A STUDY ON THE MANAGEMENT OF WASTE FROM THE THAILAND AROMATIC COCONUT INDUSTRY: A CASE STUDY OF RATCHABURI AND SAMUT SONGKHRAM PROVINCES

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.