Fuel and Emission Efficiency test for locally produced charcoal stoves using charcoal sourced from selected tree species in Adola Woyu District, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Energy plays an indispensable role in social, and economic development. It is primarily obtained from biomass and converted to required energy using traditional stoves in most developing countries. Currently, the market is dominated by different shapes and sizes of locally produced cooking stoves. Their impact on fuel-saving, and emission reduction, however, has not been exhaustively investigated. Objective and Method: Hence, the objective of this study is to test the fuel efficiency and emission reduction potential of locally produced charcoal stoves. Accordingly, four charcoal stoves and three plant species that are commonly used were collected for conducting laboratory tests following a controlled cooking test. Results: The overall findings revealed that about 62.69% of the respondents use locally produced charcoal stoves compared to the traditional metal stoves (37.31%). However, individual stove-wise analysis indicates that traditional metal stoves are majorly used stove type followed by Lakech (29.36%) and Mirchaye (13.46%) stoves. Overall, a traditional metal stove consumes a huge amount of fuel (0.23ton/year) which is around 0.0046ha of forest and is responsible for the emission of 77.07ton of CO 2 e per year whereas the mean consumption of improved stoves is 0.16ton/year which is about 0.0032ha of forest and emits 13.69tons of CO 2 e per year. Furthermore, these differences were among improved stoves. Accordingly, the highest annual greenhouse gas emission was recorded by Mirchaye stove (14.64ton of CO 2 e) followed by lakech, and kib stoves 13.69, and 12.74ton CO 2 e respectively. The types of wood used for charcoal preparation, in addition to stoves types, also have an impact on the amount of fuel consumed and pollutants emitted. Conclusions: Generally improved stoves significantly contribute to reducing emission and fuel consumption which in turn reduces the impact on forest resources, human health, and global warming of the energy sector. Hence, this finding discloses the distribution of these improved stoves for local communities by government and concerned stakeholders to assure affordable and clean energy for all and reducing pressure on forest and human health.