Characterization of Banana (Musa spp.) Pseudo-Stem and Fruit-Bunch-Stem as a Potential Renewable Energy Resource

Authors: Nurhayati Abdullah, Fauziah Sulaiman, Muhamad Azman Miskam, Rahmad Mohd Taib

Abstract:

Banana pseudo-stem and fruit-bunch-stem are agricultural residues that can be used for conversion to bio-char, biooil, and gases by using thermochemical process. The aim of this work is to characterize banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem through proximate analysis, elemental analysis, chemical analysis, thermo-gravimetric analysis, and heating calorific value. The ash contents of the banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are 11.0 mf wt.% and 20.6 mf wt.%; while the carbon content of banana pseudo-stem and fruit-bunch-stem are 37.9 mf wt.% and 35.58 mf wt.% respectively. The molecular formulas for banana stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are C24H33NO26 and C19H29NO33 respectively. The measured higher heating values of banana pseudostem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are 15.5MJ/kg and 12.7 MJ/kg respectively. By chemical analysis, the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose contents in the samples will also be presented. The feasibility of the banana wastes to be a feedstock for thermochemical process in comparison with other biomass will be discussed in this paper.

Keywords: Banana Waste, Biomass, Renewable Energy, Thermo-chemical Characteristics.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1094110

References:

