Assessment of Local Domestic Solid Fuel Sources: A Kenyan Case Study in Kisii, Bomet and Narok Counties

• DOI: 10.1007/s42250-023-00601-x
• Publication Date: 2023-02-21T19:24:02Z
• Authors: Josephate O. Bosire; Aloys M. Osano; Justin K. Maghanga; Patricia B.C. Forbes
• Keywords: Biomass (ecology); Renewable energy; Pulp and paper industry; 670; Combustion; Organic chemistry; 02 engineering and technology; 7. Clean energy; Engineering; 11. Sustainability; Carbon fibers; 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering; Proximate analysis; Water content; Decomposition profile; Composite number; Pollution; Algorithm; Chemistry; Coal; Charcoal; Physical Sciences; Metallurgy; SDG-07: Affordable and clean energy; Biomedical Engineering; Solid fuel; Environmental engineering; FOS: Medical engineering; Firewood; Environmental science; Briquette; Solid Fuels; Indoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries; FOS: Mathematics; Waste management; Biology; Household Fuel Use; Decomposition; Household combustion; Stove; FOS: Environmental engineering; Biomass Pyrolysis and Conversion Technologies; Materials science; Agronomy; Geotechnical engineering; Solid fuels; 13. Climate action; Environmental Science; Mathematics

AbstractProximate analyses and decomposition profiles of solid fuels commonly used in Kenya were studied to determine their relative suitability for use as a clean and efficient source of energy in households. The moisture, volatile matter, ash, and fixed carbon content of firewood, charcoal, and briquette samples were investigated, as well as their decomposition profiles under various temperature regimes. Except for the ash content of the briquette sample, which deviated slightly likely due to the presence of binders, all the values were within acceptable limits according to International Energy Agency and World Health Organization. Decomposition profiles revealed that mass change during combustion tends to occur primarily between 350 and 500 °C once the majority of the volatiles had been released. Briquette samples proved to be the most dependable and suitable household fuel due to their longer combustion time and lower volatile matter content, implying lower emissions.