June, 2014 Agric Eng Int: CIGR Journal Open access at http://www.cigrjournal.org Vol. 16, No.

2 53

Energy potential of yam and plantain peels

Oladiran Fasina
(200 Corley Building, Department of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849)

Abstract: Peels are the wastes produced when yam and plantain are processed for human consumption. This study evaluated
the potential use of these wastes as energy feedstocks by conducting thermal decomposition studies in a thermogravimetric
analyzer coupled to a Fourier Transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and in a differential scanning calorimeter. The peels
have ash contents of about 8%-9% hence a slightly lower energy contents in comparison to other biomass feedstocks. The
pyrolysis process for both yam and plantain peels was found to consist of two main stages - moisture loss at temperatures less
than 150oC, and decomposition of the dry matter component that peaked at temperature of 300oC. Both samples reached
exothermic reactions that also peaked at 300oC. Based on FTIR analysis, the major gases that evolved during pyrolysis were
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, acetic acid, methane, methyl isocyanate and ethanol.

Keywords: thermal decomposition, syngas, waste, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,
thermogravimetric analyzer

Citation: Oladiran Fasina. 2014. Energy potential of yam and plantain peels. Agric Eng Int: CIGR Journal, 16(2):
53－58.

for energy.
1 Introduction
In 2006, about 94% of the energy consumed in
Yams (Dioscorea spp.) and plantains (Musa Nigeria (EIA, 2009) was from fossil fuel. From a
paradisiaca) are staple foods in humid and sub-humid sustainable view point, fossil fuels are limited and are non
tropical countries of the world such as Nigeria. renewable energy In addition, there are environmental
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization problems associated with extracting, transporting and
(FAO) statistics (faostat.fao.org), Nigeria produced 31 using fossil fuels. An unavoidable solution in reducing
million metric tons of yam tubers and 3 million metric dependency on fossil fuel is the use of renewable
tons of plantain in 2007. Before being consumed, yam resources. Waste generated during processing of
tubers and plantain are peeled and prepared for agricultural materials and food (e.g. peels from yam and
consumption by boiling, roasting, grilling, frying or plantain) are renewable resource that can potentially be
pounding boiled tubers and plantain into dough. Even used to produce energy hence reducing the use of and the
though several studies have shown that the waste peels dependency on fossil fuel.
from both yam and plantain can be used as ingredient for Pyrolysis is one of the promising thermal approaches
animal feeding (Ekenyem et al., 2006; Adeloye, 1992; that can be used to convert biomass to energy (Bernhart
Falaye and Oloruntuyi, 1998; Omole et al., 2008), the and Fasina, 2009; Yang et al., 2004).
peels are still largely discarded. This study is aimed at Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and differential
investigating the possible use of these peels as feedstocks scanning calorimetry (DSC) are commonly used to study
thermal decomposition and identify thermal events during
Received date: 2010-09-06 Accepted date: 2014-02-26 pyrolysis of biomass feedstock (Garcia-Nunez et al., 2008;
Corresponding author: Oladiran Fasina, 200 Corley Building,
Lee and Fasina, 2009). Thermal decomposition and
Department of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36839. Email: [email protected]. thermal events are required for the design, operation, and
 54 June Agric Eng Int: CIGR Journal Open access at http://www.cigrjournal.org Vol. 16, No.2

