Kalya Tlkem

MEKELLE UNIVERSITY
ETHIOPIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY-MEKELLE
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
PRODUCTION OF POTASSIUM CARBONATE FROM

BANANA PEEL
prepared by:
Name ID NO
1.Gebrehiwot Kunom……………………….162067/2006
2.Godif Alene………………………………..162137/2006
3.Sinshaw Fikru……………………………..162959/2006
OUTLINE
 Introduction
 Problem statement
 Objective
 Scope of the study
 Significance of the study
 Literature review
 Methodology
 Results and discussions
 Material and energy balance
 Sizing of equipments
 Cost analysis
 Conclusion and recommendation
 Reference
INTRODUCTION
 Banana (Musaceae) is one of the world’s most important fruit.
 This plant widely cultivated in tropical countries for its valuable

applications in food industry.
 Bananas and plantains have been said to be the 4th largest fruit crop
of the world.
 The world production is estimated to be 139 million tons, in which

tropical Africa alone produces about 17 million tons of bananas
annually.
 The peel of banana represents about 30- 40% of the total weight of
fresh banana and has been underutilized.
CONT…
 Its enormous by-products are an excellent source of highly valuable
raw materials for other industries by recycling agricultural waste.
 The simplicity of potash chemistry and the easily available local

and improved potash production technology, have lent the ash-
derived potash.
 Potassium carbonate is one of the most important inorganic

compounds used in industry even though it is as old as recorded
history.
 Potash yield depends on the type of plant material, the nature of soil
where the plants grow and the efficiency of extraction technology.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The main banana residue is the fruit peel, which accounts for 30-40%
of the total fruit weight. Ethiopia is the country which produces
banana annually 270, 571.516 tones and from this around 105,600
tones are the waste or banana peel. From this waste our country is not
benefited. The aim of this project was to investigate the possibility of
using and transforming banana peel waste to valuable product,
namely potassium carbonate (K2CO3) White, water-soluble,
deliquescent powder, insoluble in alcohol; used in brewing, ceramics,
explosives, fertilizers, and as a chemical intermediate.
OBJECTIVES
General objective
 The primary objective of this project was to extract potassium
carbonate from waste banana peel.
Specific objective
 To determine the physical characteristics of the product(potassium
carbonate)
 To determine material & energy balance of each unit operation
 To designing and sizing of the necessary equipment’s
 To estimate the economic cost & profit of the plant
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study was begun by collection of banana peel from Mekelle city.
Production of potassium carbonate from banana peel, design of
necessary equipment’s, energy and material balance, and equipment
sizing are also scope of the study. Finally, the techno-economic
feasibility will be done for the production of potassium carbonate
from banana peel.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study has a number of significance, these are:-
 To make specialty glass, such as television screen, cathode
ray tubes, and optical lenses
 To Minimize the environmental pollution because the
discarded waste used as a raw material
 Different brewing, ceramics, explosives, fertilizer industries
become benefit able
 To minimize the cost of importing/import substitution
 potassium carbonate is used for glazes in the making of
pottery
 It is used in the manufacture of pigments and printing inks.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Different stages of maturation
Figure 1: shows different stage of maturation
 As the banana develops, the peel acts as housing for chlorophyll that is
manufactured as a result of the direct sunlight required to grow the fruit.
CONT…
 As a result, the interior of the peel releases nutrients into the fruit
that enhance the sweetness. At the same time, the peel begins to
lose chlorophyll content and changes from green to yellow.
 Banana and plantain are consumed or locally processed at various

stages of maturation which have been classified from stage 1, green
skin, to stage 7, yellow skin with black spots.
 At stages 1 to 3, banana is not usually eaten like fruit because it is

green, very hard, astringent and rich in starch. At stage 7, banana is
overripe and muddy .
BANANA PRODUCTION IN ETHIOPIA
 In Ethiopia, the major banana producing regions are:-
 southern,
 Oromia and
 the Amara regions.
 During the 2010/2011 production season about 31,885.86

hectares of land has been covered with banana and the estimated
annual production was about 270571.516 tones.
 It is the most important cash crop in some parts of Southern

Ethiopia, especially in Arbaminch,GamoGofa Zone.
BANANA PEEL
 Banana peels are agricultural waste that discarded as useless
material. They cause waste management problems and it is readily
available and low cost.
 The main banana residue is the fruit peel, which accounts for 30 to
40% of the total fruit weight.
 The substance could be used for medicine as well as personal care

and known for anti-fungal and antibiotic properties.
 Banana peel has absorption capacities to remove chromium

from wastewater.
 This wastes are also inexhaustible, cheap and non-hazardous.

