FAQs

Briquetting and compaction/granulation is the process of turning fine particles or residues into briquettes or compact/granules. These approaches are a widely-accepted process for recycling or reclaiming materials for reuse or resale.

Common uses for briquetting and compaction/granulation include:

• Turning steel mill residues into a form that can be easily reintroduced into the steel making process.
• Shaping animal feed, fertilizers or other micronutrients to reduce transportation and handling costs, and increase product efficiency.
• Forming minerals, metal oxides and metal alloys/powders into easy-to-store products.
• Streamlining clean-up of manufacturing waste, including fine dust particles.

KOMAREK offers a wide range of briquetting, compacting and granulating solutions capable of handling and processing lab-size samples of 50 pounds up to production-machines of 60 tons per hour for materials such as:

• Salt
• Lithium Carbonate
• Steel mill waste oxides
• Specialty chemicals/halogens
• Charcoal
• Micronutrients/fertilizers
• Coal
• Metal alloys/metal powders
• Specialty minerals (MgO, Animal Feed, Lime)

Segmented rolls are made in a series of sections or segments, which are mechanically clamped to the shafts.

Because they’re easier to replace when worn, segmented rolls are recommended for briquetting hot or abrasive materials and are made from materials suitable for such applications.

KOMAREK DH400, DH450 and DH500 machines are compatible with segmented and solid roll tires.

KOMAREK pioneered cantilevered removable rolls to prevent overloading and streamline replacement time. Cantilevered roll tire design allows for easy roll replacement, which decreases downtime and maintenance costs.

Contact KOMAREK. Our engineering and service team draws on decades of experience to help you select the best materials and machine design for your specific application — whether you need assistance optimizing your current process, incorporating a new process step, or designing a new process from scratch.

Yes! Our experience and knowledge gained throughout our history enables us to offer the best solution to fit each material and process application. They can be customized to meet a specific feed input location, materials used for feed parts and roll tires and footprint of space available in your facility.

KOMAREK machines are custom-designed for each application and material handling needs.

Machine delivery is typically three to nine months, depending on the amount of time needed during each of the following phases:

• Discovery: Discussion of materials and characteristics, throughput requirements and desired end product.
• Engineering/Concepting: Determination of appropriate size machine, rolls and other machine specifications.
• Laboratory Test Production: A sample test of materials to be briquetted or compacted/granulated is scheduled and run on our laboratory roller press and/or a test production completed at our full-scale Research & Test Facility.
• Approval: Final sign-off on all machine specs.
• Final Manufacturing: Machine is manufactured in our U.S. plant.

Roll briquette machines use moderate-to-high pressure to turn fine powders and granules into briquettes. However, with certain materials, binders – additives that help retain a briquette shape – need to be added to help the briquettes retain their shape.

While KOMAREK machines are used to make briquettes from many materials across industries including chemical, mineral, micronutrients, agricultural, metal, ceramic and recycling, they are not designed to handle biomass materials like raw wood fibers.

Regular cleaning and maintenance of your briquetting and compaction/granulation machines saves you money on repairs and extends the life of your equipment.

KOMAREK recommends regularly performing maintenance checks to prevent costly equipment wear and damage. Download the printable version of our maintenance schedule and checklist.

Subtle signs like increases in machine downtime or decreases in product quality are signals your briquetting or compaction/granulation plant operations aren’t running as efficiently as they could be – which can translate into increased operational costs.

For more information about KOMAREK’s plant audit which can identify potential issues before they become problems, contact us.

Depending on the roll tire complexity and roll material needed, typical production for replacement roll tires or segments is 10 to 12 weeks.

Yes. In addition to designing and manufacturing custom replacement parts for all KOMAREK machines, we also design and manufacture replacement parts for many other manufacturer’s briquetting and compacting/granulation machines.

Once equipment specifications are determined and finalized, parts are manufactured in KOMAREK’s modern U.S. plant that includes in-house machining of critical components, such as heat-treating and polishing, to ensure the highest quality and reliability.

KOMAREK has a dedicated team of engineering and service staff who work with you to determine if binders are needed, and if so, what kind to use, plus the best briquette or compact/granule size to fit each application.

Yes. We have over 800 machine installations worldwide – from North America, Central America, South America, Europe and Asia to the Middle East and Australia. KOMAREK can supervise the installation and initial production of your new machine.

KOMAREK offers comprehensive plant system audits that can save you money. Conducted by our highly-trained staff, our audit service includes:

• Evaluation of material flow, handling processes and machine operations to increase product quality
• Review of part wear and assessment of any needed replacement parts to lower maintenance and repair costs
• Recommended maintenance to decrease downtime and improve productivity