BANANA PEEL ASH

This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using a blend of plantain and banana peel ash (PBPA) as a partial replacement for cement in concrete. The study seeks to evaluate the effects of PBPA on the workability, compressive strength, and flexural strength of concrete, with a view to reducing the environmental impact of concrete production.
The workability of the concrete mixtures was evaluated using the slump test, in accordance with ASTM C143/C143M-15a. The compressive strength was determined using the standard compressive strength test, as outlined in BS EN 12390-3:2019. The flexural strength was assessed using the modulus of rupture test, in line with ASTM C78/C78M-18. These tests enabled a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of PBPA on the mechanical properties of concrete. The results showed that 0% replacement of cement with PBPA and coarse aggregate produced a slump value of 40mm while 5 to 15% replacement produced slump values of 39.7mm,42.7mm, 51.3mm respectively. From the rate of decrease, this indicated that
increasing the PBPA content decreases the workability of the mix , while the compressive and flexural strengths were reduced by up to 20% at 28 days. However, the concrete mixtures with up to 10% PBPA replacement still met the strength requirements for grade M20 concrete. The findings suggest that PBPA can be used as a supplementary cementitious material to reduce the environmental impact of concrete production.

This study addresses the growing demand for renewable energy and sustainable chemical processes by investigating the production of a novel, bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst derived from readily available waste banana peels, zeolite, and periwinkle shells for biodiesel synthesis. The methodology involved systematic catalyst synthesis from the three precursor materials through calcination at 800°C for 3 hours, followed by characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to confirm Ca–Si–Ti oxide phase formation and identify crystalline structures contributing to catalytic activity. Feedstock physicochemical properties including acid value, iodine value, saponification value, density, and viscosity were determined. Simplex lattice mixture design optimized the neem oil-waste cooking oil blending ratio for maximum free fatty acid reduction. The transesterification process employed response surface methodology (RSM) with 29 experimental runs to optimize reaction parameters: time (30–150 minutes), temperature (40–80°C), catalyst loading (1–10 wt%), and methanol-to-oil ratio (3:1–10:1). Kinetic studies determined reaction order and activation energy, while gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyzed the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition of the produced biodiesel.