control of thermochemical conversion units such as hemicellulose and lignin contents from the original
gasifiers and pyrolysis reactors (Miranda et al., 2007). sample mass. The values of these properties were
The main objective of this study was to determine and reported on dry basis by correcting moisture content
compare the thermal degradation of peels from yam and according to CEN Standard 15296 (SIS, 2006).
plantain using TG and DSC measurements, and quantify Moisture contents of samples were determined with 10 g
the composition of gases evolved from thermal of sample placed in a convection oven (set at 105oC) for
decomposition of the peels. 24 hours.
A Pyris 1 TG analyzer (Perkin Elmer, Shelton, CT)
2 Materials and methods
and a Model Q200 DSC (TA Instruments, New Castle,
Yam tuber and plantain used in this study were DE) were used to quantify the thermal degradation of the
obtained from an international grocery store in Atlanta, peels. About 5 mg of each sample was used for each
USA. Peels from the yam tubers were obtained by using test. Samples loaded into the TGA were heated from 30
a kitchen knife to carefully remove the peels. In general, to 800oC at a heating rate of 10oC/min under nitrogen gas
the peels were about 5 mm in thickness. The peels from atmosphere. Based on results obtained from TGA and
plantain were obtained by manual peeling. The peels because of limitation of the DSC equipment, DSC
o
were then immediately oven dried at 45 C for 24 hours. samples were heated from 30 to 550oC at heating rate of
The dried peeled were then ground through a 40-mesh 10oC/min. Both pieces of equipment were calibrated
screen using a Wiley mill and stored in a desiccator until with standards that were obtained from equipment
when they were analyzed for their energy potential. manufacturer.
The heating value, ash, carbon, and hydrogen contents A Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer
of the samples were determined. Heating value was (Model 100, Perkin Elmer, Shelton, CT) was used to
obtained with an IKA C200 calorimeter (IKA Works, quantify the gases evolved during pyrolysis in the TGA.
Wilmington, N.C.). Ash determination was carried out A transfer line was used to connect the FTIR to the TGA.
according to ASTM Standard D5142 (ASTM, 2004). The transfer line was heated and maintained at a
Carbon and hydrogen were determined by means of an temperature of 220oC to prevent the condensation of the
elemental analyzer (Model 2400 Series II, Perkin Elmer, volatile gases evolved during the pyrolysis process (Lee
Shelton, CT). The Van Soest analysis was used to and Fasina, 2009). The software provided by the FTIR
determine the hemicelluloses, cellulose and lignin spectrometer was used to obtain spectra of the gas
fractions of the sample. In this process, samples were flowing through the measurement cell every 20 s.
separated progressively into neutral-detergent fibre Quantitative analysis of the series of spectra was then
(NDF), acid-detergent fibre (ADF) and acid-detergent carried out by (a) matching the spectra against those from
fibre-lignin (ADL). This method of analysis has been the library search of a software (QASOFT, Infrared
used for other biological materials such as hazelnut shells, Analysis Inc., Anaheim, CA) thereby identifying
wood, rice straw and corn stover (Haykiri-Acma, 2006; constituents of the gas as each spectra, and (b) using the
Lie et al., 2008; Littlefield, 2010). Hemicellulose software to quantify the concentration of the identified
content was estimated from the difference between NDF gases.
and ADF, cellulose content from subtracting ADL from
ADF with the ADL values being used as the lignin
3 Results and discussion
content for the peels (Bransby et al., 1989). The 3.1 Characterization of peels
extractive contents (i.e. lipids, proteins, or non-structured The average initial moisture content of the peels of
carbohydrates such as starch and sugars) were then yam and plantain were 68.2% and 87.8% (wet basis)
obtained by subtracting the estimated cellulose, respectively. After the 45oC drying, the data obtained
 June, 2014 Energy potential of yam and plantain peels Vol. 16, No.2 55

on heating value, ash, carbon, hydrogen cellulose, during pyrolysis is shown in Figure 1. There was an
hemicellulose and lignin contents of the yam and plantain initial decrease in the mass (about 5%) of the samples
peels are summarized in Table 1. Also shown on the between 30oC and 150oC due to the release of moisture in
table are the corresponding values for switchgrass – a the samples. The figure also shows that a significant
high yielding perennial grass that has been identified to loss of sample mass (40% of original mass) occurred
have potential as a bioenergy feedstock by the US within the temperature range of 150oC and 350oC and that
Department of Energy (McLaughlin and Kszos, 2005). thermal decomposition was essential complete at 550oC.
Statistical analysis using the analysis of variance Similar to the results obtained for the ash content, the
procedure showed (SAS, 2009) that ash, heating and char yield (residual mass after pyrolysis) was higher for
carbon values of yam peel are significantly different (P < plantain peel.
0.05) from those of plantain peel and switchgrass. We
attribute the lower heating value of the peels to its
significantly higher ash content which reduces the
amount of combustible material (primarily carbon and
hydrogen) per unit mass. This implies that more of the
peels (about 15% more) will be required to provide the
same amount of energy as switchgrass when used for
bioenergy applications. As expected, the cellulose,
hemicellulose and lignin contents of the peels were
significantly lower than those of switchgrass. Of
significance is the high amount of extractives in the peels Figure 1 Mass loss from thermal decomposition of yam and

