Co-pyrolysis of municipal solid waste and coconut husk: Valorizing waste into energy-containing products for circular bioeconomy

Waste management world-wide plays a major role in socio-economic development over the years. The increase in population over the years has contributed to the rate at which wastes are generated. One major waste generated in Ghana is coconut shell waste. Out of the world producing of coconut, Ghana is ranked 16 th . The management of these agricultural waste has become a vital challenge to the development to the Ghanaian economy and communities within which these wastes materials are generated. To eliminate the issues related to solid waste management, one advantage is to explore for various ways of utilizing these waste materials. In view of this, lateritic soil was collected from Heaven Nkwanta in the Western region of Ghana. The soil sample was treated with burnt coconut husk ash (CHA) collected from the local coconut sellers from Tarkwa Nsuem Municipality. The lateritic soil was stabilized using 0 %, 2 %, 4 %, 6 %, 8 %, 10 % and 12 % of burnt coconut husk ash. The various test performed include Atterberg limit, Compaction and California Bearing Ratio in accordance with BS: 1377 and AASHTO – M145. The liquid limit was reduced from 47.9 % to 46.0 %, plastic limit was increased from 31.02 % to 34.80 % and plasticity index was also reduced from 16.88% to 11.12 % at 12 % addition of the coconut husk ash (CHA). The maximum dry densities (MDD) ranges between 2.09 % to 2.11 % and optimum moisture content (OMC) ranges from 14.00 % to 14.20 % at 6 % addition of coconut husk ash. The California Bearing Ratio (CBR, soaked) ranges from 64 % to 76 % at 12 % addition of the coconut husk ash (CHA). From the results obtained, coconut husk ash plays an effective role in improving the geotechnical properties of lateritic soils with low California Bearing Ratio (CBR). In conclusion coconut husk ash in this studies is an effective stabilizer for soils with low California Bearing Ratio (CBR).

Coconut husk is a waste from coconut plantation production and tofu waste is solid waste from tofu production. One problem and coconut husk is the tannin content that can inhibit plant growth and the low nutrient content of coconut coir. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a mixture of coconut husk and tofu waste as a planting medium for germinating green beans, bok choy, and red chili in supporting organic farming. This research was carried out in Kaliabang Tengah District, North Bekasi District. From October 2021 until February 2022. The study used a factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with one treatment factor. The first factor was planting media with M0= soil treatment, M1= coconut husk + tofu waste, M2 = coconut husk soaked in alum+ tofu waste, and M3= coconut husk soaked in detergent+ tofu waste. This study uses different plants with different seed sizes, green beans, bok choy, and red chili. The results of this study indicate that a good and effective planting medium for germination, germination age, and plant height is coconut husk soaked with alum + tofu waste. The use of growing media for coconut husk and tofu waste can interpret soil planting media in bean plants and plan height parameters on bok choy plants and as alternative media to replace soil planting media in supporting organic farming.

Coconut shell is a solid waste of biomass from processed coconuts separated from the flesh. Coconut shells can be reprocessed into products of high economic value. Coconut shells can be processed for bio-oil production via high-temperature pyrolysis. In the pyrolysis process, the coconut shell raw materials are reduced in size to facilitate combustion. The aim of this research was to test the performance of the modified coconut shell grinding machine, determine the effect of water content on the milling process, achieve coconut shell sizes of 3, 5, and 10 mm to enhance the pyrolysis process, and analyze the economics of grinding machine engineering. The size reduction process was carried out using a custom-designed coconut shell grinder that was altered in its sieve section. The sieve sections had diameters of 10, 5, and 3 mm. The coconut shell to be ground had a moisture content of 8–10%. The grinding machine capacity varies with each size, namely 10 mm, 5 mm, and 3 mm, achieving throughput rates of 14.892 kg/h, 7.214 kg/h, and 2.94 kg/hour, respectively. The resulting yield was notably high, ranging from 95 to 96.780%, and the associated yield loss remained low, between 3.2% and 4.8%. During the material size tests, the working RPM was observed at 630.6 for 10 mm, 711.2 for 5 mm, and 1017.18 for 3 mm, and these RPM variations influence the grinding speed.

