Feasibility of Synthesizing Potassium Carbonate Powder from Plantain Peels for Possibly Soap Making

The lack of chemical plants for the manufacture of simple chemicals such as NaOH, KOH and KCOin most part of 2 3  sub-Saharan African countries leads to high cost of importing these chemicals which make them less readily  available for many industrial purposes. An investigation was carried out using waste plantain peels to produce  potassium carbonate for industrial purposes such as paper making, glass making, soap making etc. The elemental  composition analysis result of ashed plantain peel shows K(42.16%), Al(1.773%), P (0.758%), Ca (0.162%) and  some other Trace elements (52.817%). The thermal decomposition of the product was investigated using Thermo  gravimetric Analysis (TGA) which indicates the stability and decomposition status of produced. The purity  morphology of the synthesized product shows major peaks attributed to potassium carbonate which assign JCPDS  file number {98-1435} and minor silica {14-1303}. Finally, FTIR analysis was carried out which shows the band  ranges of compounds present in the produced silica which includes: OH (2500- 3500Cm), K - O (624 Cm ), Si-O -1-1  (427 Cm). The application of the synthesized product was recommended as a potential candidate in soap making -1  industries.