EFFECTIVENESS OF JATHROPER CHARCOAL AS AN ALTERNATIVE HEAT SOURCE FOR COOKING

An Investigatory Research Presented to the Faculty of special Science Class Eucharistic King academy Sara, Iloilo In Partial Fulfillment of the Reqquirement of the Course Research 1B Presented by: Clyde Jess B. Juanitas IV-St Dominic Researcher

February 2011

Acknowledgment

The Researcher would like to express his gratitude to the following, who are one way or another, become a part of his research. First of all, Almighty God, for his gift of knowledge and wisdom. For the Guidance, his grace and blessing, this enabled the researcher to conduct the study in the light of truth and faith. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jesus and Harlene Juanitas, his guardians, Mary Lou Plantig and Analyn Belonio and the rest of the family for their prayers, moral and financial support, Love and inspiration. Mrs. Evelyn Tacan, Research teacher, for her hi-valuable assistance, support, guidance and patiently reviewing the manuscript and for giving the researcher the title of his study. To Ms. Maricel Diane and Ms. Beverly Faeldan for grammar checking. To Mr. Rogelio Ticar, research consultant, for giving their time and patiently review his work. His adviser, Mrs. Jenelyn Malbas for the guidance and support she gave to the researcher before and while conducting the study. His friends and the SSC 4 class for their moral and emotional support whenever is in his time of great need.

Clyde Jess B. Juanitas

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE ACKNOWLEGDMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT Page CHAPTER I: THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE I. Background of the study II. Statement of the Problem 3 III. Objectives of the study IV. Significance of the study V. Scope and Delimitation VI. Definition of terms VII. Conceptual Framework CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY I. Materials and Equipment II. Experimental Procedure III. Methods of Gathering Data IV. Research Design CHAPTER IV: Results and Discussions I. Data Analysis II. Experimental Design and treatment CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION I. Summary II. Conclusion III. Recommendation BIBLIOGRAPHY I. APPENDIX ABSTRACT Websites 1 4 4 5 5 6 7 9 9 10 12 13 16 18 18 19 20 21 22

A study on the effectiveness of Jathroper Charcoal as alternative source for cooking was conducted at Brgy. Poblacion Ilaya, Sara, Iloilo to determine if Jathroper charcoal is effective than paper charcoal in terms of: a.) Time of ignition b.) Duration of charcoal. c.) Time it takes to boil the water. A total of fifteen 50g charcoal were utilized in three experimental setups which composed of set-up A, utilized Jathroper charcoal, set-up B, utilized the plain paper charcoal, and set-up C (control) which utilized the commercial charcoal. The pre-test post-test experimental design was used to determine the effectiveness of Jathroper charcoal compared to plain paper charcoal and commercial charcoal using indicators as, a.) time of ignition, b.) duration of charcoal, c.) the time it takes the charcoal to boil the water. Each set-up used clay stove where the three types of charcoal were placed and ignited simultaneously. The time ignition was determined by recording the time the charcoal started to produce red ember, the duration of charcoal was determined by finding the difference between the start of the charcoal ignition until it loses its ember and the boiling length of water was measured by recording the time it takes the water to boil from ignition of the charcoals.

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

I. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Charcoal is one of the most widely-used materials as an alternative and cheap source of heat. Many households use charcoal for cooking. As time passes by, the production of charcoal is prohibited because as many sacks of charcoal are being produced, as many trees are cut. Thus, this causes the destruction of forest and habitat of wild life, and eventually cause imbalance of trees of for the ecosystem. charcoal Furthermore, also bring

indiscriminate

cutting

producing

destructive effects to the environment. Among these are soil erosion, landslide and the alternation on the natural habitat of wildlife. These

facts call for everybody to work for a common solution to protect our trees. The use of paper for charcoal is being studied now by scientists. This move has been initiated after the world-wide call for every individual to be responsible in the management of their solid wastes, in which paper wastes comprised as one of the biggest components. Because of tremendous volume of paper garbage, the government now is initiating several projects and technologies for recycling and waste management. Charcoal from paper maybe one of the best answers to the perennial problem of pollution due to solid waste. Not only this, it can lessen the dumped papers in the bodies of water and in our backyards. With

charcoal from paper we will have another cheap alternative source of heat for cooking and reduces the problem on environmental pollution. Today, more of the households depend much for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking food and other home use that needs heat. This increases the demand for LPG worldwide, for an 11-kg LPG tank costs from 500-600 pesos per household for two weeks. The use of LPG is resulting to a more than a thousand of pesos per household consumption every month. This adversely affects the family budget, and the effect is worse for a family of more than five members. With an increased price of oil per barrel in the world market this increasing demand for LPG will contribute to a great down fall in the family income, eventually a great contribution to the world economic crisis. Because of industrialization,

