Emergency Fuel Tabs out of Coconut Husks (Cocos nucifera) and Saw Dust

An entry to Regional Level Science and Technology Fair 2019

Invention Report Paper

Brynon Josh Lawrence P. Corage

CrisJoshley V. Penaflor
Gabriel Drew O. Usares

Participants

Mrs. Mhecel P. Galay

Adviser

S.Y. 2019-2020

Tukuran Technical Vocational High School

San Carlos, Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TitlePage…………………………………………………………………………….i
Table of Contents……………………………………………………….………...ii
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………….iii
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………..…..iv
Chapter 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………..1
Features and
Specifications….............................................................1
Market Trends and Opportunities………………………………………1
Chapter 2.Methodology…………………………………………………………………2
A. Making Folded Metal Stove………………………………………………1-2
B. Making Fuel Tab………………………………………………………………2
Collection of Samples……………………………………...……………………3
Preparation of the Materials……………………….…..…………………........3
Treatments………………………………...……………………………………….4
Preparation of Testing the Materials………………………………….……....4
Research Design and Layout…………………….…………………………….5
Testing of Products……………………………………………………………….5
Data Collection………………………………......………………………………6
Data Analysis……………………………………………………………...………6
Flowchart of the Study…………………………………………………………..7
Chapter 3. Results and Discussion …………….…………………….………………8-9
Average time of Fuel Tabs Burns out
Average Time of Fuel Tabs to Boil a Water
Discussion………………………………………………...…………………………….10-11
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..…….12
Appendices………………………………………………………………………….……13
-15
Acknowledgement…………………………………..………………………………….16
References………………………………………………………………………..………17

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Features and Specifications

Emergency fuel tabs is made out of cocos nucifera (Coconut) husk and
Sawdust which are common wastes in the community, replacing traditional
hexamine, used in hexamine fuel tablets, not only are the materials used in the
product abundant it is also very cheap having little to no cost at all.

The box is made out of cardboard and then glued together using glue
stick .

It is then sealed by 50 ml of candle wax , candle wax is used for it is

recyclable , and it lengthens the time of the fire of the fuel tablets.

Market Trends and Oppurtunities

In camping the most common problem is finding firewood to start a fire

this will be a problem especially if you are in a hurry fuel tabs is the answer to
this.

Cooking is the most important way of getting edible and most likely safe
food but it is not always convenient, in many parts of the world especially rural
areas rely on firewood to cook, Relying on fire wood might consume too much
time gathering them(it depends on the terrain) Fuel tablets will come into play
providing the user a quick and readymade campfire along with a stove for the
user to cook conveniently.

Fuel tablets before already existed they were known as Hexamine Fuel
Tablets Invented in Murrhardt, Germany, in 1936, the main component
is hexamine, which was discovered by Aleksandr Butlerov in 1859.

But these used trioxane as fuel which is poisonous when ingested, a

solution was created to get rid of the poisonus stuff , Hexamine may cause a
skin allergy. If allergy develops, very low future exposure can cause itching and

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a skin rash. exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of breath,
wheezing, coughing, and/or chest tightness.

An energy source that meets such sustainability requirements is fuel briquette.

If produced at low cost and made conveniently accessible to consumers,
briquettes could serve as complements to firewood and charcoal for domestic
cooking and agro-industrial operations, thereby reducing the high demand for
both. Besides, briquettes have advantages over fuel wood in terms of greater
heat intensity, cleanliness, convenience in use, and relatively smaller space
requirement for storage (Singh and Singh, 1982; Wamukonya and Jenkins 1995;
Yaman et al. 2000; Olorunnisola, 2004).

organic and abundant wastes were used as fuel in the fuel tablets in order to
reduce the waste in our environment such as sawdust while re- using it in a
useful way(The only thing sawdust is used for as a heating fuel is in pellet stoves.),

CHAPTER 2

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A. Making the Folded Metal Stove

Materials:

Cocos nucifera husks Sawdust Candle wax weighing scale

Cardboard Glue gun Glue Denatured alcohol
Alcohol lamp Beaker Scissors Aluminum sheet
Bolts

Metal Plate

Metal Stand
Bolt

Fig 1. Metal Stove Unfolded

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 The first step in making the stove is cutting the aluminum base plate
with the measurement of 4 by 4 inches.

Then cutting the ¾ inch high side walls then folding it o form a
square that fits the aluminum base plate.

