Potential Renewable Energy Source from Nutmeg-Coconut Shell Waste in North Maluku, Indonesia

Abstract

In 2019, North Maluku exported 54,470,489 kg of copra and 2,712,999 kg of nutmeg. The large export value of these two commodities shows that not a small amount of organic waste is produced per year. The high market demand for these two superior commodities will have an impact on the high production of waste generated. Nutmeg shells and coconut shells are dry organic waste. Although organic waste can decompose naturally, both wastes will take a long time to decompose compared to wet organic waste. Waste that is not handled properly will have a worse impact in the future. On the other hand, these wastes have excellent potential if utilized as a renewable energy source. In this study, briquettes were made from nutmeg shell charcoal (NSC) and coconut shell charcoal (CSC) as basic materials, while the adhesive used a 4 % starch solution. This study aims to obtain the optimum ratio of nutmeg shell and coconut shell mixture as raw material for briquettes. The ratio of AP:AK in the briquettes is as follows: Formula B1 (3:1); Formula B2 (1:1); and Formula B3 (1:3). The briquettes were evaluated with reference to SNI 01-6235-2000. The results of the briquette evaluation are as follows: Formula B1 (water content 7.21 %; volatile matter 36.28 %; ash content 7.50 %; calories 6219.07 cal/g); Formula B2 (water content 7.18 %; volatile matter 32.39 %; ash content 6.52 %; calories 6485.14 cal/g); and Formula B3 (water content 6.93 %; volatile matter 29.41 %; ash content 7.06 %; calories 6813.80 cal/g). Based on the briquette evaluation results, Formula B3 is the best quality briquette.