Environmental and financial benefits of improved cookstove technologies in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Dugassa Negash; Assefa Abegaz; Jo Smith

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2021.106089

Environmental and financial benefits of improved cookstove technologies in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Dugassa Negash^* (Corresponding Author), Assefa Abegaz, Jo Smith

^*Corresponding author for this work

Aberdeen Centre For Environmental Sustainability

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

6 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This study assessed the potential contributions of improved cookstoves in enhancing organic fertilizer availability for application to farmland, greenhouse gas emission mitigation and improvement of household finances using the Kitchen Performance Test and Controlled Cooking Test. Substitution of a three-stone open fire with improved cookstoves significantly (p<0.01) improved fuel use efficiency by 54% (highest) for the mirt stove together with biogas and 32% (lowest) for the mud stove without biogas. The greenhouse gas emission reductions in carbon dioxide equivalents were 4534(±32) kg y -1 , 6370(±42) kg y -1 , 6953(±51) kg y -1 , 7661(±43) kg y -1 for the mud stove, mirt stove, mud stove with biogas and mirt stove with biogas respectively. The average financial savings from the sale of surplus biomass fuel for the improved cookstoves were higher than the summed financial savings from substitution of commercial fertilizer, generation of carbon finance and replacement of kerosene for lighting. This explains why households usually prefer to sell surplus biomass fuels instead of using them as organic fertilizers. This finding suggests that wide scale adoption of fuel- efficient solid biomass stoves can contribute to the financial security of households, and may help to reduce deforestation, but will do little to increase the fertility of soils. By contrast, including biogas stoves will help to improve soil fertility by retaining at least some of the carbon and nutrients in bioslurry that will then be applied to the soil.

Original language	English
Article number	106089
Number of pages	11
Journal	Biomass & Bioenergy
Volume	150
Early online date	14 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2021.106089
Publication status	Published - 31 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

The authors are grateful to the participating households in stove performance test and end-users’ stove satisfaction survey without whose assistance the accomplishment of the research undertaking could have been possible. We would like to give our deep gratitude to the African Union Commission (AUC) for funding the installation of biogas digesters and mirt stoves in Kumbursa Village as part of Afriflame project under the adaptation of small-scale biogas digesters for use in rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa. The assistance from Green Heat- Uganda in installing biogas digesters in Kumbursa Village is appreciated. Finally, we are thankful to the staff of Debrezeit Agricultural Research Center for analyzing the nutrient contents of dung cake, crop residues and bioslurry samples.

Keywords

Biogas
Controlled Cooking Test, Cookstove
Fuel saving efficiency
greenhouse gases
Kitchen Performance Test

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

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title = "Environmental and financial benefits of improved cookstove technologies in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia",

abstract = "This study assessed the potential contributions of improved cookstoves in enhancing organic fertilizer availability for application to farmland, greenhouse gas emission mitigation and improvement of household finances using the Kitchen Performance Test and Controlled Cooking Test. Substitution of a three-stone open fire with improved cookstoves significantly (p<0.01) improved fuel use efficiency by 54% (highest) for the mirt stove together with biogas and 32% (lowest) for the mud stove without biogas. The greenhouse gas emission reductions in carbon dioxide equivalents were 4534(±32) kg y -1 , 6370(±42) kg y -1 , 6953(±51) kg y -1 , 7661(±43) kg y -1 for the mud stove, mirt stove, mud stove with biogas and mirt stove with biogas respectively. The average financial savings from the sale of surplus biomass fuel for the improved cookstoves were higher than the summed financial savings from substitution of commercial fertilizer, generation of carbon finance and replacement of kerosene for lighting. This explains why households usually prefer to sell surplus biomass fuels instead of using them as organic fertilizers. This finding suggests that wide scale adoption of fuel- efficient solid biomass stoves can contribute to the financial security of households, and may help to reduce deforestation, but will do little to increase the fertility of soils. By contrast, including biogas stoves will help to improve soil fertility by retaining at least some of the carbon and nutrients in bioslurry that will then be applied to the soil.",

keywords = "Biogas, Controlled Cooking Test, Cookstove, Fuel saving efficiency, greenhouse gases, Kitchen Performance Test",

author = "Dugassa Negash and Assefa Abegaz and Jo Smith",

note = "The authors are grateful to the participating households in stove performance test and end-users{\textquoteright} stove satisfaction survey without whose assistance the accomplishment of the research undertaking could have been possible. We would like to give our deep gratitude to the African Union Commission (AUC) for funding the installation of biogas digesters and mirt stoves in Kumbursa Village as part of Afriflame project under the adaptation of small-scale biogas digesters for use in rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa. The assistance from Green Heat- Uganda in installing biogas digesters in Kumbursa Village is appreciated. Finally, we are thankful to the staff of Debrezeit Agricultural Research Center for analyzing the nutrient contents of dung cake, crop residues and bioslurry samples. ",