Adding rivots to the end of the walls to secure it in place was done,
then a 6 inch in length and inch high metal plate was cut ,folding the sides of
the aluminum 1 inch end to end forming a letter L.
It was rivoted to the top left corner for It to be foldable.

Fig. 2
FUEL TABLET
Candle wax(sealant)

Fig 3. Fuel tablet

Cardboard

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B. Making the Fuel Tab

Collection of Samples

Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks and saw dust only collected from the
community, and the candle wax and denatured alcohol were bought from
the Vega General Merchandise, at Tukuran, Zamboanga del sur.

Preparation of Materials

A. Making of Fuel tab container

Cardboard is commonly an abundant waste in stores, this material

is light, cheap, strong enough and most importantly flammable, in length
and 3 inches in width with a height of 3 inches this was created by
cutting out the 3 by 3 base and gluing a 1-inch tall wall of cardboard
around it.

B. Measuring/Weighing of Materials

The measuring and weighing of materials have a constant base

of 35grams no matter what is its composition, composition of the fueltabs
varies on the percentage of Cocos nucifera (coconut husk) and saw
dustbased according to treatments, and 16 grams of cardboard is
constant throughout the treatments and replicates.

C. Cutting and Drying of Materials

Coconut husk and sawdust were dried under the sun, and after
drying the coconut husk was cut into small pieces.

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 D. Preparation of Different treatments

Five (5) treatments with Three (3) replicates each was used in this
study. The treatments are as follows:

Treatments Description
1 100% Saw Dust + 50ml Candle Wax + 230ml Fuel + 5g
Cardboard
2 100% Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks + 50ml Candle Wax +
30ml Fuel + 5g Cardboard
3 50% Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks + 50%Saw Dust + 50ml
Candle Wax + 30ml Fuel + 5g Cardboard
4 75% Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks + 25%Saw Dust + 50ml
Candle Wax + 30ml Fuel + 5g Cardboard
5 25% Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks + 75%Saw Dust + 50ml
Candle Wax + 30ml Fuel + 5g Cardboard

Table 1. Different treatments

E. Melting of Candle Wax

The researchers placed the candle wax in beaker and then

are melted using a Bunsen burner.

F. Filling of Materials for Fuel Tab

Varied composition of Cocos nucifera (coconut husk) and saw

dust according to treatments are then placed in a cardboard container
added with 20 mL of denatured alcohol. Lastly,150 mL of melted candle
wax was used for sealing the mixture.

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Research Design and Lay-out

Candle wax Finished product

Mixed sawdust
Metal casing Cardboard
and coconut husk

Figure 4. Research Design and Lay-out

Testing of the Products

The fuel tabs were tested by burning. To get the data which fuel
tabs boils the water faster, when the water starts to boil in each treatment
with its replicates the time was then recorded. In getting the data for the
average time how each treatment lasts, the average time of fuel tab to
completely burn were then recorded.

Data Collection

A. Average Time of Fuel Tabs to Burned out

In getting the average time of fuel tabs, it was observed from time to
time. The data was gathered and identified which time that each replicate
from different treatments that the fuel started to ignite and until the fuel tabs
burns out.

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B. The Average Time of Fuel Tabs to Boil a Water

While testing the fuel tabs, it was observed from time to time. The data was
gathered and identified from different replicates that the temperature gets
higher and until the fuel tabs burned out.

Data Analysis

One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether

there is significant difference among treatments using the different
combination of Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks and Saw Dust.

Directions in How to use the Product

Use fuel tablets by lighting up the cardboard sides from the top and
then place it in the metal stove,avoidtouchingthe metal stove when
Fuel Tab is ignited, Candle wax may drip from the fuel tabs do not !
attempt to remove the fuel tab from the metal stove once ignited.

Collection of samples

Preparation of Materials

Preparation of Different Concentration

Treatments

T1 100% Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks + 50ml Candle Wax

+ 30ml Fuel + 5g Cardboard
T2 100% Saw Dust + 150ml Candle Wax + 200ml Fuel + 5g
Cardboard
T3 50% Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks + 50%Saw Dust +
50ml Candle Wax + 30ml Fuel + 5g Cardboard
T4 75% Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks + 25%Saw Dust +
50ml Candle Wax + 30ml9 Fuel + 5g Cardboard
T5 25% Cocos nucifera (coconut) husks + 75%Saw Dust +
50ml Candle Wax + 200ml Fuel + 5g Cardboard
 Figure 5. Flowchart of the Study

