The production of carbon black from the unripe peels of plantain (<i>Musa paradisiaca</i>) in Nigeria

Abstract

Carbon black (CB) is an intensely black, finely divided form of amorphous carbon. It is usually obtained as soot from the partial combustion of hydrocarbons and has found many industrial uses such as reinforcing agents in automobile tires, black pigments printing ink, paint, carbon paper, etc. Although it can be obtained as a by-product of petroleum production, it can also be produced from indigenous materials of plant origin. This work demonstrated how CB can be obtained from the peels of unripe plantain. Seventy kilogram of wet peels of black plantain was collected from the local women, cut into smaller portions and sundried for seven days to obtained fifty three kilogram of the dried peels which were then carbonization by heating in an air-tight metal kiln for an hour. The carbonized peels were later pulverized and then filtered with sieve of mesh size 212um to give very fine filler particles of carbon black. The finished product was test run as a refill toner powder for HP Laser Jet Professional P 1606dn and using it to print some documents. The result of this work exhibited the implications for reusing plantain peels (a common solid waste in Nigeria) to produced CB.

Keywords: Carbon black, Plantain peels, Toner powder, Musa paradisiaca