COLEGIO DE LA INMACULADA CONCEPCION - CEBU

Member: Daughters of Charity – St. Louise de Marillac Educational System

(DC – SLMES)

Basic Education Department

SY. 2018-2019

A Research Paper

Presented to the Science Area

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Banana Peelings as an Alternative for Charcoal

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In partial fulfillment of the requirements in Science 10

by

Nacua, Keith Alastair

Paradiang, Gerard Don

Lim, Mary Jamaica Raia

Aldea, Louise Mauvreen

Bausing, Kjarstin Estel

Date of submission:
 CHAPTER 1: THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Rationale
Charcoal contributes to the daily living of most people in the world, but charcoal is also

contributing to severe environmental problems such as deforestation and soil erosion. It also

pauses serious health hazards like diseases linked with respiratory systems.

Thousand of trees have been cut and the trend is still going on, despite the efforts made

by the different governments to stop people from this long rooted behavior of cutting trees for

charcoal making. Therefore, the use of trees on making charcoal has been a major factor that

contributes to climate change.

The purpose of this study is to prove whether banana peelings can be effective as

charcoal. It is to see whether this study contributes in preventing the loss of trees in the world.

Also, the purpose of this study is if this can be helpful to be used in the community. Therefore,

the researchers conduct this study not only to see if this is effective and helpful to be used in the

society, but also, to help prevent the imbalance of biodiversity and prevent the risks and hazards

brought by climate change.

 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Review of Related Theories

The use of trees on making charcoals has been a major factor that contributes to the

climate change in developing countries especially East Africa. Thousands of tons of trees have

been cut and the trend is still going on, despite the efforts made by different governments in the

region to stop people from this long rooted behavior of cutting trees for charcoal making.

Banana is a plant that can save the region from becoming dry if people will be taught

other benefits of banana apart from the one they know, which is food. If the government leaders,

especially politicians will advocate for the banana plantation, trees will be saved from being the

only source of charcoal. Banana peels can be used as another source of making charcoal without

causing hazards in the environment.

Review of Related Literature

The Banana is one of the most popular fruits, ideal for any age group. They are natural no

fuss, sealed in their own wrapper providing a versatile fruit for a snack, dessert, cooking or for

blending into nutritional milk shakes. Banana is eaten in many ways and has plenty of nutritional

and medicinal benefits. The ripe banana is utilized in a multitude of ways in the human diet—

from simply being peeled and eaten out of-hand to being sliced and served in fruit cups and

salads, sandwiches, custards and gelatins; being mashed and incorporated into ice cream, bread,

muffins, and cream pies. Banana puree is important as infant food. Bananas are highly

recommended by doctors for patients whose potassium is low because of their impressive

potassium content. One large banana, about 9 inches in length, packs 602 mg of potassium and

only carries 140 calories. That same large banana even has 2 grams of protein and 4 grams of
fiber. No wonder the banana was considered an important food to boost the health of

malnourished children. Those reducing sodium in their diets can’t go wrong with a banana with

its mere 2 mgs of sodium. For the carbohydrate counters there are 36 grams of carbohydrates in a

large banana.

Putting all of the nutritional figures together clearly shows the banana is among the

healthiest of fruits. The plantain, when cooked, rates slightly higher on the nutritional scale in

vitamins and minerals but similar to the banana in protein and fiber content.

After consuming a delicious bunch of banana fruit, the banana peels are thrown away.

Once a mere waste product, the banana peel has become a source of nutrients, an animal

feedstock and a fertilizer. Organic matter is the peel’s principal constituent. Proteins account for

0.9 percent by weight of the peel, lipids are 1.7 percent, carbohydrates are 59.1 percent and crude

fiber is 31.7 percent. This composition makes the peel a good animal feedstock. The water, or

moisture, content of banana peels depend on the time of harvesting and ripening of banana fruit.

It varies between 6 and 8 percent by weight of the peel. When heated, the organic content of

banana peels breaks down to its constituent carbon and gases to produce banana charcoal. The

product originated in Uganda to substitute dwindling wood supplies as a cooking fuel.

Charcoal is known for its use as cooking fuel. It is widely used in outdoor grilling and

barbeques in backyards and on camping trips but it is not pure charcoal. It is usually compacted

with mixtures of sawdust with additives like coal or coke and various binders. Basic charcoal is

produced by burning a carbon-rich material such as wood in a low oxygen atmosphere. This

process drives off the moisture and volatile gases that were present in the original fuel. The

naturally black and powdery material after wood is burned is the charcoal.
 The process in making the banana peels into charcoal is briquetting. A briquette is a

block of compressed coal dust, charcoal dust, sawdust, wood chips or biomass, and is used as a

fuel in stoves and boilers. Binders and additives are compressed to the briquette to help it burn.

Charcoal is totally lack of plasticity, thus it needs addition of a binding material to hold the

briquette together for transportation, briquette forming and storage. Every particle of char is

coated with binder, which enhances charcoal adhesion and produces identical briquettes. After

the wet pressed briquettes are dried the binding operation is completed. Starch, clay, molasses

and gum Arabic are common types of briquette binders. In using starch as a binder, about 4-8%

of starch is needed in making briquettes. The starch must first be gelatinized which is added to

water and heated to form a sticky consistency, then adding to the mixer to be mixed with the

charcoal powder. Starch sources can be corn starch, wheat starch, maize flour, wheat flour, rice

flour, cassava flour, potato starch. Besides the binding material, other additives are also added

during manufacture to aid combustion of briquettes. Briquettes are not able to absorb sufficient

oxygen for faster combustion due to compaction. Sodium nitrate gives out oxygen when heated,

so it is used as ignition aid for briquettes, helping the briquettes to light faster. About 3-4% of

sodium nitrate is needed for briquetting. Sawdust burns quickly and is also used as ignition aid.

