Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Peel As an Alternative Component In Making Charcoal

Proponents: Myda S. Rafael III- Charles Mrs. Navidad- Dagal Research Adviser

Acknowledgement The researcher would like to thank to her research adviser, Mrs. Dagal for editing this research project. Also, the researcher would like to express her deepest gratitude to her supportive parents who helped her financially. Lastly, the researcher would like to acknowledge her schoolmates especially her classmates and respondents coming from first year students who took their little time to answer the questionnaire. This research project was made possible through the unyielding support, encouragement and cooperation coming from the people involved in this project.

Abstract Charcoal, coming from trees contributes a lot to deforestation and soil erosion. Using trees in making charcoal is now a major factor which contributes to climate change. Thousands of trees are being cut off and whats left in the forest are a very few number of trees. Up until now, many Filipinos are still making use of charcoal in cooking, most especially those who live up in the mountains. In this case, it will probably increase the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, causing hazards to our environment. The researcher has chosen potato peel in making charcoal or briquettes. This will be environment-friendly for the researchers removed the carbonate before making charcoal out of it. The following are the steps on how make a charcoal by using potato peel. First, prepare all the materials needed: dried potato peels heated under the sun, clay soil or mica soil, cassava flour and water. After all the materials are present, half- burned the dried potato peel in the oven under it reaches its golden- brown in color. Then, half- burned it under the fire and pound the peels into powder. Mix the powder with clay soil or mica soil, cassava flour and add some water. After doing all this, mold the mixture depending on your desired shape. According to the data gathered, the study was successful and it was proven that the product is good enough for all cooking purposes such as boiling or cooking. The researcher concluded that potato peel as an alternative component in making charcoal is effective because majority of the respondents agreed that the product they tested was effective. The respondents had tested it by firing the product using a matchsticks and papers. The researcher would like to recommend to the future researchers to produce more black powder in order to have more good results. After finishing making the product, make sure that the charcoal briquette that made is fully dried under the sun. Make the shapes of the briquettes more creative in order to make an appealing to the people.

Table of Contents
Title Page Acknowledgement Abstract Table of Contents .............................. .......................... ............................................. ........... ......................................................... ......................................................... ........................................... ........................................... ........................................... ........................................... ........................................... ........................................... ........................................... .... ................................ .................................... .................................... ............................. 10 9 3 4 5 6 8 1 2 i ii iii

Background of the Study Statement of the problem Statement of the Hypothesis Significance of the Problem Definition of Terms Scope and Limitations Review of Related Literature Methods of Research Procedure Methods of Research

Methods of Collecting Data

Development of Research Instrument Materials and Equipments

.................................... ................... .......... .......................

Table of Vary Amount on each Trial

Procedure in Making and Testing the Product Flow Chart Data and Results

11 12 14 16 17

..................................... ......................... .................. .....................................

Conclusion and Recommendation Bibliography

............................................

Appendices Appendix A Appendix B Append ix C Appendix D Appendix E Appendix F Appendix G Appendix H Appendix I

............................................ ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... ....................................... 19 22 24 35 41 43

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Introduction

Charcoal, coming from trees contributes a lot to deforestation and soil erosion. Using trees in making charcoal is now a major factor which contributes to climate change. Thousands of trees are being cut off and whats left in the forest are a very few number of trees. Aside from this, charcoal-making out of trees produce a non-environmental friendly smoke that contributes to health hazards which are usually linked to the respiratory system. Up until now, many Filipinos are still making use of charcoal in cooking, most especially those who live up in the mountains. In this case, it will probably increase the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, causing hazards to our environment. The researcher has chosen potato peel in making charcoal or briquettes. This will be environment-friendly for the researchers removed the carbonate before making charcoal out of it. In addition to this, the researcher also introduced another benefit of potato other than what people already know, which food is. So, the potato peel that all consider as garbage is now beneficial. Making use of potato peel as charcoal would probably reduce the number of trees being cut off and it will be a big help to lessen cases of soil erosion and flooding. Since the carbon in the peel is shaved off during the process, there is less probability that people might get respiratory diseases such as Lung Cancer and Tuberculosis from using this kind of charcoal. To sum it all up, it is a great help to the environment and to the people if the potato peel will be the main component in making charcoal.

Objectives General Objective

To produce a charcoal using potato peel

Specific Objective
To produce an environment-friendly charcoal from potato peel To compare the effectiveness of charcoal made of potato peel from commercial charcoal

Null hypothesis
Potato peel is not an effective component in making charcoal.

