English Straw Cubing Machine Now In US

English Straw Cubing Machine Now in US CROPS Straw 10-1-35 After reading about a new English straw cubing machine in FARM SHOW (Vol. 8, No. 5, 1983) a group of five Colorado farmers teamed up to buy one of the machines and are now selling straw briquettes from straw off their own wheat fields. "We have the only one in the world outside of England," says Walt Strasser, president of the farmers' Qube Corp., headquartered in Jewelsburg, Col. They bought the machine from New Air Technical Services, Leicester, England and now have exclusive U.S. distribution rights for the machine. Their main business at this time, however, is selling 2-in. dia. briquettes called Strawloggs. "Many people buy Strawloggs to burn in their fireplaces or furnaces. We sell the briquettes in 40-lb. bags or by the ton. The briquettes are clean, easy to handle, plus they have less pollution than wood. Straw also doesn't have creosote that gums up chimneys and stovepipes," says Strasser. He adds that "Briquettes made of wheat straw put out about 6,300 btu's per lb. and are right at 6% moisture, so they're comparable to burning wood, although wood usually has a higher moisture content. The briquettes do leave about twice as much ash as wood, but even that's useful, since it's high in potash and makes good fertilizer for gardens." Other potential uses include use as a crop-drying or industrial fuel. Besides wheat straw, the Colorado farmers have also cubed oat and rye straw and have even experimented with cornstalks. However, they found that stalks didn't work as well as straw for burning. This year, the farmers baled the wheat straw right behind the combine, making 6-ft. dia., 800-lb. round bales. The bales were then taken to the cuber where they're fed into the machine which can process about 500 lbs. an hour. In the machine, bales are shredded, run through a hammermill, then put into a holding tank. From the tank, ground up straw is metered into a press which exerts 52 lbs. pressure per sq. in. to compress the straw. Straw is then extruded as briquettes through a cooling tube. An 800-lb. bale, 6-ft. in dia., produces 800 lbs. of briquettes which fit into 20 of the 40-lb. bags. Briquettes are about 40 times more dense than unpacked straw. Straw compaction is done only by pressure ù no glue, water or binding material is used. Qube Corp. sells the briquettes through dealers and stores. Price, fob Jewelsburg, is $3.50 per bag, and $150 per ton. The company is looking for persons interested in purchasing machines to set up their own operations. Strasser feels that potential buyers include groups of farmers who could use their own straw and sell it, as well as towns, that could buy straw from nearby farmers and resell it in briquette form. Price for a complete machine is right at $100,000. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Qube Corp., P.O. Box 82, Jewelsburg, Col. 80737 (ph 303 854-4892).

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