The amount of sawdust needed is about 10-20%. White ash color looks nicer and acts as a signal

that the briquettes are ready to cook on. A 2-3% lime, limestone or calcium carbonate is

sufficient to make the ashes turn white. They are not heat fuels but can lower the burning rate to

make the briquettes burn longer.

Review of Related Studies

Paul Mallimbo, Rudmec, Kampala Charcoal is becoming more and more a scarce product

in East Africa and is not only contributing to severe environmental problem like deforestation

and soil erosion, but also pauses serious health hazards like diseases linked with respiratory

systems. The use of trees on making charcoals has been a major factor that contributes to the

climate change in developing countries especially East Africa. Thousands of tones of trees have

been cut and the trend is still going on, despite the efforts made by different governments in the

region to stop people from this long rooted behavior of cutting trees for charcoal making. Banana

is a plant that can save the region from becoming dry if people will be taught other benefits of

banana apart from the one they know, which is food. If the government leaders, especially

politicians will advocate for the banana plantation, trees will be saved from being the only source

of charcoal. Banana peels can be used as another source of making charcoal without causing

hazards in the environment. Hajji Mohammed Kawere is a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of

Ugastove Uganda Ltd, a company that deals in the production and giving out of various kinds of

biomass technologies which include energy saving stoves for households, institutional saving

stoves, baking ovens, incinerators, fire-less box cookers and charcoal briquettes. Kawere

revealed that it takes lots of trees to come up with 10kg of charcoal compared to banana peels

which do not cost anything when used to make charcoal. Briquettes being sun dried in Katwe

slum, Kampala Uganda. Briquettes being sun dried in Katwe slum, Kampala Uganda. Sekajugo

John, an expert on briquettes making mentioned most of the three required resources that can

help in coming up with dry and ready charcoal for cooking from banana peels. He said you need

to have dried banana peels, a mixer or starch that can be acquired from cassava flour which acts

as a binder and finally you need to have filler/molds where can be used to make shapes of
briquettes. The banana peels are collected and then sun dried and half burned you don’t allow

them to burn complete and then you pour water in semi burned banana peels to get carbonate

which are sheaved then those black powdered material that will come out during sheaved

process, are mixed with clay soil or mica soils and finally mixed with cassava flour. Sekajugo

said at this stage the briquettes is almost ready only awaiting molds to get proper shapes. He said

other people are using their hands to mold the briquettes and have round shape. According to one

of the community members of Nabisalu zone, Fausta Namubiru, since the introduction of this

technology in her family, she has been saving 700 Ugandan shillings everyday because the

briquettes they use, spend two to three days so they don’t need to buy charcoal. “My husband

always give me 1000 for my daily domestic use, but now a days when he gives me such money I

use 300 and keep the rest for my private needs, I have stopped asking my husband for money to

buy small items, adding this is because she sales three briquettes at 1000 shillings, she said.

Speaking with this reporter an Briquettes Making Project Manager Twasee Ismail, said, apart

from banana peels being used to make briquettes, sugar can tops, molasses, potatoes peels,

charcoal aggregates can also be used to make briquettes. He added that, these briquettes are also

being used by poultry farmers as warmers in their poultry farms, they no longer need electricity

because seven briquettes take two to three days warming up the place. Twasee said, briquettes

can also be source of income, because you can sale those briquettes and get money. Adding that

some of community members who have seriously engaged themselves in making the charcoal,

are facing challenges of market because the technology is still new, but when the technology is

spread, and people get to know the benefits of briquettes, the market will be there.

According to Uganda clean burning briquettes case study, briquettes are man made

alternatives using agricultural—in this case, bananas--waste sawdust and soil. They are a low
cost alternative to environmentally damaging fuels. They are similar in appearance to regular

charcoal and can be used in exactly the same manner. Banana briquettes provide many

advantages for children. Although still in the pilot phase, banana briquettes have demonstrated

great potential to help families save money, while reducing demand for wood and charcoal to

cook and heat inside homes and, thus, reduce indoor air pollution and emissions of green house

gases. Banana briquettes are poised to catalyze income production and environmental

stewardship, while protecting public health. Using biomass waste as fuel is key to sustainable

development and this could method should be promoted all around the world.

The Problem

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to make banana peelings as an alternative for charcoal. It specifically

answers the following questions:

1.) Will the banana peelings be a good source of briquettes?

2.) Will the type of banana affect the effectivity and durability of the briquette?

3.) Will it cost more compared to the actual charcoal?

Significance of the Study

This can be significant to the people and who are living in mountainous areas for there is no

longer electricity and the peelings won’t be wasted. This is also significant to the environment

for this is eco friendly. This aims to have an environment-friendly fuel. This helps pollution in a

community, for charcoals made from fruit peelings specifically banana does not have the
composition that brings catastrophic effects in the environment that affects the ozone layer that

causes global warming and the pollution worse.

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Materials

 Charcoal dust

 Banana peelings

 Water

 Starch

 Match

Experimental Procedure

The researchers first removed any rubbish residue in the banana peelings. After the

researchers spread the peelings under the sun until they are dried completely. The dried

peelings are then burnt in a drum until it becomes ash. After, transfer and let it cool

down. Lastly, the researchers added starch already mixed with water in order for it to

stick together.

Treatment of Data

VG- Very good G-Good S-Satisfactory

The researchers will use these indicators to determine which factor is effective to be used

as alternative charcoal.