future. The demand for the products that it produces, created by the invention of the company BioFuels International, is growing every day. Technology that turns fallen leaves into "magic » logs are called - Leaf Log.

The idea and technology was born in the UK, where, according to the most conservative estimates, the weight of fallen leaves is about a million tons. Can you imagine?! Now imagine the size of the territory of Great Britain and compare it with the territory of Russia. Billions, no, I'm afraid to count, ... a lot, a lot!! Collecting them all, of course, is unrealistic, but even a small fraction of this free source is a good help in reducing the burning of fossil hydrocarbons. Of course, I understand that there are a lot of skeptics who say - yes, we have forests - like mud. There are a lot of forests, I agree. And where? That's right - in the forest. After all, it must be cut down, sawn, packed, brought, etc. and so on. What do we get? Overhead costs are such that you do not want money. And here they (leaves-money) rustle underfoot. In the literal and figurative sense.

The idea for this unusual fuel came to Morrison more than two years ago when he was sweeping an army of autumn leaves at his home. Turning the fallen leaf in his hands, the inventor decided that this material wasted how much in vain. The engineer experimented with the leaves, resulting in a fuel pellet containing a number of additives in addition to the leaves. The tablet boiled a liter of water, which inspired Peter to new experiments. Now there is an entire Leaf Log plant in Birmingham. And he has yet to cover the Birmingham expanses alone with processing - in this city and its environs, utilities annually collect and take out 16,000 tons of autumn leaves to a landfill. What can we say about the spread of ideas throughout the country.

The technology for the production of such eco-firewood consists not only in drying and compacting biomass (by the way, about one unpressed “big black garbage bag” with leaves is used per log). The British add wax to the final product, which is a binder and also an additional fuel. The ingredient ratio is 70% leaves to 30% wax, so Birmingham logs are 70% carbon neutral.

A pack of ten Leaf Logs costs £35 ($56) including domestic shipping, which BioFuels International claims is comparable to competing eco-products for similar purposes, “synthetic wood” for fireplaces and stoves made from sawdust. But at the same time, the latter contain up to 70% wax. However, wood waste also came to the attention of BioFuels. Following logs from leaves, the company developed wood based on sawdust - according to Rustic Log's own recipe.

Well, as a result, in the fall of this year, several companies from different countries turned to the creators of BioFuels International, expressing interest in their own production of Leaf Log under the license of a British company. So it turned out that trading last year's leaves is a very promising occupation.

Isn't this an example of how business ideas are literally scattered under our feet?

Scientific processing of leaves abroad is much more efficient than in our country. While in our country it is being composted or, as is more common, taken out for burning, European countries are earning money.

In particular, lawns are fertilized, and briquettes and logs are made from leaves, or ordinary garbage, to produce gas.

Fallen leaves should be left for the winter

It is customary for us to clean up and take out what the Americans have been feeding the soil for a long time. In Washington, the capital of America, the leaves remain where they fell. In order to rot better and faster, they are only subjected to grinding.

It is believed that vegetable waste left on lawns enriches the soil with nutrients.

Maybe that's why, rather than kicking up dust and sweeping them, it's better to spend money on a leaf chopper. Regarding how to deal with the leaves, leave them on the ground or not, the opinions of experts differ.

Some experts are sure that infectious viruses and pests remain in the leaves for the winter, therefore, their removal is beneficial for the trees.

Others remind that, allowing the grass to germinate in the spring even under the snow, fallen leaves are a protective layer of soil from freezing.

Leaf processing as a business

Leaf processing has long been used by many countries to make money. The problem of fallen leaves in Birmingham is solved differently.

In these places, this is the basis of business, the slogan of which is the fight for the environment, and a source of income.

They turn the leaves of trees into ordinary firewood - logs. There is now a log factory in Birmingham.

The production technology of these eco-firewoods is not only in the compaction and combustion of biomass. For the preparation of one log, approximately one bag filled with large leaves is consumed.

