Students make 'world's first' compressed charcoal from garlic skins

The tablet, called NIION, is the product of a group of students from the University of Industry and Trade, University of Economics, University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vin Uni and Conestoga College (Canada). The project will compete in the final round of the Student Startup Idea Competition organized by the Ministry of Education and Training in April.

Team leader Dinh Van Nam, a student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, said that carbonized biomass pellets from garlic peels can be used as fire starter, charcoal for grilling food or fumigating rooms and repelling insects. Utilizing agricultural waste not only brings economic value but also contributes to environmental protection and creates additional income for farmers.

After burning, the ash can be used to produce organic fertilizer, supporting sustainable farming.

The idea for the product came from the excess garlic peels in Nam’s family’s agricultural processing workshop. Nam said that the workshop produces about a ton of peels every day, but they cannot be buried like other types of biological waste because they contain natural antibiotics. Every month, Nam’s family spends 30 million VND to process this waste.

At first, Nam looked for ways to utilize or process the garlic peels to reduce costs for his family. Late last year, dengue fever broke out in some localities, reminding Nam of the allicin compound in garlic peels that can repel mosquitoes without causing harm to health.

After careful research, Nam found that the structure of garlic peel is similar to paper but rougher, contains many medicinal properties, and does not produce much CO2 when burned. Nam thought that if it were made into a fuel like coal, it would solve many problems, from fuel sources, energy, and reduce environmental pollution.

"I realized this is a very good problem. In emergency situations such as after floods, natural disasters or when camping without electricity or oil lamps, you can burn garlic shells to warm up, grill food or repel mosquitoes and insects," Nam said.

To realize the idea, the male student found teammates with expertise in chemistry and engineering to be in charge of making the product. The group was given the use of the laboratory by teachers from Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Technology during the research process.

At first, the group struggled to find a compound that could bind garlic peels together and compress them into blocks. Many members got burned when trying to conduct fire and bind them with alcohol, gelatin, and litchi powder. The initial product failed, even being fireproof. After continuously trying for a week, the group found a way to combine it with soy wax or beeswax.

After comparison, Nam and his friends found that soy wax is more suitable because it melts at 70-80 degrees Celsius, which does not change the garlic shell. Meanwhile, beeswax is more expensive, and its melting temperature of 100 degrees Celsius can change the active ingredients in the garlic shell.

With the initial finished product, the members proceed to complete the production process. Garlic peels are collected from markets, agricultural processing factories or spice companies, then cleaned, dried and combined with soy wax in a certain ratio and essential oils to create fragrance if needed.

Each 12.5g tablet burns for 10-15 minutes. Compared with charcoal or coal of the same mass, garlic shell tablets burn longer, have higher calorific value, and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80%.

Phuong Anh, a member of the group, said the group plans to launch three versions of garlic shell pellets to the market, to suit different customer groups. Specifically, the grill pellets are for restaurants and families to grill food. The biomass pellets are for fuel and heating. The third type has essential oils added, which can repel mosquitoes and be used as incense. Each box of 10 pellets weighs about 125g, with an expected selling price of about 15,000-20,000 VND.

The group also plans to make smaller pellets, priced at 500 VND, or larger pellets to extend the burning time to 180 minutes.

"With all-natural ingredients, many uses and compact size, the team believes the product will be well received by domestic and foreign markets," Phuong Anh said.

Ms. Hoang Thi Thoa, Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, said that in the world, there have been biomass pellets or fire starters from other by-products, but this is the first product made from garlic peels. When she heard the idea presented, she was surprised by its novelty. The group members come from many fields such as finance, engineering, management, health and are all good at foreign languages.

"You guys are very passionate and have an entrepreneurial spirit, so you are completely proactive in researching processing methods, exploring the market, and making business plans," Ms. Thoa assessed.

According to Ms. Thoa, biomass pellets from garlic peels create a green energy source, reduce environmental pollution, and can gradually replace charcoal and coal.

"The product has great potential when the supply is abundant, the quality is guaranteed and the output is positive. Foreign markets are very interested in this type of biomass pellet for tourism and camping activities," she said.

However, she said the product still needs more time to be technically perfected before commercialization.

This is also the goal that Nam's group has set for the coming time. Nam said that the members are improving the formula by reducing the proportion of soybean wax to reduce the cost. Currently, the price of 1kg of clean garlic peel is about 1,000 VND while the price of 1kg of soybean wax is 175,000 VND. At the same time, the group needs to find a suitable production machine to help grind the garlic peel so that the tablets are smoother and more beautiful.

"We want to commercialize the product and set up a business, not just stop at being a project in student competitions," Nam said.