Coconut shell is an agricultural solid waste originating from the coconut industry. Coconut shell is used for many useful purposes but most of the coconut shell wastes are yet to be utilized commercially. Since coconut shells have the potential to be used as coarse aggregate in concrete, utilizing this waste in the construction industry not only reduces the solid waste management problems associated with it but also will be a valuable contribution to the industry as an eco-friendly construction material. In this investigation, coconut shell was used for the production of high strength lightweight concrete. The dry density and cube compressive strengths were measured. Coconut shell aggregate concrete of compressive strength 35.09 N/mm2 and dry density 1913 kg/m3 was produced. These are in the range of high strength lightweight aggregate concrete.

The coconut tree, Cocos nucifera L., is planted for a variety of purposes. According to the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), rising coconut production has resulted in an increase in agricultural waste (coconut husk) in Malaysia (536,606 million coconuts in 2018 compared to 22,167 million coconuts in 2016). More than 60% of solid waste degradation in the environment is caused by the manufacture of coconut husks each year. Recycling coconut waste, particularly coconut husk, as a source of natural compounds offers environmental and economic benefits. The objectives of this study are to extract the flavonoid compounds from coconut husk from three different types of coconut fruit (Pandan Coconut, MAWA Coconut and Yellow Coconut) by using ethanolic solvent and compare them. Secondly, the antioxidant activity of coconut husk was determined by using the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Thirdly, the alkaline reagent test was used to determine the presence of flavonoid compounds. The flavonoid compounds are existed in the coconut husk ethanolic extract and it have the antioxidant activity. IC50 of the standard compounds, ascorbic acid was 9.2 μg/ml. The most powerful radical scavenging effect was seen in Yellow Coconut husk extract, which had an IC50 value of 8.4 μg/ml. Flavonoids found in the husk of coconuts are known to have antioxidant properties. This shows that coconut husk extract has enormous potential as a natural preservative and a good bioresource of antioxidants.

The shorter driving range is the challenge of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a vehicular fuel. In this study, adsorbent is prepared from coconut shells using KOH microwave activation to overcome the challenge of CNG storage system. The CNG storage system has some disadvantages which include high-pressure operation with less safety guard, and heavy storage cylinders. The adsorbent is used as a potential Sorbent for methane (CH4) storage at different pressures. The coconut shell was carbonized from ambient temperature to 700 ± 20 oC at 10oC min-1 heating rate with 1 L min-1 N2 flow rate. The carbonization temperature of the precursor was determined using thermo-gravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) analysis. The activation was achieved with well modified microwave equipment operated at 500W and 5 minutes. The CH4 adsorption characteristics were conducted using volumetric adsorption equipment at an ambient temperature and pressures of 4, 5 and 7 bar. The CH4 uptake achieved at 4, 5 and 7 bar are 2.9707, 3.0559 and 3.6685 mmol g-1. The experimental data simulated using two common adsorption models: Langmuir and Freundlich. The experimental data was also evaluated using the common adsorption kinetic namely pseudo-first order, pseudo- second, order kinetics and Elovich. For the three initial pressures of 4, 5 and 7 bar, CH4 adsorption show more fits to pseudo-second order with R2> 0.967, R2 > 0.967 and R2> 0.960. The results reveal that coconut shell is a viable and sustainable material for synthesizing of the adsorbents for methane adsorption.

