It was not possible to obtain durable fuel briquettes made with molasses alone.
Increasing the mass fraction of molasses continuously improved the briquette combustion
parameters, but the compressive strength remained below the required minimum
while significantly increasing friction in the processing and transport
equipment. Use of a two-component binder (molasses and starch) resulted in a stronger
briquettes, but these were still inadequate to meet the minimum strength requirements.
The samples with unmodified potato starch as a binder produced good
results; the fuel briquettes met the required criteria for the axial compression and
the drop tests