Effect of binder type on the NaOH-treated briquettes produced from banana leaves

The quest to improve standard of living by maximizing the fast depleting non-renewable energy source; crude oil, necessitated the development of an alternative resource, thus, converting agricultural waste to wealth. This article focuses on the production and characterization of biofuel from NaOH-treated banana leaves using pulp from waste paper and cassava starch as binders. The proximate, ultimate and heating value before and after maceration was determined. The physicochemical parameters of the briquettes were examined. Morphological restructuring and bond orientation of treated and untreated sample were examined using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) Spectrophotometer respectively. The moisture content of the briquette samples was observed to be less than 20% recommended standard with mean value of 9.35 +/- 0.20% and 10.33 +/- 0.13% respectively for Macerated Starch-bonded Banana Leaves (MSBL) and Macerated Pulp-bonded Banana Leaves (MPBL) at p < 0.05. The MSBL has fixed carbon content and ash content values of 28.26 +/- 0.17% and 58.57 +/- 0.27% respectively, while MPBL recorded 17.10 +/- 0.69% and 67.19 +/- 0.56% respectively. Furthermore, the calorific values of MSBL and MPBL are 25.77 +/- 0.09 MJ/kg and 22.46 +/- 0.18 MJ/Kg, respectively. SEM and FTIR show that alkali treatment improves the surface characteristics and bond orientations of the briquettes. The starch bonded briquette (MSBL) presented a better characteristic than paper bonded (MPBL), thus, showing that binder type had an effect on the quality and physicochemical properties of briquettes as biofuel. Albeit, the findings of this study show that paper can as well serve a good alternative.