most people now use electricity as source of heat to cook their food, thus increasing the demand for fuels. This resulted to inflation and economic instability to the worlds economy specifically affecting the poorest of the poor. The utilization of local plants as alternative source of cheap charcoal is now advanced by technologists and environmentalists as well. According to Addison Wesly (2003), Studies showed that not only big trees are potential sources of quality charcoal but seeds of shrubs and other plants in our surroundings like kasla (Jathropa Curcas) can be utilized. These plants grow wild in our forests and backyards without too much attention are given to their culture for they can thrive anywhere.

II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study deals on the effectiveness of Jathroper charcoal as alternative heat source for cooking in terms of: 1. time of boiling water 2. duration of the charcoal 3. time of ignition of the charcoal General Problem: What is the difference of Jathroper Charcoal from paper charcoal in terms of time of ignition, duration and length of time it takes to boil water? Specifically, this study will answer the following questions: 1. What is the difference of Jathroper Charcoal from paper charcoal in terms of the length of time it takes to boil water. 2. What is the difference of Jathroper Charcoal from paper charcoal in terms of the duration of the charcoal; 3. What is the difference of Jathroper Charcoal from paper charcoal in terms of time of ignition of the charcoal.

Null Hypotheses There is no significant difference in the time it takes to boil water, duration of the charcoal and time of ignition of Jathroper Charcoal from paper charcoal.

III. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The following are the objectives of the study: 1. To determine if the Jathroper Charcoal is effective than paper charcoal 2. To determine the effectiveness of Jathroper Charcoal as an alternative heat source for cooking. IV. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study will be useful to the people, the teachers and the researchers. The people will benefit from this study because not all of them can have the technology-made appliances for cooking. Instead they use woods to cook meals to save money. The teachers especially those teaching science subjects will be provided with results from this investigation that will be used as their reference in teaching of science subjects to become meaningful and realistic. The researchers will be guided from this study by using the data gathered to encourage them to conduct similar studies to verify the results that will further strengthen the veracity of the study.

V. SCOPE & DELIMINATION This study was conducted at Brgy. Poblacion Ilaya, Sara Iloilo on December 2009. Three set-ups with 50 grams charcoal in each set-up were used to gather data in the experiment. Two set-ups represented the experimental group and one for the control. There were five trials in the experiment. A total of 750 g of charcoal was used in the study. The study was limited only at determining the effectiveness of charcoal from J. curcas in terms of time it takes the water to boil, duration of the charcoal and the time of ignition of the charcoal. VI. DEFINITION OF TERMS For the clear understanding of the study some key terms were defined conceptually and operationally Jathropa curcas is locally known as kasla, Tubing Bakod or Purging nut tree in English, are species of toxic plants in the tropical area, easily grow and pollinated. In this study, the Jathropa curcas is the main material which helps to start the ignition process of the Jathroper Charcoal. Charcoal - is a black or dark gray form of carbon, produced by heating wood or another organic substance in an enclosed space without air and

is used as a fuel, as an absorbent, in smelting, in explosives, and by artists for drawing. In this study, Charcoal serves as the controlled variable in the control setup. Flame - is a hot glowing body of burning gas, often carrying fine incandescent particles. In this study, flame is used to test the three setups. Paper - is a thin material consisting of flat sheets, made from pulped wood, cloth, or fiber, used for various purposes, for example, for writing and printing on, for wrapping things in, or for covering walls. In this

study, Paper is the main material used to make a Jathroper charcoal.

Ignition is the pre-phase of combustion, where ember is present in small number. Phase of combustion that starts burning process. In this study, Ignition serves as the basis in order to know the longevity or the life-span of the charcoal in each set-ups. Duration- the period of time that something lasts or exists. In this study, Duration is basis if the Jathroper charcoal lasts longer than Paper charcoal.

VII. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Jathroper Charcoal Paper Charcoal The time it takes to boil the water The ignition time The duration or life span of the charcoal.

The diagram above shows the relationship of the Jathroper Charcoal and the paper charcoal to the time it takes to boil the water, the ignition time and the duration or life span of the charcoal. This study aims to compare the ignition time, time it takes to boil the water and the duration of the Jathroper charcoal and paper charcoal.

