Characterization of banana (Musa spp.) plantation wastes as a potential renewable energy source

Agricultural residue such as banana waste is one of the biomass categories that can be used for conversion to bio-char, bio-oil, and gases by using thermochemical process. The aim of this work is to characterize banana leaves and pseudo-stem through proximate analysis, elemental analysis, chemical analysis, thermo-gravimetric analysis, and heating calorific value. The ash contents of the banana leaves and pseudo-stem are 7.5 mf wt.% and 11.0 mf wt.%, while the carbon content of banana leaf and pseudo-stem are 42.4 mf wt.% and 37.9 mf wt.%, respectively. The measured heating value of banana leaf and pseudo-stem are 17.7MJ/kg and 15.5MJ/kg, respectively. By chemical analysis, the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose contents in the samples will also be presented. The potential of the banana wastes to be a feedstock for thermochemical process in comparison with other biomass will be discussed in this paper.