[1] S. Mekhilef, R. Saidur, A. Safari, and W. E. S. B. Mustaffa, "Biomass energy in Malaysia: Current state and prospects,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15, no. 7, pp. 3360-3370, 2011.
[2] C. S. Goh, K. T. Tan, K. T. Lee, and S. Bhatia, "Bio-ethanol from lignocellulose: Status, perspectives and challenges in Malaysia,” Bioresource Technology, vol. 101, no. 13, pp. 4834-4841, 2010.
[3] N. Sellin, O. Souza, S. H. W. Medeiros, and R. K. S. Afuso, "Characterization of banana culture wastes as a potential energy source."
[4] P. Wilaipon, "The Effects of Briquetting Pressure on Banana-Peel Briquette and the Banana Waste in Northern Thailand,” American Journal of Applied Sciences, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 167-171, 2009.
[5] H. Lee, and Z. Smith, Feasibility of Biomass Fuel Briquettes from Banana Plant Waste, Cincinnati, USA.: Engineers Without Borders Greater Cincinnati Professional, 2011.
[6] N. Sellin, B. G. De Oliveira, C. Marangoni, O. Souza, A. P. N. De Oliveira, and T. M. Novais De Oliveira, "Use of banana culture waste to produce briquettes,” Chemical Engineering Transactions, vol. 32, pp. 349-354, 2013.
[7] T. M. Khan, C. Maurer, D. Argyropoulus, M. Brule, and J. Muller, "Anaerobic digestion of banana waste, a potential source of energy in Uganda."
[8] J. Y. Tock, C. L. Lai, K. T. Lee, K. T. Tan, and S. Bhatia, "Banana biomass as potential renewable energy resource: A Malaysian case study,” Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 798-805, Feb, 2010.
[9] A. B. M. S. Hossain, S. A. Ahmed, A. M. Alshammari, F. M. A. Adnan, M. S. M. Annuar, H. Mustafa, and N. Hammad, "Bioethanol fuel production from rotten banana as an environmental waste management and sustainable energy,” African Journal of Microbiology Research vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 586-598, 2011.
[10] S. Graefe, D. Dufour, A. Giraldo, L. A. Muñoz, P. Mora, H. Solís, H. Garcés, and A. Gonzalez, "Energy and carbon footprints of ethanol production using banana and cooking banana discard: A case study from Costa Rica and Ecuador,” Biomass and Bioenergy, vol. 35, no. 7, pp. 2640-2649, 2011.
[11] H. I. Velasquez-Arredondo, A. A. Ruiz-Colorado, and S. De Oliveira Junior, "Ethanol production process from banana fruit and its lignocellulosic residues: Energy analysis,” Energy, vol. 35, no. 7, pp. 3081-3087, Jul, 2010.
[12] S. Manocha, J. Bhagat, M. Patel, N. Patel, and L. M. Manocha, "Adsorption behaviour of carbons from bio-mass." pp. 727-731.
[13] A. L. S. Pereira, D. M. do Nascimento, E. M. S. Cordeiro, J. P. S. Morais, M. S. M. Sousa, and M. F. Rosa, "Characterization of lignocellulosic materials extracted from the banana pseudostem,” in 7th International Symposium on Natural Polymers and Composites 2010, Gramado, Brazil, 2010, pp. 1077-1079.
[14] R. H. R. H. Stover, and N. W. N. W. Simmonds, Bananas / R.H. Stover and N.W. Simmonds, 3rd ed ed., Harlow, Essex, England: Longman Scientific & Technical ; New York : Wiley, 1987, pp. 9-13.
[15] F. Sulaiman, and N. Abdullah, "Optimum conditions for maximising pyrolysis liquids of oil palm empty fruit bunches,” Energy, vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 2352-2359, 2011.
[16] ASTM E871-82, "Standards Test Method for Moisture Analysis of Particulate Wood Fuels," ASTM International, 1998.
[17] ASTM E872, "Standards Test Method for Volatile Matter in Wood Fuels," ASTM International, 1998.
[18] ASTM D1102-84, "Standards Test Method for Ash in Wood," ASTM International, 2001.
[19] Phyllis, Database for biomass and waste, Netherlands: Energy Research Centre, 2005.
[20] ASTM D1107-96, "Standards Test Method for Ethanol-Toluene Solubility of Wood," ASTM International, 2007.
[21] ASTM D1106-96, "Standards Test Method for Acid-Insoluble Lignin in Wood," ASTM International, 2001.
[22] ASTM D1104-56, "Standards Test Method for Holocellulose in Wood," ASTM International, 1978.
[23] ASTM D1103-60, "Standards Test Method for Alpha-Cellulose," ASTM International, 1978.
[24] A. Pattiya, J. O. Titiloye, and A. V. Bridgwater, "Fast pyrolysis of agricultural residues from cassava plantation for bio-oil production,” Asian Journal on Energy and Environment, vol. 08, no. 02, pp. 496-502, 2007.
[25] R. Xu, L. Ferrante, C. Briens, and F. Berruti, "Bio-oil production by flash pyrolysis of sugarcane residues and post treatments of the aqueous phase,” Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 263-272, 2011.
[26] N. Abdullah, "An assessment of pyrolysis for processing empty fruit bunches,” PhD, Aston University, 2005.
[27] P. Basu, Biomass Gasification and Pyrolysis: Practical Design and Theory, Amsterdam: Elsevier Inc., 2010, pp. 40.
[28] N. Abdullah, H. Gerhauser, and F. Sulaiman, "Fast pyrolysis of empty fruit bunches,” Fuel, vol. 89, no. 8, pp. 2166-2169, 2010.
[29] J. M. Jones, M. Nawaz, L. I. Darvell, A. B. Ross, M. Pourkashanian, and A. Williams, "Towards biomass classification for energy applications," Science in Thermal and Chemical Biomass Conversion, A. V. Bridgwater and D. G. B. Boocock, eds., pp. 331-339: CPL Press, 2006.
[30] S. Wang, X. Guo, K. Wang, and Z. Luo, "Influence of the interaction of components on the pyrolysis behavior of biomass,” Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 183-189, 2011.
[31] C. Couhert, J. M. Commandre, and S. Salvador, "Is it possible to predict gas yields of any biomass after rapid pyrolysis at high temperature from its composition in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin?,” Fuel, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 408-417, 2009.
[32] E. Biagini, F. Barontini, and L. Tognotti, "Devolatilization of biomass fuels and biomass components studied by TG/FTIR technique,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 45, no. 13, pp. 4486-4493, 2006.
[33] D. Lv, M. Xu, X. Liu, Z. Zhan, Z. Li, and H. Yao, "Effect of cellulose, lignin, alkali and alkaline earth metallic species on biomass pyrolysis and gasification,” Fuel Processing Technology, vol. 91, no. 8, pp. 903- 909, 2010.
[34] R. Fahmi, A. V. Bridgwater, I. Donnison, N. Yates, and J. M. Jones, "The effect of lignin and inorganic species in biomass on pyrolysis oil yields, quality and stability,” Fuel, vol. 87, no. 7, pp. 1230-1240, 2008.
[35] E. Granada, J. L. Míguez, L. Febrero, J. Collazo, and P. Eguía, "Development of an experimental technique for oil recovery during biomass pyrolysis,” Renewable Energy, vol. 60, pp. 179-184, 2013.
[36] Z. Luo, S. Wang, Y. Liao, and K. Cen, "Mechanism study of cellulose rapid pyrolysis,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 43, no. 18, pp. 5605-5610, 2004.
[37] J. L. Guimarães, E. Frollini, C. G. da Silva, F. Wypych, and K. G. Satyanarayana, "Characterization of banana, sugarcane bagasse and sponge gourd fibers of Brazil,” Industrial Crops & Products, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 407-415, 2009.
[38] K. Bilba, M.-A. Arsene, and A. Ouensanga, "Study of banana and coconut fibers: Botanical composition, thermal degradation and textural observations,” Bioresource Technology, vol. 98, no. 1, pp. 58-68, 2007.