ABSTRACT
This project work focuses on the quantitative determination of Na, K, Mg and Ca composition of five selected agricultural wastes (bamboo stem, oil bean pools, sugar cane peels, sweet potato peels and plantain stem). To study this, the agricultural wastes were dried, ashed and the metal composition from the leached ashes were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) and flame photometer. From the analysis above, the metal compositions of are; Na (12.50mg/L), K (197.30mg/L), Mg (4.20mg/L), Ca (43.20mg/L), oil bean pods; Na (6.30mg/L), K (179.60mg/L), Mg (3.10mg/L), Ca (39.40 mg/L), sugar cane peels; Na (7.80 mg/L), K (168.30 mg/L), Mg (3.20 mg/L), Ca (54.30 mg/L) sweet potato peels; Na (8.90 mg/L), K (175.40 mg/L), Mg (3.50 mg/L), Ca (15.90 mg/L) and plantain stem; Na (2.40 mg/L), K (173.20 mg/L), Mg (3.60 mg/L) and Ca (35.80 mg/L). From my experiment, bamboo stem ash competes favourably with the plantain ash that has been used by locals in black soap production. Therefore, bamboo stems can be used as alternative to plantain stems for production of black soap.