The most adaptable component of the coconut, the organic shell, is used to make coconut shell flour. It is appropriate for long-term usage due to its excellent durability qualities. Although the carbon content is lower and the lignin content is higher, shell is similar to that of hard woods. To make coconut shell flour, fully matured nuts' shells must first be scraped of any pithy material that may be adhering to them and then crushed into little bits. These fragments are then repeatedly processed in grinding mills, and the ground mass is then extracted in various mesh sizes after going via cyclone and vibratory sieves with phosphor-bronze mesh. One possible filler material for these composites is solid waste, such as coconut shell. In order to create high strength, more durable, and concrete for structural components in the construction industry, coconut shell is typically utilized in powder form in conjunction with cement. The weighted sum technique is a cross decision-making process; as there are numerous possibilities, there are also many more factors that must be considered before choosing the best one. A weighted or weighted collection of sums is a machine learning strategy that combines predictions from various models, with each model's contribution being weighed according to its capacity or level of expertise. Weighted the with mean evening gown voting ensemble related to this method benefits of using it are ease of use, especially when working with convergent problems, such as when disadvantages an all in solution space make it impossible to find solutions and goals a simple way to ascribe weights there is no way. Alternative taken as Adjusted mean square, Degree of freedom, Sum of squares, F-value, p-Value. Evaluation Preference taken as Regression, Linear, Square, Interaction, Residual error. from the result it is seen that Square and is got the first rank whereas is the Regression got is having the lowest rank. The value of the dataset for Coconut Shell Powder in Weighted sum method (WSM) method shows that it results in Square, breathing rat and top ranking.

This project extracted coconut fibres via low technology processes and converted the fibres into useful hand-made functional Adinkra themed wall hangings. Some of the major properties (chemical and physical) and application of the coir fibres are utilised and discussed in the process. The Adinkra wall hangings include symbols such as Anansi Ntontan, Boa Me Na Me Mmoa Wo, Gye Nyame, Mate Masie, Nkyinkyim and Nsaa. This project is one of many that is seeking to address the problem of managing coconut husk and for that matter other natural by-products and waste in Ghana. Coconuts abound from the coast through the forest regions to the middle belt of the country. Coconut juice sellers and coconut oil producers are known for dumping coconut shells and husks at unauthorized places after close of business or production each day. Even though coconut husks are biodegradable, if not properly disposed they contribute to the waste problem in many prime areas in Ghana. This is so because solid waste management in Ghana is a huge challenge affecting the lives of every ordinary person of the country as well as the environment. This project conjectures that there is a huge economic potential of coconut and its waste products which has remained largely untapped in Ghana. The potential of the coconut crop has been grossly under-utilized in Ghana, hence there is the need to research and explore the many potentials of coconut fibres that includes utilitarian products. In this study, coir fibres are mixed with glue as binders to produce elevated wall hangings for decoration.

Strength characteristics of concrete using coconut shell as a coarse aggregate – A sustainable approach

Coconut shell is one of the abundant agricultural solid wastes in Aceh Province. Meanwhile, a solid waste of coal fly ash is a by-product from PLTU Nagan Raya. Both coconut shell and coal fly ash have a great potential to be utilized as adsorbent. The aim of study is to prepare and characterize the adsorbent made from combination of coconut shell activated charcoal and coal fly ash. The prepared adsorbent was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to study the morphological structure, Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectrophotometer (FTIR) to detect the functional group and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) to determine the crystalline structure. Performance of adsorbent was carried out by adsorption process of methylene blue solution on adsorbent. The characterization results showed that all four types of the prepared adsorbents met the requirements of water content quality and iodine adsorption according to SNI 06-3730-1995 concerning to activated charcoal. It was obtained that adsorbent with the best performance was coconut shell activated charcoal (without addition coal fly ash) having the adsorption capacity to methylene blue of 45.36 mg/g on adsorption contact time of 140 minutes.

Coconut shells are solid waste from processed coconuts from which the coconut meat has been removed, but there are still many people who don't know how to manage them, so they become waste. Thus, the author is interested in managing this waste into something that has selling value so that apart from reducing the waste population it can also improve the economy. The author took a case study in Siwalan village, Panceng sub-district, Gresik Regency, because this area has quite a lot of coconut shell waste. The method used to implement this program is the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach, by providing education and outreach to the community, especially mothers and traders, about how to process coconut shells into briquettes. This implementation method involves collecting coconut shells, processing, printing and drying and packaging. Through this activity, young people and other community groups will learn about how to make simple alternative energy which is not only a solution to waste problems, but also opens up business opportunities that can advance the village economy.

