Camphor-Soothed Banana Stem Biowaste in the Productivity and Sustainability of Solar-Powered Desalination
The increasing need for clean water can be attributed to a number of reasons, such as population growth, industrial development, and climate change. As a result of modern industrial and agricultural methods, the amount of trash generated daily is also on the rise. Waste management and increasing dem...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/3/1652 |
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| author | Ajay Kumar Kaviti Siva Ram Akkala Vineet Singh Sikarwar Pilli Sai Snehith Moodapelly Mahesh |
| author_facet | Ajay Kumar Kaviti Siva Ram Akkala Vineet Singh Sikarwar Pilli Sai Snehith Moodapelly Mahesh |
| author_sort | Ajay Kumar Kaviti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The increasing need for clean water can be attributed to a number of reasons, such as population growth, industrial development, and climate change. As a result of modern industrial and agricultural methods, the amount of trash generated daily is also on the rise. Waste management and increasing demand for freshwater are two of the most pressing problems facing the human race today and in the future. This study makes an attempt to strike a balance between these two concerns by repurposing a common biowaste, the banana stem, to collect solar energy for a desalination application. Banana stems work well for interfacial solar desalination because of their capillarity and the fact that they float. Camphor-soothed banana stems were placed in a solar still to collect solar thermal energy and to transfer it to the water surrounding them, speeding up the evaporation process and resulting in more freshwater. Over the course of three days, measurements were taken with the water level held constant and the stem thickness of the bananas varied between 0.5 and 1.5 cm. Enviro-economic studies and water quality analysis were used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions, carbon dioxide mitigation, and the carbon credits obtained. Compared to a standard still, a maximum yield of 934 mL was achieved at an efficiency of 36.35 percent. The CPLs (costs per liter) for the MSS (modified solar still) and the CSS (conventional solar still) were USD 0.0503 and USD 0.0665. In comparison to its CSS counterpart, the MSS had a CPL that was 32.21 percent lower. The treated water retained a 95.77% reduction in TDS compared to salt water. The MSS is predicted to release 219.62 kg of carbon dioxide, 1.67 kg of sulfur dioxide, and 0.69 kg of nitrous oxide over its lifetime. In addition, the MSS saved USD 20.94 in carbon credits after avoiding the emission of 2.09 tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:52:29Z |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:52:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d42853c48b944bb29d7ca409580d72f82023-11-16T16:08:32ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-01-01133165210.3390/app13031652Camphor-Soothed Banana Stem Biowaste in the Productivity and Sustainability of Solar-Powered DesalinationAjay Kumar Kaviti0Siva Ram Akkala1Vineet Singh Sikarwar2Pilli Sai Snehith3Moodapelly Mahesh4Centre for Solar Energy Materials, VNRVJIET, Hyderabad 500090, IndiaCentre for Solar Energy Materials, VNRVJIET, Hyderabad 500090, IndiaInstitute of Plasma Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Za Slovankou 1782/3, 182 00 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, VNRVJIET, Hyderabad 500090, IndiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, VNRVJIET, Hyderabad 500090, IndiaThe increasing need for clean water can be attributed to a number of reasons, such as population growth, industrial development, and climate change. As a result of modern industrial and agricultural methods, the amount of trash generated daily is also on the rise. Waste management and increasing demand for freshwater are two of the most pressing problems facing the human race today and in the future. This study makes an attempt to strike a balance between these two concerns by repurposing a common biowaste, the banana stem, to collect solar energy for a desalination application. Banana stems work well for interfacial solar desalination because of their capillarity and the fact that they float. Camphor-soothed banana stems were placed in a solar still to collect solar thermal energy and to transfer it to the water surrounding them, speeding up the evaporation process and resulting in more freshwater. Over the course of three days, measurements were taken with the water level held constant and the stem thickness of the bananas varied between 0.5 and 1.5 cm. Enviro-economic studies and water quality analysis were used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions, carbon dioxide mitigation, and the carbon credits obtained. Compared to a standard still, a maximum yield of 934 mL was achieved at an efficiency of 36.35 percent. The CPLs (costs per liter) for the MSS (modified solar still) and the CSS (conventional solar still) were USD 0.0503 and USD 0.0665. In comparison to its CSS counterpart, the MSS had a CPL that was 32.21 percent lower. The treated water retained a 95.77% reduction in TDS compared to salt water. The MSS is predicted to release 219.62 kg of carbon dioxide, 1.67 kg of sulfur dioxide, and 0.69 kg of nitrous oxide over its lifetime. In addition, the MSS saved USD 20.94 in carbon credits after avoiding the emission of 2.09 tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub>.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/3/1652waste managementsolar desalinationpseudo or banana stemwater qualityinterfacial material |
| spellingShingle | Ajay Kumar Kaviti Siva Ram Akkala Vineet Singh Sikarwar Pilli Sai Snehith Moodapelly Mahesh Camphor-Soothed Banana Stem Biowaste in the Productivity and Sustainability of Solar-Powered Desalination Applied Sciences waste management solar desalination pseudo or banana stem water quality interfacial material |
| title | Camphor-Soothed Banana Stem Biowaste in the Productivity and Sustainability of Solar-Powered Desalination |
| title_full | Camphor-Soothed Banana Stem Biowaste in the Productivity and Sustainability of Solar-Powered Desalination |
| title_fullStr | Camphor-Soothed Banana Stem Biowaste in the Productivity and Sustainability of Solar-Powered Desalination |
| title_full_unstemmed | Camphor-Soothed Banana Stem Biowaste in the Productivity and Sustainability of Solar-Powered Desalination |
| title_short | Camphor-Soothed Banana Stem Biowaste in the Productivity and Sustainability of Solar-Powered Desalination |
| title_sort | camphor soothed banana stem biowaste in the productivity and sustainability of solar powered desalination |
| topic | waste management solar desalination pseudo or banana stem water quality interfacial material |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/3/1652 |
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