Piles of peanut husks used to fill his house, but now Edy Gunarto, 38, has now found a way to make use of them.
"The waste was not saleable. There were piles of peanut husks scattered around my house. I would bury them in the garden, but there was still a lot of them around," said Edy.
After attending a technical training course on how to manage waste in 2006, Edy came up with the idea of turning peanut husks into an alternative fuel, in the form of biocharcoal brickets.
"Initially, I could only produce between 2 and 3 kilograms of biocharcoal brickets per day to meet the cooking needs of the neighbors," he said.
Producing the bio-charcoal brickets is quite simple. The peanut waste is burned in a simple stove made from a used drum. To increase the heat, holes are made in the bottom of the drum to allow optimal combustion, and coconut husks are used to fuel the stove.
"Within two hours, between 5 and 10 kilograms of waste is burned and turned into charcoal," said Edy.
Water is then poured on the charcoal to cool it down. After it is cooled, it is then placed in a mixer and mixed with tapioca flour as a binding agent, at a ratio of 10 kilograms of charcoal per kilogram of flour.
The mixture is then pressed by hand and placed outside in the sun to dry before being used.
Now, Edy and a group of wastebased producers are manufacturing the brickets under the Intan Berseri brand in Plebengan hamlet, Sidomulyo, Bantul, and are able to produce 100 kilograms of peanut-husk brickets, or the equivalent of 200 kilograms of peanut waste.
Besides peanut husks, other waste, such as corn cobs and sawdust can also be turned into brickets.
"Earlier, I was confused about how to get rid of the waste, but now raw materials are often inadequate outside the harvest season," said Edy.
Edy's bio-charcoal brickets are high in calories, or have a heat level of between 4,000 and 6,000 calories per gram. Brickets made from corn cobs have a calorie level of 5,919 calories per gram, a water content of 7.4 percent and an ash content of 7.5 percent, making them equivalent to coal brickets that can be used as fuel for the industrial sector.
Bio-charcoal brickets are also easy to light and are virtually smokeless with a reddish-blue flame. The ash from the brickets is fine and can be used to wash dishes and kitchen utensils.
The bio-charcoal brickets are now easily found in markets across the country. Cottage industries in Yogyakarta, Surakarta in Central Java and Bekasi in West Java, are regularly placing routine orders for the brickets.
"Initially, we only supplied households, but the brickets are also sought after by home industries," said Edy.
Edy and his group have even received export orders for bio-charcoal brickets, but the density level of the brickets is still unfavorable and could break during consignment.
"We still press the brickets by hand. The product would be better if we used a hydraulic press," said Edy.
In attempt to meet export orders, Edy's group is currently forging partnerships with residents in Pandes, Sewon and Bantul as residents in Pandes are currently able to process nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum) into biodiesel fuel.