Alternative hypothesis
Potato peel is an effective component in making charcoal.

Significance of the Study

The benefits of using agricultural wastes, such as banana peel and potato peel, sugarcane trash, grass and sawdust and so, unlike wood, is that it can produce a smokeless fuel and slow the advancing of deforestation by eliminating the need to cut down trees for charcoal. Nowadays, many Filipinos still use charcoal for cooking food, which explains the reason for the high demand for charcoal. One example is the people who live at the mountain regions. These people use friction by rubbing the bamboo sticks together in order to produce fire. This also contributes to the rising rate of pollution especially to air pollution. Making charcoal out of potato peel is a big help in reducing these bad side effects. This also benefited those people who always use charcoal for their everyday life, because they, themselves can make use of the potato peels that they consider as garbage to make charcoal.

Definition of Terms:
1. Agricultural waste wastes that comes from farming 2. Briquette pressed mass (as of charcoal) 3. Carbonate impregnate of carbon dioxide; salt or ester of carbon-containing substance 4. Carbon dioxide gas needed by plants for photosynthesis 5. Charcoal porous carbon prepared by partial combustion 6. Climate change natural phenomena caused by greenhouse effect 7. Deforestation action that cause the forest to be reduced in number 8. Eco-friendly no bad effects with nature 9. Global warming rise of global temperature from its normal temperature 10. Hazard warning; danger 11. Soil Erosion- a natural process wherein the soil is blown away and it is common in areas where the trees have been cut down. 12. Lung cancer- Cancer that forms in tissues of the lung, usually in the cells lining air passages. 13. Tuberculosis- deadly respiratory system disease which is usually caused by mycobacteria 14. Biomass- a plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel 15. Aggregates- to collect or gather into a mass or whole

Scope and Limitations

The researcher aimed to produce a good quality, at the same time, an economic-friendly charcoal out of potato peel. The researcher wanted the methodology to be natural and an easy process to undergo so that the researcher could save time and effort in making charcoal briquettes by using the potato peel. The researcher wanted to produce a cheaper charcoal compared to the ordinary charcoal that others use but still have the same quality as those. Some of the limitations and hindrance for the researcher are the sources of the potato peel and the right amount of each material needed like the water, soil, cassava flour and especially the potato peel, to produce a good quality charcoal. And the shelf- life of the product must not exceedingly more than 2 months because sometimes molds were developed to the researcher

product as the time passed by. The researcher selected 10 respondents that could relate on this study especially those people who often use charcoal for cooking. This research was conducted within June 2011 until March 2012.

Review of Related Literature

Potato peels and banana peels are commonly known as garbage. As people know, these wastes have no use at all, that is why they just throw it at the garbage bag without even knowing that these little peelings we call garbage have benefits. Some of the useful benefits of wastes such as fruit and vegetable peeling are by using them as an alternative source on producing charcoal briquettes. Unlike most lumber used in cooking, charcoal briquettes produces a non-hazardous smoke. This is because the carbon content of the banana peel will be shaved off during the production process. 1Thus, making it less hazardous to the environment and at the same time, to peoples health. Charcoal briquettes are way too different to the regular charcoals that are commercially available. Charcoal briquettes are environment friendly while commercially available charcoals are not. This is because the regular charcoals are still containing carbon. Secondly, briquettes produce more ashes than that of the regular charcoal. And third, making briquettes out of banana peelings will also be a big help in conserving our trees. Regular charcoals are made from trees and people already know that the use of trees in making charcoal and other products has been a major factor that contributes to climate change. And the smoke produced by wood fires can lead to diseases linked with the respiratory system. But in producing charcoal briquettes, people will just have to use vegetable peelings and others and not trees. Briquettes Making Project Manager Twasee Ismail, said, apart from banana peels being used to make briquettes, sugar cane tops, molasses, potatoes peels, charcoal aggregates can also be used to make briquettes.2 Chief Executive Officer of UGASTOVE Uganda Ltd. a company that deals with the production of various kinds of biomass technologies- Hajj Mohammed Kawere, revealed that it takes a lot of trees to come up with 10kg of charcoal compared to banana peels which do not cost anything when used in making charcoal. Sekajugo John, an expert on making briquettes mentioned most of the three required resources that can really help in coming up with a dry and ready charcoal for cooking. 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.3 In making charcoal out of banana peels, one must have banana peels, cassava flour and mica soil or clay soil. First, one must dry the banana peels under the heat of the sun. Then, the dried banana peels will then be put in an oven to be half-burned. Then, after coming out of the oven, pour water on the semiburned banana peels. During this process, black powders will be shaved off and these black powders will be mixed with clay soil or mica soil. 4Then, it is mixed with the cassava flour which acts as a binder. Finally, mold the mixture to make different shaped briquettes.

