Effects of Banana Peel as Additive on the Physical Properties of Transesterified Calabash Oil
Auwalu I. A.
Sambo H. S.
Ismail U. I.
Inuwa M. B.
Durumin-IYA S. G.
Zakari M. M.
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of adding banana peel on the physical properties of transesterified calabash oil. The morphology and elemental composition of banana peels (BP) were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), respectively. The crude calabash oil was purified and transesterified, then varying amounts of banana peel additive ranging from 0.1 wt% to 1.0 wt% at intervals of 0.1 wt% were incorporated. Physical properties such as pour point, fire point, flash point, and density were measured for the crude, purified, transesterified oil, and transesterified oil with banana peel additives. SEM analysis showed that banana peels have a mountainous, irregular, dispersed, and cloudy texture. XRF results indicated calcium as the predominant element in the banana peels with 58.21%. The pour point, flash point, fire point, and density were all found to decreased after purification and transesterification, both with and without the banana peel additive, but the values stabilized at an additive concentration of 0.5 wt% with values; -8°C, 158°C, 176°C, and 870 kg/m³, respectively. The findings demonstrate that adding banana peel enhances the physical properties of the biodiesel, with 0.5 wt% identified as the optimal concentration. This shows that banana peels are a promising additive that can be used for improving the quality of calabash oil-based biodiesel which in turns will help in reducing the environmental pollution and will contributes to the economic development of a nation principles as it transforms agricultural residues into value-added materials
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