Bananas - Fuel Of The Future ?

The dominant energy source in most parts of Africa is wood. It is burned for cooking, lighting and heating. The problem is this is contributing to the deforestation of the continent, which in turn contributes to the problem of global climate change. For many years, there has been a search for a cheap and readily available source of energy other than wood. Some scientists think they may have found it -- bananas!

According to the scientists, for every ton of edible fruit from bananas there are ten tons of waste. This waste comes from the banana skins, stems and leaves. In many parts of Africa, the banana is plentiful and is used for food, wine and beer.

On a trip to Africa, PhD student Joel Chaney of Nottingham University got the idea of turning the banana waste into fuel. After returning to England, he got to work on the idea and now thinks he has done it. The best part of his method is that it's very low-tech. It doesn't require any expensive or complicated machinery.

Here's how he does it. According to the BBC, "He first mashes a pile of rotting skins and leaves. This pulp is then mixed with saw dust, compressed and dried to create briquettes that ignite readily and throw out a steady heat, ideal for cooking." The drying is accomplished by letting the briquettes sit in the sun for a couple of weeks.

Chaney says, "The banana skins bind other materials together really well, they act like glue." Chaney says he's not trying to make any money from his process. He and his fellow scientists are willing to teach anyone how to do it for free.

This is not the complete answer to Africa's need for a cheap renewable alternative to wood for fuel, but it could definitely be a part of the solution. (Note - the picture above shows some of the briquettes made from banana waste.)