Methods of Research and Procedures

In this part, the materials and equipments needed are stated. The procedures, both in making the product and in testing the product are also stated here.

Methods of Research
The developmental method of research was used in this study. Instead the original main component in making charcoal was used which is the banana peel, the researcher utilized potato peel as an alternative component in making charcoal. This method of research is a method in which the

independent variables can be manipulated in order to change an effect. The manipulated variable in this study is the clay soil and the cassava flour because these materials are used as a binder. Because of this element of manipulation, researcher using developmental method is expected to maintain a good degree of control throughout the period of the study to establish with confidence that cause and effect occurred.

Method of Collecting Data and Development of Research Instrument

The method of collecting data used was in a form of questionnaire in which the researcher can collect data quiet quickly and all participants can give an opportunity to provide feedback. The feedback is generally anonymous, which encourages openness and honesty. The instrument used in collecting data was the questionnaire wherein series of written questions given by the researchers supplies to subjects, requesting their response. The questionnaires used by the researcher are self-administrated that it is post to the subjects, asking them to complete it and posted it back. And also the respondents have more time to think to analyze the results of the experiment. And this was distributed by simple random sampling. In this technique, each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected as subject. The entire process of sampling is done in a single step with each subject selected independently of the other members of the population. After reading and studying the samples of questionnaires from related studies, the researchers prepared their own questionnaires. The questionnaire is composed of 8 questions that cross- examine the characteristic of the product that was made by the researcher. They also consulted from another knowledgeable researcher about on how to prepare one. After making a questionnaire answered by the respondents after the experiment was finished, the researchers submitted the questionnaires to his adviser after which was finalized.

Materials and Equipments

Materials 100 ml of water 500 grams of potato peel 250 grams of clay soil 250 grams of cassava flour

Equipments Beaker Oven Basin Mixer Strainer

Table of vary amount of materials used on each trial

Materials Used Potato peel Water Cassava flour Clay soil

Trial 1 500 grams 100 ml 215 grams 200 grams

Trial 2 500 grams 100 ml 215 grams 200 grams

Trial 3 500 grams 100 ml 215 grams 200 grams

Procedures in Making the Product: In making the product, the researcher must complete all the materials needed to conduct the experiment. Dry the potato peel under the sun and half- burned in the oven until the peel got its goldenbrown in color. Put the peels into the fire to produce a black powder and pound it. To finish the product, mix it with clay soil, cassava flour and water and mold the mixture to the shape of briquette. Procedures in Testing the Product: In testing or using the product you will need a grill, newspapers, lighter or matchsticks, and of course, the briquettes. The process is just like lighting an ordinary charcoal. First, you need to place crumpled newspapers at the bottom of the starter of the grills. Then, place the charcoal on top of the starter of the grills. Light the newspapers and the fire will draw up to the holes of the starter, lighting the charcoals. Once youve made a fire, you can now place your cooking pan on top of the rack and start cooking or boiling.

Flow chart

Start

Collect the Potato Peels

Finish

Dry the Potato Peel under the heat of the sun Start cooking or boiling as the charcoal start in smoldering

Half- burn the dried Potato Peels in the oven until it reached its goldenbrown in color

Lit the papers by using matchsticks

Pound the peels into powder Place the charcoals on the top of the crumpled paper

Mix the black powder with clay soil or mica soil

Finally, mold the mixture to make shapes of briquettes

Crumple the paper and placed it under the starter of the grill

Data and Results These are the following answers of my 10 respondents from first year levels. Table no. 1
Potato ( Solanum tuberosum) Peel as an Alternative Component in Making Charcoal

Yes 10 8

1 Is our product appealing for you? 2 Does it really look like a charcoal? 2 0

3 When you tried the researchers sample 9 1 product, was it easily to make fire out of it? 4 Did the smoke came out from the 3 7 briquettes had foul odor? 5 Did the smoke easily turned into ash 0 10 while it was being burnt? 6 Is our product good enough for cooking 10 0 purposes? 7 10 0 Is our product effective? 8 Was the smoke produced by the product 10 0 clear, or not color black? 10 Total no. of respondents Table no. 1 shows the result of the researchers product based on the questionnaires given. As they observing the product they answered the questionnaire and they said that it has a good quality unlike the charcoal used by common people. Based on the table given, it was shown that the product made was a successful because of the good outcome characteristics was shown. Based on the tabulated data, the product has a good characteristic as a charcoal briquette. The briquettes made were effective as an alternative in cooking purposes.