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Tubang-bakod (Jathropa curcas) or Purging Nut Tree or Big-Purge Nut is a glaborous, erect, branched shrub which is stout cyclindric and green. Its fresh leaves and seeds are utilized. Oil, known as curcas oil, is used as illuminant and lubricant. Jathropas chemical constituent Seed contains a yellow fixed oil, 29-40%, known as Hell oil, Oleum infernale, and Oleum ricini majoris In terms of biodiesel availability, this is considered as one of its sources. The oil firm is set to invest for Jathropa nursery in Kabankalan City for it has 37% oil content and can be used as fuel without being refined. Kasla or Jathropa Curcas is widely known among botanists as herbal medicine. But this medicinal herb is not just for meds but also processed to produce bio-diesel and as an alternative power source to lessen the

dependence of the country to crude oil. Jathropa curcas is very abundant in tropical areas that allow it to grow healthy. According to Henry Daniel O. Creighton (2000).The plant itself is a good source of biofuel, from the roots to the seeds, traces of biofuel can be collected. In the roots, 19.47% of overall biofuel is present, the stem/trunk contains 20.48%, 39.54% in the seeds and the remaining 20.01% is found in the other parts of the plant.

Paper, a material in the form of thin sheets, manufactured by the webbing of vegetable cellulose fibers. Paper is used for writing and printing, for wrapping and packaging, and for a variety of special purposes ranging from the filtration of precipitates from solutions to the manufacture of certain types of building materials. In 20th-century civilization, paper is a basic material, and the development of machinery for its high-speed production has been largely responsible for the increase in literacy and the raising of educational levels of people throughout the world. Paper is composed mainly of the trees cellulose; it is a fibrous matter in a found in the vascular tubes of plants that is essential in the formation of the paper. In addition, it gives the paper the ability to be burned continually due to the fact that it its very fibrous and each thread of the fiber are diversely burned in the papers combustion.Charcoal easily burns with the presence of

oxygen in the surroundings, humidity, atmospheric pressure and altitude affects the ignition rate of a charcoal. In a moist environment (High Humidity) people would likely experience a hard time in setting charcoals on flame, especially in an open area where the environmental factors cannot be manipulated. Flames temperature is difficult to measure when appropriate measuring device are not readily available, mercurial thermometer are very risky to used in directly measuring the flames temperature. Taking the temperature of water is inconsistent since there are many factors that influence the waters temperature like the type of water, altitude CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY I. MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT The materials for this study include scratch papers, seed of Jathropa curcas, pail of water, mortar and pestle, wide-mouthed basin and a long plastic tube with a diameter of 1 inch, three identical clay stoves, three identical aluminum pots, commercial black charcoal, and a flame source. II. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The flow of processes below gives the detailed discussion of procedure under study in making charcoal from the samples Jathroper Charcoal Selecting seeds Paper charcoal Selecting paper

Selecting paper Seed drying Paper Shredding Paper molding and weighing Paper drying and seed incorporating

Paper Shredding Paper molding and weighing

Slice the obtained J. curcas to get its seeds, separate the outer covering of the seed from the inner content. Dry the inner content up under the heat of the sun; it should be small enough so that it will be easy for the fiber to separate. Soak these pieces of paper in a wide-mouthed basin; add water until it reaches the top of the papers. Let it soak for about three to five days. Then, cut the plastic tune into 2 inches high and 1 inch in diameter. Put some soaked paper in it and press the papers until they are compressed. Weigh the molded papers; using the flat form balance make sure that they are of similar weight. After this, dry the molded papers and implant seeds to samples.

III. METHODS OF GATHERING DATA To test the hypothesis observes the following: 1. The time it takes to bring water into its Boiling temperature 2. Ignition time 3. Duration (life span)

The hypothesis was tested by igniting the three different set-ups simultaneously. Set-up A contains 50 g Jathroper Charcoal, set-up B, with 50 g Paper Charcoal, and the Set-up C or the control set-up contains 50 g common charcoal. The randomly selected charcoal samples from different sources were weighed using a plat form balance to obtain equal weights of 50 g each from each sample. They were burned in a clay pot simultaneously using a flame source. The time for the charcoal to ignite from each sample was recorded at the start they were sparked until the appearance of the flame. The time of ignition was obtained by subtracting the time when the charcoal ignited from the time the flame has appeared. To test the time it takes the water boil 50 ml water was placed in a pot and brings it to boil. The time it takes the water to boil was recorded from the start of ignition until bubbles appear. The time of boiling was obtained by subtracting the time for the start of ignition from the time for bubbles to appear. The life span of the charcoals was obtained by subtracting the time charcoals start to ignite from the time their embers were lost. All set-ups were observed and were given 3 minutes each to let the charcoals start to ignite and the time was recorded simultaneously. The same procedure was followed in each set-up to provide equal humidity, at on pressure and other factors that can affect combustion of the charcoal.

