Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Substitution for Wood Fuel in Africa

Inadequate access to modern energy sources is a common predicament of rural communities all over Africa. More than 75% of all households in Africa rely on traditional biomass - fuel wood and charcoal - as the primary energy source for domestic cooking and other productive activities. The heavy dependence of a large segment of the population on biomass fuels has been recognized as a major socio-economic development obstacle for the country. With increased awareness of the problems associated with burning fuel wood, African society is today looking for cleaner and more modern alternatives. One of these is Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). A byproduct of crude oil refining, LPG is the generic name for compressed hydrocarbon gases, typically butane and propane. Because it is clean, safe and very efficient in generating heat, the use of LPG represents major progress and contributes to better quality of household life for many Africans.
Advantages of LPG•

Clean: LPG burns efficiently, without producing smoke and with low pollutant emissions. These inherently clean characteristics are especially important to reduce indoor air pollution and therefore, LPG is a major contribution to the better health of women and children.•

Portable: It is easily liquefied and stored in pressured containers. These properties make it portable, and hence, LPG can be easily transported in cylinders or tanks to endusers.

• Efficient: LPG is extremely efficient in generating heat, and therefore a major step up on the energy quality ladder.

• Multiple uses: LPG is an energy source capable of supporting multiple productive uses extending well beyond the household, such as developing micro-enterprises. Thus, it contributes to improving community life, health and sanitation by generating income at the community level.

From an environmental point of view, although it is derived from a fossil fuel, LPG emits much less carbon dioxide when burned than either coal or oil. As wood takes in as much carbon dioxide (CO2) to grow as it releases when burned, wood fuel is considered carbon dioxide neutral in terms of its greenhouse gas effect. However, traditional cooking stoves in Africa are extremely inefficient, to the point of losing 90 per cent of the heat to the surroundings. Wood fuel therefore produces substantively more greenhouse gas emissions per meal than LPG.