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AU - Abegaz, Assefa

AU - Smith, Jo

N1 - The authors are grateful to the participating households in stove performance test and end-users’ stove satisfaction survey without whose assistance the accomplishment of the research undertaking could have been possible. We would like to give our deep gratitude to the African Union Commission (AUC) for funding the installation of biogas digesters and mirt stoves in Kumbursa Village as part of Afriflame project under the adaptation of small-scale biogas digesters for use in rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa. The assistance from Green Heat- Uganda in installing biogas digesters in Kumbursa Village is appreciated. Finally, we are thankful to the staff of Debrezeit Agricultural Research Center for analyzing the nutrient contents of dung cake, crop residues and bioslurry samples.

PY - 2021/7/31

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N2 - This study assessed the potential contributions of improved cookstoves in enhancing organic fertilizer availability for application to farmland, greenhouse gas emission mitigation and improvement of household finances using the Kitchen Performance Test and Controlled Cooking Test. Substitution of a three-stone open fire with improved cookstoves significantly (p<0.01) improved fuel use efficiency by 54% (highest) for the mirt stove together with biogas and 32% (lowest) for the mud stove without biogas. The greenhouse gas emission reductions in carbon dioxide equivalents were 4534(±32) kg y -1 , 6370(±42) kg y -1 , 6953(±51) kg y -1 , 7661(±43) kg y -1 for the mud stove, mirt stove, mud stove with biogas and mirt stove with biogas respectively. The average financial savings from the sale of surplus biomass fuel for the improved cookstoves were higher than the summed financial savings from substitution of commercial fertilizer, generation of carbon finance and replacement of kerosene for lighting. This explains why households usually prefer to sell surplus biomass fuels instead of using them as organic fertilizers. This finding suggests that wide scale adoption of fuel- efficient solid biomass stoves can contribute to the financial security of households, and may help to reduce deforestation, but will do little to increase the fertility of soils. By contrast, including biogas stoves will help to improve soil fertility by retaining at least some of the carbon and nutrients in bioslurry that will then be applied to the soil.

AB - This study assessed the potential contributions of improved cookstoves in enhancing organic fertilizer availability for application to farmland, greenhouse gas emission mitigation and improvement of household finances using the Kitchen Performance Test and Controlled Cooking Test. Substitution of a three-stone open fire with improved cookstoves significantly (p<0.01) improved fuel use efficiency by 54% (highest) for the mirt stove together with biogas and 32% (lowest) for the mud stove without biogas. The greenhouse gas emission reductions in carbon dioxide equivalents were 4534(±32) kg y -1 , 6370(±42) kg y -1 , 6953(±51) kg y -1 , 7661(±43) kg y -1 for the mud stove, mirt stove, mud stove with biogas and mirt stove with biogas respectively. The average financial savings from the sale of surplus biomass fuel for the improved cookstoves were higher than the summed financial savings from substitution of commercial fertilizer, generation of carbon finance and replacement of kerosene for lighting. This explains why households usually prefer to sell surplus biomass fuels instead of using them as organic fertilizers. This finding suggests that wide scale adoption of fuel- efficient solid biomass stoves can contribute to the financial security of households, and may help to reduce deforestation, but will do little to increase the fertility of soils. By contrast, including biogas stoves will help to improve soil fertility by retaining at least some of the carbon and nutrients in bioslurry that will then be applied to the soil.

KW - Biogas

KW - Controlled Cooking Test, Cookstove

KW - Fuel saving efficiency

KW - greenhouse gases

KW - Kitchen Performance Test

U2 - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2021.106089

DO - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2021.106089

M3 - Article

SN - 0961-9534

VL - 150

JO - Biomass & Bioenergy

JF - Biomass & Bioenergy

M1 - 106089

ER -

Environmental and financial benefits of improved cookstove technologies in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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