The remarks will serve as the raw data for the experiment. Five 50 g of charcoal in each set-up will be tested which are chosen in random manner. The time the charcoal starts to burn until it loses its ember will be the measure of the life span of the charcoal. The length of time it takes the head source to bring the water to boil was also recorded. The time of ignition is the difference from the time the flame source was placed on the charcoals to the time it started to ignite.

IV. RESEARCH DESIGN The experiment used the Pre-test-Post-test Control Group

Experimental Design in order to determine the effectiveness of J. curcas charcoal as alternative source of heat. Two experiments were conducted using three set-ups of five trials with equal amount of charcoal in each set-up. The first experiment was

conducted as pre-test. After a desired period of time, the same experiment was repeated. This is known as the post-test. This design is used to find out if changes will vary from one period to another using the same subject.

CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION I. DATA ANALYSIS PRE TEST TABLE 1.1 SET UP 1 BOILING IGNITION LIFE-SPAN

TIME JATHROPER CHARCOAL 1 2 3 4 5 TIME 4:23:01 3:45:05 3:23:07 3:16:05 3:09:04

TIME TIME 1:56:09 2:07:02 1:59:01 1:56:02 1:29:05 TIME 7:49:03 7:53:10 6:55:07 7:57:06 8:31:02

Table 1.1 shows the recorded time in terms of Boiling time, ignition time and the Life-span of the Jathroper charcoal used in set up 1. The data shows that the Jathroper charcoal takes almost 2 minutes to ignite but its longevity lasts until 8 minutes.

TABLE 1.2 SET UP 2 BOILIN IGNITION G TIME TIME PAPER CHARCOAL 1 2 3 TIME 5:43:08 4:49:07 3:23:03 TIME 1:47:03 1:42:06 1:43:01 LIFE-SPAN TIME 7:34:05 6:37:07 7:14:03

4 5

3:19:03

1:40:09

5:54:06

In Table 1.2,are the results from set up 2, the utilized Paper charcoal, compared to the first set up, its ignition time was faster than the jathropher charcoal but its duration only lasts 6-7 minutes. TABLE 1.3 CONTROL SET-UP BOILIN IGNITION G TIME TIME BLACK CHARCOAL 1 2 3 4 5 TIME TIME 1:03:09 1:14:04 1:11:02 1:20:01 1:23:06 LIFE-SPAN TIME 3:24:07 3:54:09 2:59:07 3:10:05 2:55:01

Table 1.3 is the control set up which contains the utilized commercial charcoal. Due to the fact that the commercial charcoal ignites faster than the other two charcoals, it easily turned into ashes, thus, its life-span only lasts in a short period of time.

POST-TEST TABLE 2.1 SET UP 1 BOILING IGNITION TIME TIME JATHROPER CHARCOAL 1 2 TIME 4:18:04 4:05:01 TIME 2:01:05 1:57:01 LIFE-SPAN TIME 6:57:04 7:54:09

3 4 5

3:56:09 3:08:09 3:49:01

1:30:04 1:55:09 2:00:01

7:53:07 8:34:06 7:54:10

Table 2.1 shows the results of the Post test of set up 1, utilized Jathroper charcoal. As observed above the boiling time, ignition time and life span are moreover have nearer results to the recorded time in the pre test. TABLE 2.2 SET UP 2 BOILING IGNITION TIME TIME PAPER CHARCOAL 1 2 3 4 5 TIME 5:41:06 3:20:10 5:44:10 4:48:08 TIME 1:55:05 1:45:01 1:48:01 1:45:04 LIFE-SPAN TIME 7:33:06 5:51:09 7:41:10 7:40:01

Table 2.2 shows the post test results of set up 2(utilized paper charcoal). The results proved that the boiling time, ignition time, and its duration are moreover near to the results in the pre test.

