An Integrated Approach for Techno-Economic and Environmental Analysis of Power Generation from Pineapple Waste (S/O: 14486)

• Main Authors: Omar, Salmah, Mohd Shafie, Shafini, Hami, Norsiah, Othman, Zakirah, Numan, Hariths, Nurwandi, Luthfi, Bachtiar, Iyan
• Format: Monograph
• Language: English
• Published: UUM 2021
• Subjects: HC Economic History and Conditions
• Online Access: https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/31654/1/14486.pdf; https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/31654/

Pineapple wastes (PW) comprise of fruit trimmings produced in large amounts by canning industries throughout the world. These materials exhibit high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) values and lead to serious pollution problems if not correctly disposed of. After harvesting, most pineapple residue is disposed of or burnt in an open field. However, this method is not effective and also contribute to air pollution. In the pineapple cannery industry, the pineapple peel is thrown away, and where only the pulp is further processed into the can. This activity, therefore, resulted in a pile of pineapple peel waste regularly, and without any further plan to utilize the waste, it would only be thrown as domestic trash. Therefore, this research aims to explore the potential use of pineapples waste of energy production and its impacts on the environment. The qualitative method through the interview and reports or content analysis was used in this research. The study's findings found that pineapple waste had a high potential for energy production, with 9857.6 tonnes of pineapple waste generating 9,918,177.4 kWh of electricity. The life cycle assessment of pineapple waste for power generation of three stages (plantation stages, milling stages and lorry transportation) contributes to five types of environmental impacts: global warming potential (including and excluding biogenic CO2), particulate matter impact, ionizing radiation impact, ozone depletion potential impact (steady-state), ecotoxicity impact (freshwater), and human toxicity impact (cancer effect). The most significant environmental impact was global warming potential, excluding biogenic CO2 in climatic changes. However, particulate matter and ionizing radiation have the most critical risk to the environment because their effects on the environment are visible sooner than others. Practical implications were discussed, and suggestions for possible future research were also presented for the benefit of practitioners and researchers