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It is a compositive project to make qualified charcoal briquettes, accelerant is just one of the most important aspect. Therefore, which kind of accelerant can be used and how to choose the suitable accelerant, some customers consulted me on these questions. Here are some information about accelerants, hope it is helpful for your project.
 
The materials used are chemical nitrates, especially sodium nitrate. Keep off potassium nitrate and ammonium nitrate, since they are dangerous. In fact, you should not use nitrates unless you are a professional. Nitrates are expensive in many countries. Since you need about 3-4% in your briquettes, this will translate to a lot of money such that your briquettes may not be priced well to compete with lump charcoal. However, it is important to note that the nitrates are fuel energy that will also provide heat. If you are targeting high end markets like USA, go ahead and use sodium nitrate as an accelerant in your briquettes, for that market is willing to pay more for quality. If you are targeting low end markets in developing countries, forget about sodium nitrate. Instead, use sawdust as accelerant. Use about 10-20% of sawdust, but remember that un-carbonized sawdust will make your briquettes emit a lot of smoke. To reduce the smoke from sawdust, just partly ferment your sawdust for about five days by just letting the sawdust stay in water for 5 days. Alternatively, you will need to carbonize your briquettes after you have made them.