POTASSIUM CARBONATE
Potash the common name for various mined and manufactured salts
that contain potassium in water-soluble form.
The name derives from “potash," which refers to plant ashes soaked
in water in a pot.
Potash was one of the most important industrial chemicals and it
was refined from the ashes of broadleaved trees.
Potassium carbonate serves a wide range of end use markets.
There are different mining method's:
 Conventional Mining
 Solution Mining
 Cut-and-Fill Stope mining
Application areas of potassium carbonate
 Food Industry:- used as a baking ingredient in thick breads such as
gingerbread, buffering agent to produce mead or wines.
 Laboratory:- it is suitable replacement for calcium chloride and
magnesium sulfate when used as a drying agent in the lab.
 Fire Extinguisher/Retardant:- useful for extinguishing and
preventing the spread of fire. It can be used in both liquefied
(aqueous) and dry states in fire extinguishing.
 General Usage:-such as
 Add to hard water in order to soften.
 To produce soaps, glasses…
Factors affecting potassium carbonate production
The factors that affect production of potassium carbonates are:
Temperature
pH
Nature of banana fruit
Type of soil
Water
Moisture content
Size of particle
Potassium carbonate production method
 Potassium carbonate can be produced using the following
methods: -
 Ash method: is the method that is suitable for a variety of
plants firing the ash extract. This method is easy due to
product quality, economically feasible, simple used and less
power.
 Lv Bulan method: is the method that is suitable to extract

K2CO3 from coals. This method is long due process and other
reasons have been replaced by other methods.
CONT…
 Electrolysis method: is obtained by electrolysis of potassium
chloride solution of potassium hydroxide, carbon dioxide in
the carbonation tower.
 Ion-exchange method: using cation exchange resin is

exchanged with potassium chloride. This method is the
product of good quality, short process for small-scale
production.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Raw Material Collection, Transportation and Storage:
 Banana peels was collected from Mekelle University and Mekelle

city. The sample was collected using plastic bags and transported to
the laboratory of chemical engineering department.
Equipments used:
 Plastic bags
 knife
 oven drier
 Crusher
 shaker
CONT…
 Weighing balance
 Filter paper
 Source of heat
 Furnace
 Flask
 Cylinder measurement
 pH meter
Chemicals used
 Hydrochloric acid
 Distilled water
 Ethanol
METHODOLOGY
 The ash method is the most common method that is used in the
production of potassium carbonate from plantain which is banana
peel.
 This method is easy to use, less power consumption, economically

feasible and good product quality. Therefore, the ash method is
more preferable for our project.
Extraction of potassium carbonate
Figure 2: potassium carbonate production process

Analysis methods of the sample
From the given sample moisture content, dry moisture content, ash
contents are calculated as follows: -
Moisture content=𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 (𝑊1) − 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑊2)
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 (𝑊1)
*100
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑊2)

Dry moisture content= *100
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑊𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 (𝑊1)
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑊2) 𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑚

Density of sample=
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒1 (𝑉1) 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 (𝑊3)

Ash content= *100
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑠 (𝑊4)
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Table 1: experimental results obtained
Trial Sample Distilled water Result in gm. Yield (%)
no: in gram in ml
1 20 80 No result 0
2 100 400 3.5gm 3.5
3 150 600 5gm 3.33
4 200 800 10gm 5
5 250 1000 15gm 6
Total 720 2880 33.5gm 4.6

Characterization of the Product
Characterization of potassium carbonate
Table 2: sample analysis results
Tri Sample Moisture Dry Ash pH Density of
al in gram content moisture content in K2CO3 in
no in% content in % gm./ml3
%
1 20 85 14.2 14.8 10.63 No
2 100 84.8 15.2 15.6 10.9 1.99
3 150 86.4 13.6 15.8 11.2 1.2
4 200 86.5 13.5 16.2 11.3 1.23
5 250 86.84 13.16 16.6 11.1 1.25
Physical Property of Potassium Carbonate
Table 3: Physical Properties
property Observed result
Color White, hygroscopic solid ,deliquescent,