CHAPTER 3

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Treatments Trial TOTAL AVERAGE

T1 T2 T2
Treatment 1 54 mins 48 mins 52 mins 154 mins 51.33 mins

Treatment 2 39 mins 42 mins 38 mins 119 mins 39.67 mins

Treatment 3 42 mins 51 mins 50 mins 143 mins 47.67 mins

Treatment 4 50 mins 53 mins 50 mins 153 mins 51 mins

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 Treatment 5 45 mins 48 mins 59 mins 152 mins 50.67 mins

Table 3. The Average time the fuel Tabs Burns out:

This table shows that treatment 1 takes the longest time to completely
burnout with an average time of 51.33 seconds closely followed by treatment
4 with an average time of 51 minutes, it also shows that treatment 2 was the
fastest to completely burnout with an average time of 39.67 minutes.

Average Time of Fuel Tabs to Boil a

Water
Average Time (Min)

8
7
5 5
4

TREATMENT 1 TREATMENT 2 TREATMENT 3 TREATMENT 4 TREATMENT 5

Treatments

Figure 6. Average Time of Fuel Tabs to Boil a Water

This Graph shows that Treatment 2 is the fastest treatment to boil water
with an average time of 4 minutes while treatment 1 takes the longest time to
boil water with an average time 8 minutes.

ANOVA
Source of
Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between
Groups 33.06666667 4 8.266666667 3.875 0.037462 3.47805
Within
Groups 21.33333333 10 2.133333333

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Total 54.4 14

Table 4: ANOVA: Average Time of fuel Tabs to Burn out:

ANOVA (table 4) shows that there is a significant difference in the

average time of the fuel tabs to completely burn out in all treatments and
replicates in the combined ingredients of saw dust and Cocos nucifera husks.

ANOVA
Source of
Variation SS Df MS F P-value F crit
Between
Groups 290.2666667 4 72.56666667 3.805944056 0.039349 3.47805
Within
Groups 190.6666667 10 19.06666667
Total 480.9333333 14

Table 5: ANOVA: Average Time of Fuel Tab to Boil a Water

ANOVA (table 5) results indicates that there is a highly significant
statistical difference between the mean of average time of fuel tab to boil a
water using different treatments.
DISCUSSION

This current study on Homemade Emergency Fuel Tabs out of Cocos

nucifera(Coconut) Husks and Saw Dust is basically a great help in terms of
reducing and re-using common wastes in our environment ,it is also a great
help in survival situations for it provides a quick and portable fire for a person
to be able to utilize according to his needs.

Fuel tabs is a form of portable readily made fuel in alternative fire wood
that is very compact and is ideal for survival situations because of its
compactness allowing a certain person to carry a readily made cooking fuel

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without consuming too much space. But most of fuel tabs today are made of
hexamine, so this study also aims to create fuel tablets that are made out of
unused or leftover coconut husk and sawdust.

Cooking is the most important way of getting edible and most likely safe
food but it is not always convenient, in many parts of the world especially rural
areas rely on firewood to cook, in camping activities, survival, or other similar
situations this will most likely be the case.

Relying on firewood might be costly in our environment so this study

presents a solution fuel tabs, fuel tablets has been around for quite some time
now and it is mostly used in MRE.

As shown in this study, Analysis of Variance revealed that there is a significant

difference in all the treatments.

Treatment 1 with the highest content of sawdust revealed as the longest

treatment to burned out with an average time of 51.3 minutes for it is a known
fact that wood takes much longer to completely burn out compared to other
materials specifically coconut husk.

Sawdust is flammable and accumulations provide a ready source of

fuel. Airborne sawdust can be ignited by sparks or even heat accumulation
and result in explosions. (https://firesciencereviews.springeropen.com)

In terms of the shortest time to boil a water, treatment 2 showed the

shortest time to boil with an average time of 4 minutes, this is due that coconut
husk is very flammable and creates a bigger flame but husk alone cannot
maintain that fire the right amount of sawdust is key to maintaining this fire.

Coconut fiber has a high lignin content and thus a low cellulose content, as a
result of which it is resilient, strong and highly durable. Coir which is flammable
can be obtained by retting for up to 10 months in water followed by sun-drying.
(http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/fasern/kokosfa/kokosfa.htm)

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 Charring rate is an essential quantity for the fire resistance of wooden
structures, because the wood under the char layer preserves its original
properties.(http://virtual.vtt.fi/virtual/innofirewood/stateoftheart/database/bu
rning/burning.html)

Treatment 3 burning out in an average time of 47.67 minutes and boiling

water in an average time of 5 minutes, this decent performance is due to its
composition of 50% Cocos nucifera husks and 50% Sawdust.

