Business and ecology. In search of balance

The development and implementation of wood waste processing technologies in Latvian woodworking enterprises are closely connected with the company "RMP" and its director Elena Kozmenkova. For more than 20 years, "RMP" has been the exclusive representative of the German manufacturer of hydraulic briquetting systems RUF and has been implementing projects for the production of fuel briquettes in the Baltic countries.

In recent decades, biofuel production has been developing particularly actively, which is due to both economic and environmental factors. Firstly, the use of primary production waste allows a woodworking enterprise to create a product that is in demand on the market, which is a by-product, but with stable demand, both on the local market and on foreign European markets. Secondly, a well-thought-out and responsible policy of the enterprise regarding the processing of industrial waste helps to reduce environmental pollution. This not only ensures compliance with regulatory environmental requirements, contributes to the implementation of the company's sustainable development policy, but also brings moral satisfaction to the employees of the enterprise, who are aware of their social responsibility.

RUF - THE WORLD MARKET LEADER IN BRIQUETTING SYSTEMS

The German company RUF has been developing briquetting technology for a wide range of organic materials since 1969 and is currently the leading manufacturer of equipment in this field. The technology, which began with wood briquetting and then revolutionized the processing of metalworking waste (black and non-ferrous metal shavings, cast iron, grinding sludge, etc.), is constantly being improved and developed. Remaining a family business since its foundation, RUF's priorities remain unchanged - the quality of presses and reliability in operation

BRICKET PRODUCTION

Like any technological process, the production of fuel briquettes has its own nuances. The main one is the raw material. Its humidity, fraction, homogeneity, storage method and place, and, finally, quantity - all this determines the necessary technological stages of the briquette section. The most multi-stage preparation of raw materials for briquetting will be required for wet lump material. In turn, dry (up to 15% moisture) shavings, wood dust and sawdust, even with inclusions of chips up to 30-50 mm in small quantities, can be fed into the briquetting press without preliminary preparation. Thus, waste in the form of a small fraction from the production of parquet boards, windows, doors, furniture, joinery or plywood production, basically do not require additional preparation before briquetting. In addition to the wood we are accustomed to, various biomass can also act as raw material for the production of briquettes on RUF presses, such as nut shells, rice husks, buckwheat and sunflower husks, cotton fiber waste, rapeseed straw, hay, coffee grounds, peat, etc. When working with such materials, we always test the material in order to identify all its features at the initial stage of the project.

In addition to the quality of the raw materials and their proper preparation for briquetting, the quality of the final product and its presentation are also greatly influenced by the method of packaging and storing the briquettes. Usually, briquettes are packed in polyethylene bags of 12 pieces, thus forming a 10-kilogram package. Most enterprises in the Baltics pack briquettes manually. This is a labor-intensive process, but absolutely necessary, since briquettes are hygroscopic and will quickly lose their quality characteristics if unpacked. The environmental side of heating with briquettes is not discussed, since the use of wood briquettes as fuel is CO2 neutral - when a briquette burns, the same amount of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere as is absorbed by a growing tree.

As for the production itself, RMP experts have many years of experience in designing and supplying equipment for briquetting sections so that briquette production is as energy efficient as possible, has minimal impact on the environment and complies with production safety standards, including solving the issue of dustiness of the premises.

AUTOMATION OF PRODUCTION — INVESTMENT FOR THE LONG TERM

Due to the low demand for sawn timber caused by the construction crisis and high prices for raw materials, competition between market participants is intensifying. Despite the risk of investing in a stagnating market, automation of production is a significant competitive advantage. When we talk about automation of the briquetting section here, we mainly mean automation of the packaging process, since for the overwhelming majority of enterprises, the process of packaging briquettes is the only manually performed process in briquetting production.

Advantages of the automated briquetting section:

1. no dependence on low-skilled workers

2. elimination of risks and additional personnel costs during overtime or downtime, which provides additional flexibility in production planning in an unstable changing market

3. improvement of the presentation of packaged products, which makes it possible to strengthen the position of the product on the market and, accordingly, the price

4. rational use of packaging material and reduction of its volume per ton of products, which meets the sustainable development policy of any enterprise

5. installation of RUF briquetting systems together with the automatic Strojplast briquette packaging line allows using the latest generation of technical innovations

RMP, as an equipment supplier, not only has a spare parts warehouse, but also undertakes maintenance and repair, promptly responding to calls. We provide a remote connection service to the equipment and a service line operating 24/7. Therefore, our customers have the opportunity to reliably work with a smaller staff of their own mechanics. Investments in production automation, in addition to the payback due to the above factors, are also reliably secured by the residual value of the fixed asset. The leading position of RUF briquetting systems and Strojplast automatic briquette packaging solutions on the market also contributes to the liquidity of such an asset.

PROJECT FOR AVOTI

A large-scale project to launch a briquetting section with a high degree of automation was implemented at the AVOTI enterprise. The section, consisting of a crushing, briquetting, automatic briquette packaging and palletizing section, was commissioned in September 2024.

According to the project, lump waste from the main production is crushed in a chipper. Using a moving floor system, bulk material is fed to a hammer crusher for additional crushing. Dry homogeneous raw materials are fed to a 50 m3 storage bin, which feeds the briquetting presses. Briquetting is performed on an automatic line, the basis of which is 3 parallel-mounted RUF LIGNUM R6 presses, each with a capacity of up to 720 kg/h. Pressed briquettes are moved along a conveyor to the Strojplast packaging station, where they are grouped, packed in polyethylene film and fed into a heat tunnel. Each finished package contains 12 briquettes with a total weight of 10 kg. The packaged products are placed on a pallet by a robotic manipulator and the pallet with finished products is moved to the stand of the machine for wrapping pallets with film. And now the packed pallets are ready for shipment to customers.

It is too early to say, but we hope that the investment in the automated section will pay off in the short term. The enterprise will have something to compare the economic efficiency of the new section with, since the briquette sections at other sites of the enterprise are not yet equipped with automatic packaging.

EXHIBITIONS

RMP actively participates in international exhibitions, in 2025 together with RUF and STROJPLAST will take part in LIGNA HANNOVER - the world's largest exhibition of the woodworking industry

SERVICE SERVICE

RMP focuses on a high level of technical equipment and qualifications of employees, constantly investing in the development of its service. During commissioning, the company's specialists pay special attention to training the customer's personnel. In the future, reliable and uninterrupted operation of the equipment depends on its high-quality and timely maintenance. Despite the fact that waste processing sites are at the end of the technological cycle of enterprises and do not directly affect the production of the main products, their timely maintenance should not be neglected under any circumstances. A stop in our site can affect the operation of the main production, since, for example, it can lead to an overflow of sawdust storage bunkers, which will lead to a stop of the entire production.

After the equipment is put into operation, RMP specialists stay in touch with the client. It is during the first months of operation of new equipment that operators and mechanics have the most questions, both about settings and maintenance. Being in close contact with the company's personnel, we have the opportunity to analyze the results and help optimize them promptly. Depending on the issues that arise, their solution can be handled by both our employees from the office in Riga and representatives of the manufacturing plants. In the event of emergency situations, the speed of response of the service is of particular importance. Thus, the majority of spare parts required for maintenance or repair of equipment are in our warehouse in Riga.

The solutions offered by RMP have already helped many enterprises overcome problems with the disposal of industrial waste through the production of relevant products, and all areas of biofuel production were designed taking into account the individual characteristics and needs of specific enterprises.