Abstract
The objective of this research was to develop the process for the production of Nipa bowls from Nipa palm (Nypa fruticans Wurmb.) waste by using solar energy. Two types of solar dryer were investigated, (1) solar dryer cabinet (SDC) and (2) solar dryer cabinet coupled with heater (SDCH) and were compared to the traditional sun dryer (SD) method. The results demonstrated that the use of SDCH could reduce the humidity of the Nipa leaves to 15.23 ± 0.78% within 2 hours. This result was statistically significant at 95% confident compared to those results obtained from SDC (49.91 ± 0.78%) and SD (38.66 ± 0.21%). The dried leaves obtained from the three drying methods were tested for bacterial contamination. For SD, the maximum bacteria contamination was 95,000 ± 40,414 cfu/piece which was higher than SDC (480 ± 173 cfu/piece) and SDCH (463 ± 112 cfu/piece) methods. The SDC and SDCH techniques were implemented at Palian river basin community (Ban Na Yod Tong Nipa Palm Leaf Handicraft) in Wang Won Sub-District, Kantang District,Trang Province, Thailand. These techniques could enhance the drying process of Nipa leaves and thus increase the production of Nipa bowls 3.5 times reducing Nipa waste up to 1.83 tons. The villagers could produce approximately 183,000 bowls/year generating an income of more than 55,800 USD for 60 families.
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