The British add wax to the final product - thirty percent wax and seventy percent leaves.

We use a rake

It turns out, in addition, abroad, people still have not forgotten about the rake. And not only remember, but also apply.

In Western countries, there are three types of rakes:

• bamboo
• metal
• plastic

There they are used depending on how many leaves fell on the surrounding area.

You can also add to the list:

• shredding machines
• vacuum cleaners
• blowers

And everything works for the benefit of the environment.



Each of us at least once burned fallen leaves, but not everyone would have thought to heat the stove with them. Pushing a bunch of leaves into the oven is extremely troublesome and, most importantly, not very effective. But if you go the other way, that is, make firewood from fallen leaves, then in this case the process of burning a stove or fireplace with fallen leaves takes the form of a firebox with ordinary firewood.
It is in the question “How to make firewood from fallen leaves?” entrepreneurs from Birmingham succeeded quite successfully and in an original way.

The idea for this unusual fuel came to Morrison when he was sweeping a bunch of autumn leaves at his house. Turning the fallen leaf 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 pellet containing, in addition to foliage, a number of binding additives. This pill boiled a liter of water and inspired Peter Morrison to new experiments.
(photo from www.leaflog.com)

Now in Birmingham there is a whole factory for the production of such eco-friendly firewood. The plant has no shortage of raw materials, since only in this city and its environs, public utilities annually collect and take out 16,000 tons of autumn leaves to a landfill.

The technology for the production of such eco-firewood is not only in the drying and compaction of biomass. Entrepreneurs add wax to the final product, which is a binder and additional fuel. The ratio of the ingredients 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 are easily set on fire, for which neither liquid for kindling nor a splinter is needed. The shell as a filler for biomass is a cardboard tube.

In 2008-2009, BioFuels was successfully noted in a whole series of environmental exhibitions. Tellingly, part 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 delivers 27.84 megajoules of energy per kilogram, which is comparable in calorific 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 only suitable for barbecuing, as they have too high a flame when burned. They can be used in any place where an open fire is needed. The British note that the Leaf Log burns almost smokelessly, apart from the very beginning and the very end.

December 23, 2009 Hits: 4122

You live in a forest country, surrounded by forests and groves, but there is nothing to heat the stove with. The dead wood was cut down and taken away to you, and felling living trees is somehow wrong. Where to get poles? So do it yourself! Look under your feet, collect leaves, compress well, add some impregnation and ... voila - environmentally friendly and economical!

This is exactly what a couple from Birmingham - Peter Morrison (Peter Morrison) and Sharon Warmington (Sharon Warmington) and their company BioFuels International do, they turn the foliage dropped by crowns into logs - Leaf Log.The idea for this unusual fuel came to Morrison more than two years ago when he was sweeping an army of autumn leaves at his home. Turning the fallen leaf in his hands, the inventor decided that this material wasted how much in vain. The engineer experimented with the leaves, resulting in a fuel pellet containing a number of additives in addition to the leaves. The tablet boiled a liter of water, which inspired Peter to new experiments.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 (50,000 leaves per large tree). Collecting them all, of course, is unrealistic, but even a small fraction of this free source is a good help in reducing the burning of fossil hydrocarbons.

Meanwhile, in addition to the fact that such poles allow you to enjoy the fire blazing in the fireplace, they also "clean" the atmosphere. After all, the leaves left on the humus, in the process of decomposition, emit methane into the atmosphere, and it is more than twenty times a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. In the case of burning leaves in a fireplace, carbon is released into the atmosphere, selected by a tree from the air during the previous summer.

Now there is an entire Leaf Log plant in Birmingham. And he has yet to cover the Birmingham expanses alone with processing - in this city and its environs, utilities annually collect and take out 16,000 tons of autumn leaves to a landfill. What can we say about the spread of ideas throughout the country.

