Extraction Of Alkali From Banana Peels Lab Report

Extraction of alkali from banana peels is known to depend on such parameters as ashing temperature, ashing time, soaking time and particle size of the ashed sample, soil type and variety. Alkali was extracted from three Nigerian grown banana peels namely: Saaro, Oloosun and Paranta for the purpose of determining the concentration of the extracted alkali. The concentration of the extracted alkali ranged from 0.02 to 0.10mol/dm3. The three varieties of the banana peels gave a maximum concentration of 0.1mol/dm3 with Saaro variety obtained at 600oC for 7.5 min, the Oloosun variety obtained at 300oC for 15min and the Paranta variety obtained at 300oC for 15min. The Na ions ranged from 5.50 to 203.63 mg/kg with the Paranta variety having the highest concentration of 203.630 mg/kg at 150 0C for 90 min, the Oloosun variety had 132.375 mg/kg at 150 0C also for 90 min and the Saaro variety had 130.125 mg/kg at 150 0C for 120 min. The Paranta variety gave the highest concentration of both the sodium and the potassium ions indicating a high yield of alkali which could be as a result of the nature of the soil in which the banana is grown.
Keywords: Banana peels, Extraction, Concentration, …show more content…
Also usingthe spectrophotometric analysis to compare the Sodium (Na) concentration in the three varieties: Saaro had its highest Na concentration of 130.125 mg/kg at 1500C for 2h. Oloosun also had its highest Na concentration of 131.725 mg/kg at 1500C for 90min. The Paranta had its highest Na concentration of 203.63 mg/kgalso at 1500C for 90min. Of the three varieties assessed, Paranta still give the best alkali