CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Making fire to generate heat and light made it possible for people to cook food, simultaneously
increasing the variety and availability of nutrients and reducing disease by killing organisms in the food.
Everyone knows how important food consumption is to an individual. Without food, one may get totally
insane and may revert to destroying people’s lives, including their own. As our country continue to battle
with the worsening poverty problems and non-stop increase in oil and fuel prices, many Filipino today
rely on wood charcoal for cooking to save money.1 As time goes by the use of fire became progressively
more sophisticated because of that more and more trees are cut down to produce and provide additional
charcoals for everyone.
In the Philippines, trees are often burnt to make charcoal. Charcoal is the main source of heat in
cooking. Between seven and nine tons of wood is needed to produce one ton of charcoal, with around 60
percent of all wood taken from forests believed to be burnt as fuel. An estimated 400 million cubic meters
of wood are turned into charcoal every year. 2 This information clearly states that a lot of charcoals are in
demand these days and this is one of the factor that causes deforestation.
Charcoal production in tropical regions of the world is often perceived to have devastating
ecological and environmental effects and governments, public forestry institutions and non-government
organizations have been particularly concerned about these charcoal-related impacts. The most commonly
cited impact is deforestation.3 Based on the Journal of Tropical Forest Science, over the course of the
20th century the forest cover of the Philippines dropped from 70 percent down to 20 percent.4 In short,
charcoal production most frequently results only in forest degradation.
Paper literally comes from a tree. Tree is the only source to make papers.
1
https://studymoose.com/paper-charcoal-essay date Accessed September 13, 2017
2
http://www.tft-earth.org/resources/charcoal-research/ date Accessed September 13, 2017
3
http://www.cifor.org/library/3890/the-environmental-impacts-of-charcoal-production-in-tropical-ecosystems-of-
the-world-a-synthesis/ date Accessed September 14, 2017
4
Lasco, R. D.; R. D. (2001). "Secondary forests in the Philippines: formation and transformation in the 20th
century" (PDF). Journal of Tropical Forest Science. 13 (4): 652–670.
In today’s electronic age, people are starting to consider going paperless. But there’s still a long way to go
before we lose our dependence on this very important human product.
From our newspapers to our paper wrappings, paper is still everywhere and most of them are ending up in
our landfills creating a staggering amount of paper waste. There was a time when paper was a rare and
precious commodity. Now it fills our planet. It was initially invented as a tool for communication, but
today, paper is used more for packaging.
To produce paper takes twice the energy used to produce a plastic bag. Everything takes energy to
produce.
In the case of paper, it also involves cutting down trees. Deforestation is one of the main environmental
problems we’re facing in these times. 42% of all global wood harvest is used to make paper. Is it really
worth it to cut down our life saving trees for this product?
Let us share with you these interesting paper waste facts. We are so used to seeing products in their
completed form that we seldom think of how they are made and what happens after we dispose of them.
Paper charcoal
Deforestation is the primary effect of our mindless use of paper. Conservation groups have made an
admirable headway in protecting ecologically rich forests and limiting commercial access. This is great
progress for mankind! Just imagine how long a tree will grow to its full size…. We are only just realizing
the wasted use of our trees - trees that give off oxygen and protect the planet from further Global
Warming.
Paper pollution is another effect of paper waste and it’s a serious problem. It is estimated that by 2020,
paper mills will be producing 500,000,000 tons of paper and paperboard each year! We obviously need
this product and a reduction of use is not in the horizon. Pulp and paper is the 3rd largest industrial
polluter of air, water and soil. Chlorine-based bleaches are used during production which results in toxic
materials being released into our water, air and soil. When paper rots, it emits methane gas which is 25
times more toxic than CO2.
Palm tree seedPalms are evergreen, mostly tropical plant in the family Palmae
(also known as Arecaceae). There are over 2500 species of palms. Most Palm are tree-
like, with single trunks and either fan shaped (palmate) or feather shaped (pinnate)
compound leaves. The larger palm tree makes a dramatic statements in USDA Zone 8-
10 landscapes, and a smaller palms are grown in containers everywhere.
Palm Tree - Seeds
The Palm tree seeds show a corresponding variety in size and shape, but always consist of a
mass of Palm endosperm, in which is embedded a relatively very minute embryo. The hard
stone of the date palm is the endosperm, the white oily flesh of the coco-nut is the same
substance in a softer condition; the so-called “vegetable ivory” is derived from the
endosperm of Phytelephas. In some Palms genera the inner seed coat becomes thickened
along the course of the vascular bundles and growing into the endosperm produces the
characteristic appearance in section known as ruminate—this is well shown in the Areca nut.
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Charcoals are often difficult to start a fire, we use gas, papers, matches, etc. to ignite a fire in
instance but we all know that it takes a lot of time and effort. In this case, we could use the seeds falling
from a palm tree and the paper charcoal. The palm tree seed can light up a fire longer than match sticks
that are used in starting a fire. The paper charcoal will easily ignite because of the dried palm tree seed
under it. This would lessen the time we spent on igniting a fire. Unlike using charcoals, this product will
prove that it would be much easier to light up a fire in a shorter time than usual charcoals. The use of
palm oil seed in this study is very beneficial. Palm oil seeds have certain substances that when used as a
fire starter, the seed will burn longer than a stick of match and that is better used in creating a fire. This
product will also lessen the use of regular charcoals out of trees and that would deduct the production in
which, more trees would be save. To sum it all, this study is very eco-friendly and benefits us all.
PROCEDURE
Paper charcoals are made by soaking papers overnight and forming it into fist size balls which are
left to dry in the sun. Paper charcoals serves as a good alternative fuel for cooking. Encouraging the use
of paper charcoal as an alternative for fuel is good practice. Waste papers would otherwise end up in
landfills are given new use as cooking medium. This will also help reduce dependence on forest wood for
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cooking. It does not produce soot like ordinary charcoals. Paper charcoal may function differently from
the ordinary charcoal but it is very ingenious and eco-friendly.
