A STUDY ON THE MANAGEMENT OF WASTE FROM THE THAILAND AROMATIC COCONUT INDUSTRY: A CASE STUDY OF RATCHABURI AND SAMUT SONGKHRAM PROVINCES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/jesm.2025.4Keywords:
Aromatic coconut, impact, Management, Circular economyAbstract
This research investigates the management of Thailand’s aromatic coconut industry waste, focusing on a case study of Ratchaburi and Samut Songkhram provinces. Primary data, such as processing volumes, amount of waste throughout the product value chain, waste management, and increasing the value-added utilization, were examined. The results from 2023 indicated that both provinces had a coconut planting area of 100,100 rai or 160.16 square kilometers (54.60% of the total), yielding a daily production of 1,630,357 fruits, equivalent to 3,526.53 tons/day (including weight of bunches). While 6.95% of aromatic coconut production was sold as fresh products, the remaining 93.05% was processed into value-added products like peeled coconuts, coconut jelly, and coconut puddings, etc. This processing generated approximately 1,836.14 tons/day of aromatic coconut waste, including peduncles, pedicels, husks, and shells. Currently, both provinces manage 1,420.74 tons/day of aromatic coconut waste through non-utilization methods, such as dumping in public areas, sanitary landfills, or land leveling. To optimize management, a potential solution is to convert aromatic coconut waste into fuel. This approach could replace 200.42 tons of coal per day. (yielding 106.92 TOE/day in energy based on the heating value of biomass). Considering the energy demand of coal-fired boilers in both provinces, which is 1,017.50 tons/day (573.90 TOE/day), this conversion could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 510.16 TonCO2e/day, aligning with the Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG model) for aromatic coconuts.
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