The technology for the production of such eco-firewood consists not only in drying and compacting biomass (by the way, about one unpressed "big black garbage bag" with leaves is used per log). The British add wax to the final product, which is a binder and also an additional fuel. The ingredient ratio is 70% leaves to 30% wax, so Birmingham logs are 70% "carbon neutral".

Independent testing has shown that Leaf Log "firewood" delivers 27.84 megajoules of energy per kilogram, which is comparable in calorific value to high-quality coal and more than wood. At the same time, 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.

Leaves burn, leaves burn like a farewell salute. Who has not heard these lines? We have already told users about how one candle can be used to cook dinner and heat the house, and now it's time to talk about the innovation that is literally lying under your feet - leaf eco logs!

Many summer residents, every autumn, burn fallen leaves on their personal plots, but what would they say if they were offered to heat a stove or fireplace with leaves? Strange offer, isn't it? But not for the inhabitants of England, because recently, it has become profitable and fashionable to drown your hearth with fallen leaves. And it happened thanks to the resourcefulness and invention of one enterprising guy from Birmingham named Peter Morrison , who one autumn, clearing the paths in front of the house from fallen leaves, did not ask himself the question: “What if you try to heat the stove with leaves?”

Anyone who has ever seen freshly harvested and wet leaves burn can say that using such fuel for a stove is a troublesome and completely inefficient task. Peter Morrison also knew about this, and therefore he decided that the best way out of this situation would be to dry and briquet the foliage in the so-called eco-log - Leaf Log.

An article on how to choose a heating and plumbing system for your home is available. by this link .

Experimentally, Peter found that the best results when burning are given by such a composition of ecopolen - 70% foliage + 30% wax. The wax acts as a binder and kindling agent. And numerous Leaf Log tests have shown that the eco-pole releases about 30 megajoules of energy per kilogram.

In addition, such logs burn better and longer than wood fuel and their characteristics are close to high-quality coal. Also, during combustion, there is practically no smoke and emission of harmful substances.

Encouraged by this result, Peter founded a company for the production of eco-fuels, calling it - Bio Fuels International .

The entrepreneur's plans include not only the release Leaf Log, but also further development of the concept of production of environmentally friendly fuel briquettes made from recycled materials.

For example, Rustic Log– fuel briquette based on sawdust and woodworking waste.

In the UK alone, the weight of leaves fallen in one autumn period is more than 1 million tons, and in the vicinity of Birmingham, on average, up to 16 thousand tons of leaves are collected, which are then sent to a landfill.

One pack of 10 ecologs costs just under $60. And to make one ecopole, you need to collect a large bag of leaves. Peter points out that the price of eco-firewood includes shipping throughout the country, which makes Leaf Log a direct competitor to synthetic firewood, which contains up to 70% wax and special additives that improve combustion.

As Peter himself states: “It all started with one experimental combustible tablet, which I made at home from well-dried and pressed leaves and filled them with ordinary wax. After I managed to boil a liter of water on it, I realized that the technology has the right to life. After all, leaves are an excellent fuel that literally lay under our feet and which we threw away, or, at best, used as fertilizer. And now we have a double benefit - we recycle the leaves and make excellent, environmentally friendly fuel from them.”

In this article clearly tells about how to build a Russian stove on your own in 4 days off.

For the disposal of leaves, special mobile collection points have been organized, where everyone can donate the foliage collected from home, and agreements have been concluded with many parks and forestry enterprises, which, instead of spending money on the removal of leaves, now benefit from it.

We can say that soon Leaf Log will confidently enter every English family. After all, how nice to sit in the evening at fireplace and having melted it to look at the flame, knowing that, perhaps, there is a part of your merit in this.

Users of our forum can find out what fuel is best for heating a house. Users of our forum can read about the step-by-step construction of a barbecue. Discussion of stoves and brick heat accumulators is underway. And this video talks about a water supply system from a well and a heating system based on a condensing boiler.