No

Questions

Graph no. 1

Potato ( Solanum tuberosum) Peel as an Alternative Component in Making Charcoal

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Question no.

no. of respondents

yes no

This graph shows the result of the outcome of the researchers product. It was based on the questionnaires answered by the 10 respondents who observe and test the product. As they observing the product, they answered 8 questions that can help to the researcher to obtain their objective. Based on the graph given, it was shown the result of the product made by the researcher. The respondents agreed in some aspects in the questions.

Interpretation In question 1, 10 out of 10 the respondents agreed that the product made was appealing to the people who were using that product. In question 2, 8 out of 10 respondents agreed that the researchers product has a similar identity of a simple charcoal, while 2 out 10 of the respondents concluded that theres no similarity in the ordinary charcoal. In question 3, 9 out 10 respondents agreed that the product made was easy to make a fire, while 1out of 10 respondents concluded that the product wasnt easy make a fire out of it. In question 4, 3 out of 10 respondents concluded that the smoke emitted by the product had a foul odor, while 7 out of 10 respondents agreed that the smoke emitted by the product had no odor.

In question 5, 10 out of 10 respondents concluded that the product cant be easily turned to ash while it was being burnt. In question 6, 10 out 10 respondents concluded that the product was good enough for cooking purposes. In question 7, 10 out of 10 respondents agreed that the product had made was effective. In question 8, 10 out of 10 respondents concluded that the smoke produced by the product is clear. Overall, the product made by the researcher has a good quality shown based to the respondents who answered the questionnaires. The respondents agreed almost of the aspects ask by the researcher which means that the product is effective as an alternative for making charcoal briquettes.

Conclusion Based from the data and results gathered, the researcher concluded that potato peel as an alternative component in making charcoal was effective by meeting the standards of the commercially sold ordinary charcoal from the woods. The product is effective for all cooking purposes like cooking or boiling something. The charcoal made by the researcher was eco- friendly that it cant harm to our environment. And the fire will take for as long as a day unlike to the ordinary charcoal.

Recommendation The researcher would like to recommend to the future researchers to produce more black powder in order to have more good results. After finishing making the product, make sure that the charcoal briquette that made is fully dried under the sun. Make the shapes of the briquettes more creative in order to make an appealing to the people.

Bibliography

http://inwent-iij-lab.org/Weblog/2009/07/03/banana-peels-an-alternative-way-of-making-charcoal/ http://www.scribd.com/doc/57886548/Charcoal-Briquettes http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110806031712AAczjfE

Appendices

Appendix A
Respondents Profile

Respondents Profile

Name

Age

Address

Contact no.

Section

Anor ,Murielle Nikole S.

12

P 23- 02 7th 16th St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

09204856993

I-Galileo

Argana Alfred

13

P 33- 11 19th St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

09195977235

I-Galileo

Jasmine M. Bautista

12

Blk 73 Lot 17 10th 19th St. VIllamor Air Base, Pasay City

09062206013

IArchimedes

Noreen Rose A. Castillo

`

13

12- 7th St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

09228020698

I-Edison

Beatrice Emmanuelle B. Garcia

13

P 56- 16 15th St. Villamor Air Base Pasay City

09155664035

IArchimedes

Clarence Joy T. Garcia

12

Blk 75 lot 4, 14 21st St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

09174586182

I-Galileo

Nicole Joyce Gloria

12

F- 3 4th 21st Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

09184876199

I-Galileo

Bea Grico

12

P 20- 13 8th St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

09153280363

I-Newton

Princess Mae C. Japin

12

P 57- 05 17th St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

09239002220

Micaella Anne M. Martinez

13

P 46- 13 13th St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

09275263985

I-Newton

Appendix B
Sample Letter to Respondents

Date: Pasay City Science High School Dear _____________________,

Good Day! My research project is to use potato peel as an alternative component in making charcoal briquettes. My product is different from the other charcoals in a way that mine is environment- friendly because I removed the carbon content of the potato peels. It is also my researchs scope to prove if my product is effective or not. I will need respondents to help me to prove the effectiveness of my charcoal briquette. I would like to ask permission if I could take some of your time and effort in answering my questionnaire. In this way, I will be able to know if our product is effective enough for people. Please put a check on the box of your preferred decision: I am willing to be one of your respondents. I am not willing to be one of your respondents.

