<p>In Malawi 2.5 % of the forest disappears each year. The use of firewood and charcoal, deriving from forest resources,</p><p>accounts for about 99 % of the household energy demand in Malawi and is a cause to the deforestation. The Government of</p><p>Malawi recently launched a programme called Promotion of Alternative Energy Sources Programme (PAESP) with the aim</p><p>to reduce the use of firewood and charcoal. One of the fuels included in the programme is the biomass briquette. The aim</p><p>with this study is to evaluate the viability of biomass briquettes as a sustainable alternative energy source to firewood and</p><p>charcoal for households in Malawi.</p><p>Research for the study was carried out during three months in Malawi. Visits were made to a number of briquette</p><p>production sites to study the manufacturing methods and to collect briquette samples. The briquettes were tested using</p><p>various methods and then compared with results for firewood and charcoal.</p><p>At the moment various production methods are used in Malawi, with a high difference in technical complexity and cost.</p><p>Machines produced from wood using very basic mechanics can apply similar pressure as more advanced metal pressers.</p><p>They also seem to be better suited than those made of metal, in terms of price and availability.</p><p>The majority of the briquette producers in Malawi use waste paper as base material. Although the paper briquettes are good,</p><p>other raw materials will be needed if the production is supposed to be significantly increased.</p><p>The briquettes burn well using the most common stoves in Malawi, including the commonly used charcoal stove. While</p><p>firewood is cheaper to use than other available fuels, the briquettes seem to be able to compete with the fuel costs for</p><p>charcoal.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:liu-9087 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Faxälv, Olle, Nyström, Olof |
| Publisher | Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, Institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, text |
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