Abstract: The lab-scale rice straw cold-press forming experiments were carried out under different parameter conditions. In order to investigate the effect of some molding parameters, such as moisture content, particle size and compressive force, on rice straw cold compression molding process, single variable experiments and orthogonal experiments were employed which chose loose density and some durability indexes as judgment criteria. Single parameter tests showed the general law and range of each parameter. The results showed that the forming pressure was in the range of 120-180MPa, compared to the particle size in 0.2-0.9mm and moisture content in 12%-25%. Based on single variable tests, orthogonal tests were used to find the effect extent and reasonable combination of three parameters. The results indicated that each forming parameter had different impact extent to various physical properties. Indices of loose density, shatter resistance and compressive strength were strongly correlated with compressive force, and the parameter of particle size had massive effect on the index of water resistance. The reasonable parameter combination(forming pressure × particle size × moisture content) for loose density and shatter resistance was 180MPa, 0-0.2mm, 18%, but for water resistance was 180MPa, 0-0.2mm, 12%, and for compressive strength was 180MPa, 0.6-0.9mm, 18%. The conclusion can provide technical support for industrialized production of rice straw molding fuel.

Key words: Rice straw, Molding fuel, Orthogonal experiment, Shatter resistance, Loose density