Bio-Ethanol as a Household Cooking Fuel: A Mini Pilot Study of the SuperBlu Stove in Peri-Urban Malawi
| By | James Robinson |
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| Description | Malawi is one of the world's least developed countries where population pressures and an over reliance on traditional biomass fuels have led to deforestation. The combustion of unsustainably harvested biomass releases large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and when burnt indoors has been strongly linked to acute respiratory infections, a major cause of death in developing countries. This report presents an assessment of the SuperBlu Stove, developed to use bio-ethanol already produced in Malawi from sugar industry waste as part of a fuel-blending programme. The stove was evaluated against an improved ceramic charcoal stove with both units undergoing field testing in twenty peri-urban households as well as safety, water boiling and controlled cook tests. The prototype stove was found to be potentially appropriate for use but suffered from manufacturing problems, with further work required on safety, performance and emissions. However, the SuperBlu Stove can be made appropriate with some seemingly achievable development. For the stove to be made both affordable and accessible to users, the ethanol market would need some marked changes to reduce price, increase available volumes and develop alternative feedstocks. James Robinson, October 2006 |
| File size | 1055 kB |
| Date | 02-03-2007 at 11h21 |