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Ethanol and household energy


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[top] [end]What is ethanol and who uses it?

Ethanol (ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol) is a clear, colourless, volatile liquid that can be derived from either plants or petroleum products. Traditionally it has been made by fermenting sugar rich biomass feedstocks (such as grapes, maize, barley, hops etc) to produce an alcoholic drink of varying strengths. It can also be used as an antiseptic or a solvent. At higher concentrations ethanol has as an energy per unit volume, or heating value, some two-thirds that of petrol (gasoline) or paraffin (kerosene). In many countries sugarcane or maize (corn) is grown on an industrial scale to produce ethanol for mixing with transport fuels. Ethanol can also be synthetically produced from petroleum products.

Read more details about ethanol and it's production here and see how it is made worldwide here

[top] [end]What are its applications to household energy?

Roughly 3 billion people in developing countries rely on woodfuels for their daily cooking, lighting and heating needs. In recent decades the unsustainable exploitation of biomass, for both household and industrial use, has been causing increased concern due to the damage done to the environment as well as to human health. At a local level deforestation can lead to increased flooding and declining soil quality, whilst on a global level the combustion of biomass has major implications for climate change due to the release of large amounts of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. Whilst much of the CO2 is absorbed back into plants during photosynthesis, if it is unsustainably harvested this absorption effect is largely negated.

The use of open fires and cook stoves makes household energy usage a large source of pollution, with the burning of biomass indoors, often in poorly ventilated houses, being strongly linked to acute respiratory infections (ARI’s) and other health problems. As cooking is mostly a task undertaken by woman this particularly affects them, and more so their young children who often spend long periods of time at their side. It is estimated that ARI’s are the biggest killer amongst children under the age of five world wide, resulting in over 1-2 million deaths annually.

Compared to traditional fuels, more modern energy sources such as paraffin (kerosene) and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) offer increased efficiencies, reduced emissions and are more user friendly. However they release fossil fuel derived ghg’s, and are often more expensive to both the national economy and the user, with poverty being one of the main barriers to their uptake.

Liquid biomass cooking fuels combine some of the advantages of both traditional and new fuels and ethanol is beginning to emerge as a viable household fuel, with options based around either a liquid or a ‘Gel Fuel’ form.

[top] [end]Advantages

  • Ethanol burns very cleanly (as a liquid or vapour) and so emits less harmful gases and particulates than a wood or charcoal stove

  • Ethanol cooking systems have the potential to be more user friendly than the solid fuel equivalent

  • Ethanol is already produced from biomass feedstocks in over 20 developing countries, so large volumes of fuel are already available

  • Ethanol, when grown from sustainably harvested feedstocks, is a renewable fuel because the green house gases (ghg) released in its production and consumption are theoretically equivalent to those absorbed during its growth cycle

  • Large scale ethanol production provides employment and can earn valuable foreign currency

  • The development of alternative feedstocks, more applicable to local conditions, has the potential to improve yields, farmer income and food security

[top] [end]Disadvantages

  • All liquid fuels present a diifferent set of hazards when in a domestic environment

  • It can be difficult to establish a fuel supply chain in conjunction with developing a market for a new stove

  • A safe, reliable, affordable ethanol stove design and fuel supply chain have yet to establish in any market

  • Due to its use as a transport fuel, ethanol currently has a high price, which is likely to deter its use in the domestic fuel market

  • The large scale ‘mono-agricultural’ production of ethanol can be environmentally and socially damaging in many developing countries

[top] [end]Economic factors

With the rising worldwide demand for bio-ethanol making ethanol exports increasingly attractive to governments, its use as a household fuel will need more detailed economic analysis to convince policy makers of its merits (i.e. increased productivity and reduced health costs against a more negative balance of payments).

[top] [end]Ethanol stoves and lamps

There are numerous types of ethanol fuelled devices:
  • A list of ethanol stoves can be found here

  • A list of ethanol lamps can be found here?

[top] [end]Best practice



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[top] [end]Contributors

User: Donna Skordili - foundation text and formatting 29 Mar 2007

User: James Robinson - foundation text and formatting 02 May 2007

[top] [end]Sources

User: James Robinson - MSc Thesis on Cookstoves in Malawi
Categories: Ethanol| Fuels


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Page created: 10 September 2005; Last edited: 02 May 2007; Version: 8
Knowledge Bank text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

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