Queen pineapple wastes such as peels, leaves, and debris can be turned into charcoal briquettes for grilling and cooking. The coal briquettes are compact, convenient to use, and made from all-natural raw materials.
This is one of the initial outputs of the project “Development of various products from queen pineapple wastes,” funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCAARRD-DOST), based in Los Baños, Laguna. The project, which will be completed early next year, is being implemented by Camarines Norte State College (CNSC).
Project leader Michelle S. Carbonell of CNSC, in a written report to PCAARRD, cited the charcoal’s potential as alternative environment-friendly fuel that could help reduce use of charcoal from forestry woods.
The briquettes have been subjected to initial tests in terms of burning efficiency, length of consumption, moisture content, density, weight of ash, and physical appearance. Results were favorable and comparable with the commercially available charcoal briquettes.
Carbonell and other members of her research team experimented on plant food crops, which can serve as binding materials. The binding material that gave the best result is a plant food crop locally available in the Bicol region.
In making queen pineapple charcoal briquette, waste leaves, peels, and debris were collected, shredded, and sundried for several days. Dried wastes were carbonized using a drum-type carbonizer. Water was continuously supplied through the condenser to minimize smoke emission during the process. Raw material for the binder was processed, dried, and mixed with the carbonized wastes and these were molded using a briquetting machine. The product is undergoing the next phase of evaluation.
by Ofelia F. Domingo, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Service
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