A PhD student from Nottingham University has come up with an ingenious way to produce cooking fuel

On a visit to Rwanda, PhD student Joel Chaney was alarmed to see how much of the locally-grown banana crop was being allowed to rot away. This was the inspiration behind his low-tech approach to turn the fruit’s waste into an efficient fuel source.

On his return to the UK, Joel came up with the briquettes method as part of his studies. Firstly, the banana skins, leaves and stems are mashed into a pulp using a hand-operated meat mincer. Sawdust is used to create a mouldable material, although in countries, such as Rwanda, this could be exchanged for sun-dried banana stems, so the whole plant is used.

The pulp is compressed into briquette shapes before being baked in an oven at 105 degrees Centigrade. Alternatively they can be left to dry out in the sun. The briquettes are an ideal form of fuel, as Joel found out when he put them to the test, cooking banana fritters.

‘The process is a big boost to people in the Developing World,’ Joel explains. ‘Women can sometimes spend four or five hours each day collecting firewood. Using waste like this is key to sustainable development.’ The banana experiment is just one of many studies being carried out at Nottingham University, exploring alternative ways to make fuel.

Contact: Department of Mechanical,
Materials and Manufacturing Engineering,
The University of Nottingham,
University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD
Website: www​.engineering​.nottingham​.ac​.uk

Student Joel Chaney in Rwanda
Photo: © Nottingham University