PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ALKALI EXTRACTS FROM PLANTAIN PEEL, COCOA POD HUSK, AND CASSAVA PEEL ASH FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2026-1007-5163Keywords:
Agricultural wastes, biochar, potassium hydroxide, FTIR, AAS, FESAbstract
Growing demand for low-cost, eco-friendly substitutes for inorganic alkalis have driven interest in agricultural wastes as feedstocks. In this study, alkali extracts were produced and characterized from three agricultural residues: plantain peel, cocoa pod husk and cassava peel with the aim of developing sustainable substitutes for conventional alkalis while adding value to waste materials. To achieve this, the biomass samples were subjected to proximate analysis to determine their moisture and ash contents, while the derived alkali extracts were evaluated for pH, molarity, and elemental composition using standard analytical techniques. In addition, one-way ANOVA and regression analysis were employed to examine statistical relationships among the alkali properties. The results revealed significant variations in moisture content (70.3±0.78c -79.8±0.49d %) and yield of ash (5.1±0.23d -8.8±0.20d %) across the samples. Similarly, the final alkali solutions exhibited wide differences in molarity (0.01±0.00b -0.80±0.01f mol/dm-³) and pH (9.77–11.46). Notably, plantain peel yielded the most effective alkali solution, attributable to its higher potassium and sodium contents, with cocoa pod husk ranking next, whereas cassava peel produced the lowest yield. FTIR results showed that all the volatile organic component are largely burnt off, and what remains is predominantly inorganic ash. These findings demonstrate that agricultural waste-derived alkali, particularly from plantain peel and cocoa pod husk can serve as low-cost and environmentally sustainable alternative to commercial alkalis, with practical applications in soap production and decomposition nitrocellulose-based propellants.
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