Straw Feed Pellet Production Line in India

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overview

This is a 3-4t/h straw feed pellet production line in India project.

On October 17, 2022, we received an English consultation email from India, the content of which was concise and clear: “I am looking to setup a 60 TPD Biomass based pellet plant with size of 10-12mm. The main raw materials will be Napier Grass, Bamboo & Eucalyptus waste, Saw Dust, Rice Straw, Groundnut Shells and Rice Husk.”

This email came from an agricultural and industrial entrepreneur in Uttar Pradesh, India. He is in the exploration stage of comprehensive utilization of agricultural waste and wants to find a new way out that takes into account environmental protection, economic and social benefits through biomass pellet production.

This customer is not a beginner in agriculture, nor is he a layman in the energy field. He owns an agricultural experimental farm covering an area of ​​about 150 acres, growing rice, sugarcane and legumes, and also runs a local dairy farming cooperative.

For a long time, he has witnessed the environmental problems caused by the arbitrary burning of agricultural byproducts such as straw, rice husks and peanut shells, and has been troubled by the instability of feed prices and unbalanced nutrients. Therefore, his original intention was to invest in a large-scale biomass pellet production line with an output of 8-10 tons/hour, which can not only produce fuel pellets, but also be involved in livestock feed preparation to achieve diversified profits.

However, after nearly 8 months of multiple rounds of technical communication and commercial feasibility calculations, the customer finally decided on June 19, 2023 to start with a medium-sized straw feed pellet production line in India of 3-4 tons/hour, focusing on using straw as raw material to produce livestock feed pellets, and gradually expand. The total contract amount of this production line is US$108,970, and the equipment delivery and installation are planned simultaneously.

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Indian special raw materials: wealth in farmland

Agricultural activities in India are highly intensive, producing a large number of agricultural and forestry byproducts that are not effectively utilized. The raw materials originally planned to be used in this straw feed pellet production line in India include:

• Napier Grass: high cellulose content, large yield, suitable for making fuel pellets or feed.
• Bamboo and eucalyptus waste: scraps from paper mills and furniture factories, high hardness and good combustion value.
• Saw Dust: can be used to improve pellet forming properties.
• Rice Straw: the main raw material finally selected by the customer, with a stable source and low price.
• Peanut shells and rice husks: moderate energy value, also help to improve the tightness of feed pellets.

Since the focus of this straw feed pellet production line in India project shifted to feed pellets, the customer finally used rice straw, and considered adding other crude fiber materials in proportion in subsequent batches to optimize the nutritional structure.

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Customized production process: Transformation from rice straw to feed pellets

The production process design of this straw feed pellet production line in India project is closely linked to the concept of “simple, efficient and energy-saving”. The main steps are as follows:

1. Straw crushing: Use a high-speed straw hammer mill to crush rice straw with a length of more than 30cm into fine powder less than 6mm. Since rice straw is soft, the equipment is set with frequency conversion control to cope with the humidity and fiber strength of different batches.
2. Mixing stage: Equipped with a horizontal ribbon mixer, the crushed rice straw powder is fully mixed with the rice husk and trace mineral additives that may be added to ensure uniform nutrition of the finished product.
3. Pelletizing section: A ring die straw pellet machine is used for high-pressure extrusion molding. The particle diameter is set to 10mm according to customer needs to adapt to the feeding habits of local dairy cows and buffaloes. The temperature is controlled at 85-95 degrees Celsius to ensure both sterilization and non-destruction of the crude fiber structure.
4. Cooling process: The temperature of the pellets is quickly reduced by a countercurrent cooler to prevent mold during storage.
5. Screening treatment: The particle sieving machine separates the broken and undersized particles, and returns them to the mixing section for re-granulation to improve the output efficiency.
6. Automatic packaging: It is equipped with an electronic weighing and sealing system, supporting two specifications of 25kg and 50kg packaging.

This process of straw feed pellet production line in India realizes an integrated closed loop from rice straw to finished feed pellets, which is suitable for use in rural cooperatives, small feed factories and other scenarios.

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Equipment list and technical core

The main equipment of the entire straw feed pellet production line in India includes:

• SFSP series hammer mill (1 unit)
• Double-shaft ribbon mixer (1 unit)
• SZLH350 ring die straw-based biomass pellet mill (1 unit)
• Countercurrent cooler (1 set)
• Drum sieving machine (1 unit)
• Automatic weighing and packaging system (1 set)
• Several belt and screw conveyor systems

This configuration strikes a balance between budget control and technical performance, ensuring continuous production and energy consumption optimization, and controlling the total price within US$109,000, with a high cost performance.

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Expansion possibilities beyond feed pellets

Although this straw feed pellet production line in India currently focuses on livestock feed pellets, the equipment itself has a certain degree of flexibility and can achieve the following product conversions in the future:

• Biomass fuel pellets: After replacing the mold and adjusting the compression ratio, straw and sawdust can be mixed into fuel pellets, which can be directly supplied to agricultural greenhouse heating.
• Poultry feed pellets: By adding protein raw materials and trace vitamins, the feeding needs of chickens and ducks can be met.
• Organic fertilizer base pellets: Cow dung and straw crushed materials are mixed in proportion to make fertilizer pre-treated pellets for field spreading.

This multifunctional potential reserves flexible space for customers to expand production and adjust their structure in the future.

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prospects for starting Straw Feed Pellet Production Line in India

In India, the feed industry is in an expansion stage, especially the dairy and beef cattle markets. As urban demand for dairy products increases, rural feed processing is gradually shifting from extensive to standardized and granular. As a rich local resource, rice straw, if converted into high-nutrition pellets, will not only improve utilization, but also reduce the haze problem caused by burning agricultural residues.

According to data from the Indian Ministry of Agriculture, the total amount of rice straw that can be collected each year in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alone exceeds 50 million tons, of which more than half is burned or abandoned. This provides sufficient resource guarantee for pellet utilization.

In addition, under the Indian government’s “GOBAR-DHAN” program (a national initiative to convert rural organic waste into resources), feed pellet production lines may also receive favorable policies such as loan interest subsidies, land support, and technical subsidies.

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Localized operation innovation: cooperatives + order agriculture + pellet joint sales

The client of this straw feed pellet production line in India project also specially designed a local operation mechanism: based on agricultural cooperatives, absorb rice straw from farmers within 15 kilometers of the surrounding area, sign a feed supply agreement, and then the pellet factory will uniformly recycle, process and sell it. He also reached a pellet order intention with two dairy farms, and there will be stable buyers after the machine is put into production.

In terms of pellet quality control, the customer plans to use QR code packaging labels to record production batches and raw material sources to meet the requirements of modern dairy companies for feed traceability.

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A rural industry upgrade starting from straw

From the first email in October 2022 to the final signing on June 19, 2023, it took this Indian customer a full 8 months to turn from the envisioned large-scale biomass fuel plant to a more pragmatic and realistic 3-4 tons/hour straw pellet plant in India. This is not only a turning point in business judgment, but also a true portrayal of agricultural operators looking for a way to land between rationality and enthusiasm.

The construction of this straw feed pellet production line in India not only brings economic benefits to customers, but also is expected to sow a seed of industrial transformation between villages. In the future, it may become a model for co-creation and win-win in many villages in Uttar Pradesh. And the starting point of the story is just a simple inquiry: “I am looking to setup a 60 TPD Biomass based pellet plant… Can you help me?”