Odor Odor less
Taste Alkaline taste
Boiling point Decomposes
Melting point 891 oC
Solubility Very soluble in water and insoluble in ethanol
3.11g/100ml (25oC)
MATERIAL AND ENERGY BALANCE
•The general conservation equation for any process system is
Input + Generation = Output + Consumption + Accumulation
•For a process with no generation or consumption of material within the
system, equation becomes
Input – output = accumulation
In a steady state process, the accumulation term is zero.
Input = Output
Assumptions:
 50tpd
 21hr working per day
 330 working days
Economic Analysis
• Estimation of capital investment cost
PEC=3,093,699.9Birr
Fixed capital investment (FCI) estimation
Purchased equipment cost = (15-40%) of fixed capital investment
PEC = 25% FCI then, FCI = PEC/25% =3,093,699.9/0.25
= 12,374,799.6 ETB
Total FCI = total direct cost + total indirect cost
=8,909,855.712+3,464,942.92
= 12,374,799.6ETB
Estimation of total capital investment
 Total capital investment (TCI) = fixed capital investment (FCI) +
working capital (WC)
TCI = FCI + WC and WC = 15%TCI
TCI = FCI + 0.15 TCI
TCI = 14,558,587.76 ETB
Estimation of total product cost

Total production cost =manufacturing cost + general expenses
Manufacturing cost = direct production cost + fixed charges + plant
overhead cost
Total product cost(y) = 7,156,721.82 ETB
Profitability Measuring
Return on Investment (ROI)
o Minimum acceptable rate (mar) for new capacity with established
corporate with low levels of risk =12%
ROI= net profit/total capital investment*100% = (total annual sale-
total product cost)(1-Ø)/total capital investment
ROI=0.3948*100=39.48%
So final ROI is 39.48%.The project is feasible since ROI >Mar, that is
39.48% >12%.
Payback Period
PBref =0.85/ (mar+0.85/n), where PB ref =pay back of reference
=4.14 years
CONT…
Payback period (PBP)=FCI/(NP+depreciation) =3.1978
Since PBP<PBref, therefore the project is feasible or acceptable.
Net present worth (NPW)
P =R ((1+i)n-1)/i(1+i)n+ recj(1+i)-n= 34,800,370.46 birr
Therefore, NPW = P-TCI=20,241,782.7birr
 Since the value of NPW is positive, the project is acceptable and
feasible.
Discount cash flow rate of return (DCSRR or IRR)
NPW = σ10
1 (1 + 𝑖)−𝑛 (NP + DP+ rec j) -TCI, NPW = 0
From trial and error the value of “i” is 38.4%

 Therefore DSRR is 38.4%; DSRR is greater than mar which is 12%
so, the project is acceptable and feasible
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion
 The factory has the ability to produce 35,299.06 kg of potassium
carbonate per one batch in one year & it is established around
Arbaminch Town.
 Besides, the use of banana peel waste for caustic potash production
helps to solve disposal problems of banana peel.
 Instead of indiscriminate dumping; it would be exploited for
potassium carbonate production thus, converting waste to useful
product.
 In addition, potassium carbonate production from banana peel is
safe and improved method to build indigenous capabilities with
attendant reduction of unemployment hence, has the ability to
generate income for the Ethiopian economy.
CONT…
Recommendation
Since potassium carbonates have many applications for the country; we
can recommend that the investors can invest on potassium carbonate
production to become profitable.
In addition to this, We recommended that the following areas of
inquiry moving forward:
 Strategically plan banana cultivation expansion.
 Determine financial requirements for an individuals.
 Strategically plan potassium carbonate production expansion in the
countries.
 Change attitude of individual in concerning of collect peel in
specified area.
THANK YOU

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MEKELLE UNIVERSITY

ETHIOPIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY-MEKELLE

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

PRODUCTION OF POTASSIUM CARBONATE FROM

 This plant widely cultivated in tropical countries for its valuable

 The world production is estimated to be 139 million tons, in which

 The simplicity of potash chemistry and the easily available local

 Potassium carbonate is one of the most important inorganic

Figure 1: shows different stage of maturation

 Banana and plantain are consumed or locally processed at various

 At stages 1 to 3, banana is not usually eaten like fruit because it is

 the Amara regions.

 During the 2010/2011 production season about 31,885.86

 It is the most important cash crop in some parts of Southern

 The substance could be used for medicine as well as personal care

 Banana peel has absorption capacities to remove chromium

 This wastes are also inexhaustible, cheap and non-hazardous.

Nature of banana fruit

 Lv Bulan method: is the method that is suitable to extract

 Ion-exchange method: using cation exchange resin is

 Banana peels was collected from Mekelle University and Mekelle

 This method is easy to use, less power consumption, economically

Figure 2: potassium carbonate production process

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑊2)

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑊2) 𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑚

𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 (𝑊3)

2 100 400 3.5gm 3.5

3 150 600 5gm 3.33

4 200 800 10gm 5

5 250 1000 15gm 6

Total 720 2880 33.5gm 4.6

property Observed result

Color White, hygroscopic solid ,deliquescent,

Estimation of total product cost

From trial and error the value of “i” is 38.4%

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