Effective Use of Banana Waste as a Sustainable Solid Waste Management Resource: Characterization, Composting, Biochar Adsorption and Civil Engineering Valorization

Abstract

Banana waste is a common biodegradable residue of agricultural production, wholesale market, food processing units and household consumption. Banana peel and pseudostem, leaves, and branches disposed of improperly produce odour nuisances, which generate organic waste with high BOD & COD values and lead to uncontrolled decomposition that pollutes the air by generating greenhouse gas emissions. This paper describes a comprehensive model of banana waste management by physically and chemically characterizing of the biomass, producing aerobic composting, converting banana peel into feedstock biochars & initial valorization for civil engineering with BSF. So that banana residues can potentially be separated, washed, crushed and conduct tests in humidity, volatile solids, ash, pH, electrical conductivity, bulk density,data ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N), lignocellulosic composition as well as nutrient analysis. Temperatures, pH, electrical conductivity, C/N ratio, NPK contents; mass reduction and germination index (GI) were used to assess the composting route. Yield, pH, ash content, iodine number, surface functionality and heavy-metal adsorption efficiency were evaluated along the biochar route. The other proposed application consisted of a low-impact civil engineering reuse through the inclusion of banana fiber into cement mortar. The recent studies have shown the banana biomass is rich in cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin and minerals which makes banana biomass a proper candidate for composting purpose, as an adsorbent substrate material for biomaterial and cementitious applications. Global banana production data are considerable, and post-harvest banana biomass is one of the most common underutilized waste streams at nearly 60% of the banana biomass left as waste after harvest in several systems. The compiled blended system can mitigate organic waste load, produce composite, create low-cost adsorbent material and contribute towards circular-economy-based rural and peri-urban waste management.