which may suggest the possible utilization of the peels in plantain peel

other value-added applications such as pharmaceuticals

Figure 2 shows the mass loss rate (d/dt) curves
and food applications. The values of cellulose,
(derivative thermograms – DTG curves) for the peel
hemicellulose, lignin and extractives are similar to those
samples within the temperature range of 150oC to 800oC.
reported by other researchers for switchgrass (Hu et al.,
The mass loss fraction ( was obtained as follows:
2010).
m  mo
Table 1 Heating value and composition of yam and plantain  (1)
m f  mo
peels
where, m is the sample mass at any time, t; mo is the
Property Yam peel Plantain peel Switchgrass2
initial sample mass, and mf is the final sample mass.
Ash, % d.b. 8.49a ± 0.231 9.92b ± 0.18 2.96c ± 0.11
Heating value, MJ/kg 16.39a ± 0.09 16.12b ± 0.05 19.20c ± 1.21 There was a clear difference in the thermograms of the
Carbon, % d.b. 39.40a ± 0.67 40.32b ± 0.54 48.21c ± 2.21 samples with the mass loss rate (and hence the amount of
a a
Hydrogen, % d.b. 6.12 ± 0.02 5.99 ± 0.03 5.58b ± 0.31
reactivity) of plantain peel generally being lower than that
Cellulose 9.67a 0.51 10.54a 0.21 47.4b 0 0.43
Hemicellulose 21.98a ± 1.21 16.88b ± 0.93 23.05c ± 0.85
of yam peel. We attribute this to the higher energy and
Lignin 3.19a ± 0.04 4.89a ± 0.03 11.66b ± 0.04 carbon contents of the yam peel (i.e. higher percent
+ a a
Extractives 65.17 ± 1.56 67.69 ± 1.13 17.89b ± 0.22 amount is combusted), hence the increase in mass loss
Note: 1. Standard deviation; 2. Fasina (2008), Littlefield (2010).
rate. The values of the mass loss rates were about 25%
Values are means of duplicates.
In each row, values with the same letter are not significantly different (P<0.05). lower than that obtained for switchgrass (Lee and Fasinas,
+
Extractives include lipids, proteins, or non-structured carbohydrates (i.e. starch
2009) but 25% higher than the values obtained for poultry
and sugars).
litter (Bernhart and Fasina, 2009). Each of the
3.2 Pyrolysis and thermal degradation thermograms produced a peak at about 300oC. A small
Observed thermal behavior (TG curve) of the peels second peak at about 385oC was obtained for plantain
 56 June Agric Eng Int: CIGR Journal Open access at http://www.cigrjournal.org Vol. 16, No.2

peel. A review of pyrolysis literature indicated that the

peak at about 300oC represents hemicellulose
decomposition while the higher temperature peak
represents the degradation of cellulose (Vamvuka et al.,
2003a; Tsamba et al., 2006). This study therefore shows
that the hemicelluloses component is responsible for most
of the thermal degradation that will occur when peels of
yam and plantain are used in pyrolysis applications.

Figure 3 Heat evolved during pyrolysis of yam and plantain peel

3.3 FTIR analysis of gas products

Figure 4 shows a typical three-dimensional plot of the
spectral obtained from the gas evolved during the
pyrolysis of yam and plantain peels. The main gases
identified from the spectra were carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, methane, acetic acid, methyl isocyanate and
Figure 2 Mass loss rate from thermal decomposition of yam and ethanol (Figure 5). These gases are typically obtained
plantain peels from pyrolysis of biomass (Zapata et al., 2009; Souza et
al., 2009; Biagini et al., 2006) and indicate a possible use
The heat evolved during pyrolysis reactions for yam
of these gases in syngas production. Except for methane
and plantain peels are shown in the DSC curves (Figure
that has a peak concentration of 530oC, the peak
3). Both samples reached exothermic reactions within
the temperature range of 274 -314oC for plantain peel and concentrations for all the other gases occurred at about

290-316oC for yam peel. The peak of the exothermic 300oC. This confirms the mass loss rate and the

reaction was about 300oC which corresponded to the peak exothermic reaction peaks obtained from TGA and DSC

of the DTG curves (Figure 2). Below the onset results. The increases in concentrations of CO2 and CO

temperature for the exothermic reactions, the negative at temperatures greater than 600oC has been attributed to
heat values indicate that heat was needed to drive oxidation of the carbonized substrate (char) and to high
moisture out of the sample and to start the pyrolysis temperature reaction that reacts CO2 with carbon to
process (Table 2). Exothermic reactions have been produce CO (Baker et al., 2005).
reported for coarse fraction of poultry litter (Singh et al.,
2008) and for three Mediterranean scrubs (Leroy et al.,
2006).

Table 2 Characteristics of DSC thermogram for yam and

plantain peel

Parameter Yam peel Plantain peel

o a 1
Endothermic heat above 150 C, J/g 4640.2 ± 95.2 3649.5b ± 103.2
Exothermic heat, J/g 110.75a ± 2.90 207.55b ± 5.87
o a
Peak exothermic temperature, C 301.6 ± 0.05 295.7b ± 0.07
Figure 4 Three-dimensional spectral plot of absorbance of
Note: 1. standard deviation.
Values are means of duplicates.
evolved gases as a function of temperature and wavenumber during
In each row, values with the same letter are not significantly different (P<0.05). pyrolysis of yam and plantain peels
 June, 2014 Energy potential of yam and plantain peels Vol. 16, No.2 57

a. Yam peel b. Plantain peel

Figure 5 Concentration of gases evolved during pyrolysis of yam and plantain peels in nitrogen atmosphere

exothermic reaction occurred within temperatures of

4 Conclusions
150oC and 550oC with the maximum mass loss rates and
It can be concluded from this study that: maximum exothermic reaction occurring at 300oC.
1) Peels from yam and plantain have potential as 3) The major gases evolved during the pyrolysis of
biomass feedstock because of their relatively high heating yam and plantain peels were carbon dioxide, carbon
value and medium ash content. monoxide, ethanol, acetic acid, methane and
2) Thermal decomposition of the peels and methyisocyanate.

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