Proponent:

Myda S. Rafael

Noted: __________________________
Mrs. Romela Navidad- Dagal Research II adviser

__________________________________

Respondents Signature over Printed Name

Appendix C
Letter to the Respondents

Appendix D
Letter to Chemistry Lab In charge Letter to Adviser

_________________, 2011 Ms. Demetria G. Malana Teacher- in- charge Chemistry Laboratory Pasay City Science High School Ms. Malana, With regards to my research project: Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Peel as an Alternative Component in Making Charcoal, I would like to ask your permission on the use of the chemistry laboratory. I also want to ask permission to the use of the following: one 100ml beaker, one stirring rod, and one platform balance. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,

Myda S. Rafael

Noted: _____________________
Mrs. Romela Navidad- Dagal Research II Adviser

Signed by: _________________________ Ms. Demetria G. Malana

Teacher- in- Charge Chemistry Laboratory

Date:

Mr. / Mrs. / Ms. ____________________

I, Myda S. Rafael of Research II class of III- Charles, would like to ask for your permission to use some of your students in your advisory class, to be my respondents in my research project: Potato Peel as an Alternative Component in Making Charcoal. Im just going to let them to test my product and answer some questions I made that can help in my research project. This testing will not take too much of the respondents time. Im going to pick some of your students as a respondent randomly. Thank you for your consideration. Please put a check on the box of your preferred decision: Yes, you can use my advisory class. No, you cannot use my advisory class.

Proponent:

Myda S. Rafael

Noted: _______________________ Mrs. Dagal Research II Adviser

____________________ Class Adviser

Appendix E
Sample Questionnaire

Questionnaire Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Peel as An Alternative Component in Making Charcoal Name: Age: Occupation: Address: Contact no.: Good Day! I have prepared some questions for you. These questions I made are to determine the effectiveness of my charcoal briquette. Please answer the questions by checking the box for the questions answerable by Yes or No. At the end, I also need your comments and suggestions for further improvement of our experiment. In testing or using my product you will need a grill, newspapers, lighter or matchsticks, and of course, our briquettes. The process is just like lighting an ordinary charcoal. First, you need to place crumpled newspapers at the bottom of the starter of the grills. Then, place the charcoal on top of the starter of the grills. Light the newspapers and the fire will draw up to the holes of the starter, lighting the charcoals. Once youve made a fire, you can now place your cooking pan on top of the rack and start cooking or boiling. Yes
Is our product appealing for you? Does it really look like a charcoal? When you tried our sample product, was it easy to make fire out of it? Did the smoke that came out from the briquettes had a foul odor? Did the charcoal easily turned into ash while it was being burnt? Is our product good enough for cooking purposes? Is our product effective? Was the smoke produced by the product clear, or not color black?

No

Comments / Suggestions:

Appendix F
Answered Questionnaire

Appendix G
Time Table

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

12 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 41 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
s n r t s n r t s n r t s n r t s n r t t s t n d r d t h s n r t t s n r t t s t n r t s n r t t d d h t d d h t d d h t d d h d d h d d h d d h d d h t d d h

Research Title Proposal Gathering information Writing Chapter 1 Defense of Chapter 1 Writing Chapter 2 Defense of Chapter 2 Writing Chapter 3 Defense of Chapter 3 Finalizing Research Proposal Collecting Materials Used Conducting Experiment Results and Discussion Conclusion Recommendation Panel Discussion for final research proposal

Appendix H
Documentation

Complete Documentation Making

Collecting dried potato peel from under the heat of sun.

Burning of peels into the fire.

Pounding of potato peels to collect black powder.

Mixing the black powder into the Clay soil, Cassava flour, and water.

Molding the mixture to create shapes of briquettes.

Testing

Placing the briquettes under the heat of the sun.

Preparing the materials for testing the product.

Placing the crumpled newspaper to start firing the briquettes.

Start cooking or boiling as the fire goes by.

Gathering Information

The respondent was writing her opinion about the product made by the researcher.

The respondent was answering the questionnaire as the respondent finish to test the product.

As the respondent testing the product, the respondent observing the physical characteristic of the product made by the researcher

The respondent was writing about what she had seen on the product.

Appendix I
Researchers Profile

Researchers Profile

Name: Myda S. Rafael Year and Section : III- Charles Age: 15 years old Address: P 55 16 15th St. Villamor Air Base, Pasay City Contact no. : 855- 22- 46 Email Address: mydarafael@rocketmail.com