TABLE 2.3 CONTROL SET-UP BOILIN IGNITION G TIME TIME BLACK CHARCOAL 1 2 3 4 5 TIME TIME 1:19:10 1:13:05 1:24:06 1:04:01 1:04:02 LIFE-SPAN TIME 3:11:04 3:27:08 2:54:05 2:54:02 3:31:06

Table 2.3 is the post test control set up(commercial charcoal). As shown above, its life span and ignition time was still faster than the other two set ups, making the pre test true that it only last in a shorter period of time than the other two charcoals. II. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND TREATMENT The Jathroper Charcoal has a faster time in boiling water compared to the other two charcoal samples and has the longest life-span in all the three set-ups. But its ignition time is slower compared to the other three, this is due to the fact that the Jathroper Charcoal is composed of materials with different densities and chemical compositions that made the variation in the combustibility of the said material, the different materials that composed the charcoal provide its long life-span compared to those plain paper charcoal and (carbon) black commercial charcoal which shows great difference in terms of their life spans or the time it takes the charcoal until it is completely turned into ashes. The fast combustion in pure mixtures (homogeneous) of paper and the pure substance carbon (elemental level) in the black charcoal makes it insufficient or sometimes unable to sustain giving heat to the water in the pot which disables it to make the water in the pot to boil just like what happened to the black charcoal since the charcoal sample is already consumed before it can further rise the temperature of the water. Pure substance like carbon in the black charcoal made it easily consumed in the process of combustion making it the fastest to turn into ashes.

The Jathroper charcoal made two out of three significant markers in testing its effectiveness. After 3 minutes the charcoal ignites, the flame size is observed. Flame size varies with different factors such as

composition and the nature of the systems surrounding. The plain paper charcoal easily ignites than that of the Jathroper Charcoal burns with greater average flame size than the plain one. The biofuel of Jathropa curcas present in the Jathroper charcoal give in a high feasibility as flame source but also gives a slow ignition time but stays longer compared to the paper charcoal due to the fact that high traces of biofuel is entrench in the Jathroper charcoal . The lesser materials present on the plain Paper Charcoal gives it a definite specific heat that makes it easier to burn. Jathroper Charcoal burns slower due to the fact of the different densities of its composition gives variation in its specific heat. The different specific heat of the masses means a variety in the ignition, longevity and time it takes the water to reach boiling temperature.

CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION Summary The study on the effectiveness of Jathroper charcoal as an alternative heat source was conducted at Brgy. Poblacion Ilaya, Sara Iloilo on December 2009 to find out the following:

1) What is the length of time for the charcoals to bring the water to boiling temperature; 2) What is the life span of the charcoal; and 3) What is the time of ignition of the charcoals? Three set-up were used in the experiment using 50g of Jathroper charcoal to set-ups A,B, and C. Each were lighted and time recorded. Results showed that Jathroper charcoal ignited slowly has shorter time to boil water and has a longer life span.

Conclusion All set-ups were done with the same factors that affect s the nature of the charcoal. On the other hand, charcoals that slowly ignites showed longevity in burning It is observed that the Jathroper Charcoal swiftly brings the water into its boiling point. It was also observed that plain Paper Charcoal ignites faster than the Jathroper Charcoal making one of the Null Hypothesis true. The homogeneous nature of the paper charcoal had brought it into early ignition process than the heterogeneous nature of the Jathroper charcoal. Recommendation Jathroper charcoal yielded 2 out of 3 positive results. With this basis, the researchers recommend the adaption of this innovation in the field of charcoal making.

To further improve the study, the researcher recommends the following: (1)The position/placement of Jathropa curcas seed as it is being incorporated in the Jathroper charcoal should be fixed in one area to avoid variation of specific heat and heat capacity; (2)Measuring the weight, size and shape of the Charcoal should be more or less identical with one another( lower degrees of error);and (3)The paper quality should be identical to avoid having different results with respect to its effect in the charcoals combustion process.

Furthermore, application studies on other biofuel-bearing plants apart from J.curcas should be explored.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEBSITES

http://www.dinagyang.com.ph/schools/forums http://www.gov.ph/news http://www.stuartexchange.org/TubangBakod.html http://www.oil.com/jathropastudies Microsoft Encarta Premium Suite 2005 www.biofuel.org.ca www.camptips.net

www.chemistryonaction.org.eu. www.papermaking.com.eu www.eHow.com www.knowcharcoal.com

APPENDIX

Seed Drying

Paper Shredding

Pounding of Jathropa curcas seeds

Soaking of paper in the basin

Molding of soaked paper in the plastic tube

Pounded Jathropa Curcas seeds

was being incorporated in the soaked paper

Apply pressure to push the formed Charcoal Jathroper Charcoal

Molded Jathroper

Drying of Jathroper Charcoal Charcoal

Drying of Paper

Jathroper Charcoal(Finished Product) Product)

Paper Charcoal(Finished