Treatment 4 the most balanced Treatment in terms of how long it burns

out and how long can it boil water, this would be due to the right amount of
highly flammable Cocos nucifera husks which would be 75% and the right
amount of sawdust to maintain the fire which would be 75%.

Treatment 5 having a time of 50.67 minutes to completely burn out and

an average time of 7 minutes which is quite high compared to the other
treatments, which is composed of 100% sawdust which explains why it took so
long to boil water ,it lacks the flammable material for it to create a larger and
hotter flame thus increasing its time in how long the water burns.

If this project would be repeated the reaserchers would like to get the
range of the temperature at atmospheric pressure.

Expirements aiming to get the average temperature of the fuel tablets

should be conducted for it to have a basis on comparing it with hexamine fuel
tablets.

Conclusion

Based on the results, results shows that treatment 4 which is composed

of 75% Saw dust and 25% Cocos Nucifera(coconut) husks is the most
effective.Cocos nucifera(coconut) husk is very flammable this is due to the

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chemical composition of coconut husk consisting of cellulose, lignin,
pyroligneous acid, gas, charcoal, tar, tannin, and potassium.

Sawdust is a major factor in how long a tablet burns for the findings shows
that tablets with a combination of the sawdust is greater than the amount of
coconut husk take longer to completely burned out.

This product can be used in scouting activities , camping, hiking and

other activities that requires a certain person to cook outdoors.

The benefits of this product is that the average buyer would not have to
spend 500 pesos on esbit fuel tablets but instead can spend their money on
organic fuel tablets which would cost 15 pesos, This product also offers a
solution on reducing the waste in our community while re using it as fuel.

Appendices

Materials for Making Fuel Tab Making of Fuel Tab Container

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Measuring and Weighing of Materials

Cutting and Drying of Materials

Preparation of Different Treatments

C. Preparation of
Different treatments

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 Melting of Candle Wax

Filling of Materials for Fuel Tab

D. Preparation of
Different
treatments

Final Product

E. Prepara
tion of
Different
treatme
nts

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 Testing of the Products

Burned-out fuel tabs

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers would like to express their profound gratitude to Mrs. Mhecel
P. Galay for contributing a lot in editing and writing the papers.
Ms. Karla Nicole E. Bahian on extending a helping hand during times of
need, we would also like to thank Principal IV Dr. Luther D. Castelo for providing
us working space , and excusing us from our classes in the duration of making
the materials and papers.
To our science department head Mrs. Myla C. Marcos for providing
us with the materials needed in order for this study to be finished, to Ms. Paler
and her Parents Steel Workshop on providing us with metal plates, and to our
supportive parents in terms of moral and financial and last but not the least to
our almighty Father for the guidance, strength and courage.

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 Brynon
Josh
Gabriel

REFERENCES

(1) Mohammad Hosseini Rahdar, Fuzhan Nasiri, Bruno Lee. A Review of

Numerical Modeling and Experimental Analysis of Combustion in Moving
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10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b02073
(2) Ning bao, et al, 2013 Pyrolysis and combustion of pine sawdust
https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii
(3) Helmenstine, 2019 What Happens to Candle Wax When a Candle Burns
https://www.thoughtco.com/where-does-candle-wax-go-607886
(4) Hanina, et al, 2018 When a fuel is used
https://energyeducation.ac/encyclopedia/fuel
(5) Miller, 2018 5 Uses For Sawdust You Must Try
https://sawsreviewed.com/sawdust-uses/
(6) Brian Meacham, et al, 2016 Environmental impact of fire
https://firesciencereviews.springeropen.com

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(7) Chua, 1997 Cocos nucifera
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-
sciences/cocos-nucifera
(8) Qingmin Meng, Xiaoping Chen. Numerical Modeling of Pyrolysis of
Sawdust in a Packed Bed. 2013,,, 209-215. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-
30445-3_32.
(9) New Jersey Department of Health, 2016 Hexamine Hazardous Fact
Sheet https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0996.pdf
(10) West Norman, Nov.29,2017 Quora https://www.quora.com/How-is-
sawdust-used-as-a-fuel

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