Environmentally-friendly composites had been the interest of researchers nowadays. Therefore the use of natural sources to gradually replace the conventional materials had been rapidly developed. Besides the use of natural fibres as reinforcement in polymer matrix composites, the use of fillers from natural sources, such as rice husk and corn cobs, was implemented in ceramic matrix composites. Solid waste like coconut shell is one of the potential material to be used as filler in this composites. Coconut shell in powder forms is usually used together with cement to produce high strength, more durability and lightweight concrete for structural component in construction area. Based on this review paper, coconut shell concrete showed comparable mechanical properties to the conventional concrete, in terms of its compressive strength. These properties suggested coconut shell powder as potential material to replace course aggregate in concrete.

Steel slag is a waste from the steel smelting industry. Along with the increasing demand for steel, it can also cause steel waste to increase. Coconut shell is a solid waste from the rest of coconut processing. This study aims to obtain the compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity with coarse aggregate substituted for steel slag and coconut shell, with a concrete quality of f'c 45 MPa. The results of this study that the compressive strength of concrete obtained, 100% crushed stone aggregate increased 5.213% and coconut shell substitution and steel slag increased 1.650%. The value of the split tensile strength of concrete, 100% crushed stone is 9.312% and the substitution of coconut shells and steel slag is 9.073 of the compressive strength. The value of flexural strength, 100% crushed stone is 0.827√(f'c) and the substitution of coconut shell and steel slag is 0.752 f'c from the compressive strength. The modulus of elasticity of concrete, 100% crushed stone is 24845,351 MPa and substitution of coconut shells and steel slag is 20674,005 MPa.

Coconut shell is one of the most prevalent agricultural solid wastes in several tropical countries. For coconut shell aggregate to be used efficiently for construction purposes, the mechanical properties are essential. Therefore, this study examined the effect of coconut shell as fine and coarse aggregate replacement in concrete with respect to the mechanical properties. The coconut shell concrete was designed for the characteristic strength of 30 MPa with the incorporation of coconut shell as a replacement for fine and coarse aggregate at 10%, 20% and 30% by weight respectively. The compressive, flexural, tensile strengths, as well as densities and water absorption of 96 cured concrete samples, were evaluated at 7, 14, and 28 days. The results showed that increases in replacement of coconut shell volume fractions will increase the workability and water absorption of the mixtures but will decrease the mechanical properties of the concrete.

ABSTRACTSelection of suitable municipal solid waste management (MSWM) options is one of the major challenges in urban areas of the developing countries. Success of MSWM requires accurate data of generation rate, composition and physico-chemical characteristics of solid wastes. Improper handling of solid waste can have significant environmental and aesthetical impacts. The present study proposes a new method (applicability index – Pik values) for identifying the most appropriate disposal option with the help of applicability values of Composting-CP, Incineration-IP and Landfill-LP for individual components of MSW based on the results of the physico-chemical analysis of the collected representative solid waste samples from the study area, Dhanbad, India. The mean values of moisture content, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, volatile organic carbon, fixed carbon, ash content, density and calorific values (CV) of individual components were used as input values in this process. Based on the proposed applicability index (Pik), the highest Pik values were obtained for incineration (IP) for plastics, polythene, paper, coconut shell, wood, cardboard, textile, thermocol (polystyrene), rubber, sugarcane bagasse, cow dung and leather wastes (IP > CP > LP) due to high CV of these solid waste components; the highest Pik values were obtained for composting (CP) of kitchen waste (CP > IP > LP); and the highest Pik values for inert wastes were obtained for landfill option (LP > IP > CP). The highest Pik value for a particular waste for a specific treatment option signifies that the waste is suitable for treatment/disposal using that option.