1. Why briquettes?!
• Cooking
with
brique0es
is
9
and
15
(mes
cheaper
than
lump
charcoal
and
kerosene,
respec9vely.
• Produc9on
of
fuel
brique0es
creates
employment,
generates
income,
empowers
women
grassroot
groups,
cleans
neighbourhoods
and
saves
trees.
• Turning
the
10-­‐15%
waste
charcoal
dust
from
the
charcoal
supply
chain
into
brique0es
produces
over
15%
addi(onal
cooking
fuel.
• Brique0es
made
from
charcoal
dust
(80%)
and
soil
(20%)
burn
more
regularly
and
longer
than
charcoal
(4
h
vs
2.5
h);
this
allows
communi9es
to
maintain
their
nutri9ous,
slow-­‐cooked
tradi9onal
diets
(Njenga
et
al,
2013).
• They
lower
household
air
pollu(on.
Carbon
monoxide
(CO)
and
fine
par9culate
ma0er
(PM2.5)
emissions
from
brique0es
are
a
third
and
a
ninth,
respec9vely,
of
what
lump
charcoal
emits.
• Brique0es
generate
between
14-­‐25kJ/g
of
energy,
which
is
comparable
to
25kJ/g
for
lump
charcoal.
Objec(ves
• To
evaluate
fuel
brique0e
produc9on
technologies
and
their
effects
on
energy
efficiency
• To
compare
household
air
quality
from
fuel
brique0es
vs.
charcoal
• To
evaluate
the
impact
on
global
warming
poten9al
(GWP)
from
the
use
of
fuel
brique0es
• To
determine
the
social-­‐economic
benefits
accruing
to
communi9es
from
the
produc9on
and
use
of
fuel
brique0es.
Need
for
affordable
and
cleaner
cooking
fuel
Biomass
energy
is
the
cheapest
and
most
important
cooking
fuel
for
families
in
developing
countries.
But
there
are
nega9ve
health
and
environmental
effects,
as
well
as
issues
of
accessibility
and
affordability,
associated
with
the
use
of
firewood
and
charcoal.
More
appropriate
biomass
energy
op9ons
for
the
rural
and
urban
poor
are
needed.
Brique0es
are
cheaper
and
cleaner
than
charcoal
and
firewood.
They
reduce
indoor
air
pollu(on,
burn
longer,
and
cost
a
frac9on
of
the
price
of
regular
fuels.
Brique0es
are
made
by
mixing
organic
residues
with
water
and
a
binder
(e.g.
paper
or
soil).
This
mixture
is
compacted
and
shaped
into
brique0es
which
are
then
dried
in
the
sun
and
later
used.
Brique0es
can
help
meet
the
increasing
demand
for
cooking
energy
while
saving
trees.
Conclusions
and
recommenda(ons
• Fuel
brique0es
provide
affordable
and
clean
cooking
energy
–a
good
innova9on
to
scale
up.
• They
are
easy
to
adopt
(a
“low-­‐cost
shiH”),
since
they
are
used
in
the
same
way
and
in
the
same
cookstoves
as
lump
charcoal.
• A
system
analysis
considering
impacts
of
fuel
briqueKes
on
health,
nutri(on
and
environment
is
needed
to
aid
more
widespread
adop9on
and
to
iden9fy
major
knowledge
gaps
in
the
value
chain.
References: Njenga. M., Yonemitsu, A., Karanja, N., Iiyama, M., Kithinji, J., Dubbeling M.,
Sundberg, C and Jamnadass, R. (2013). Implications of charcoal briquette produced by
local communities on livelihoods and environment in Nairobi, Kenya. International Journal
of Renewable Energy Development (IJRED). 2 (1) 19-29.
Studies
on
the
innova(on
• An
evalua9on
of
the
sources
and
materials
used
for
brique0e
produc9on
by
community
groups
in
poor
areas
of
Nairobi
and
its
peripheries.
• Experiments
to
develop
higher
quality
fuel
brique0es
• A
survey
of
cooking
fuel
types
used
among
199
households
in
Kibera
located
within
a
250-­‐m
radius
of
a
brique0e
produc9on
site.
• Studies
of
the
quality
of
fuel
brique0es
made
by
local
communi9es
and
in
the
laboratory.
Combus9on
proper9es
were
measured
using
infrared
(IR)
spectroscopy
and
wet
chemistry;
and
carbon
monoxide
(CO),
fine
par9culate
ma0er
(PM2.5)
and
carbon
dioxide
(CO2)
emissions
were
measured
in
a
kitchen
simula9ng
household
cooking
condi9ons.
Selling
and
use
of
fuel
brique1es
for
cooking
in
Nairobi
Cooking-­‐fuel
briquettes
for
sustainable
communities
in
Kenya
Health,
wealth,
nutrition
and
environmental
gains
from
recycling
waste
charcoal
and
biomass
Mary Njenga1*, Nancy Karanja2, Miyuki Iiyama1 and Ramni Jamnadass1
1World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) ; 2University of Nairobi
Producing
fuel
brique1es
using
recycled
plas8c
cans,
metal
and
wooden
presses
in
Nairobi
CONTACT:
m.njenga
@cgiar.org