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Emissions and emission factors for Dichrostachys cinerea, Morus Lactea, Piliostigma thonningii, Combretum molle, and Albizia grandibracteata firewood species and their charcoals

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Abstract

Firewood and charcoal are the most dominant sources of fuel for domestic cooking applications in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, performance and emission characteristics of firewood and charcoal from five commonly used species, namely, Dichrostachys cinerea, Morus Lactea, Piliostigma thonningii, Combretum molle, and Albizia grandibracteata were obtained. The water boiling test and emissions monitoring system for CO, CO2, and PM2.5 were used to determine fuel and energy consumption, thermal efficiency and emissions, and emissions’ factors. The results showed that firewood combustion required higher energy consumption compared to charcoal combustion. High-power thermal efficiency was the highest (> 45%) for all charcoal derived from the firewood species. During hot-start, cold-start, and simmering operations, it was observed that thermal efficiencies were generally higher for charcoal fuels (≥ 80%) compared to the firewood (< 40%) from where they were pyrolyzed. Firewood has a much lower indoor CO emissions footprint when compared to using charcoal. Nonetheless, CO emission levels for both firewood and charcoal exceed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines of 35 ppm (1-h average). CO2 emission factors are the most dominant and highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions from household use of firewood and charcoal. Overall, this work re-affirms the need for proper ventilation when firewood and charcoal are used in combustion.

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Data availability

Data associated with this research is available upon request to the corresponding author.

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Funding

This work was funded by a grant from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, www.nexteinstein.org, with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada, www.international.gc.ca, and the International Development Research Centre, www.idrc.ca.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Michael Lubwama, Vianney Andrew Yiga & Ivan Ssempijja

  2. Africa Center of Excellence in Materials, Product Development and Nanotechnology, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Michael Lubwama

  3. Yosevi Engineering Services Limited, Kampala, Uganda

    Michael Lubwama, Vianney Andrew Yiga & Harriet Nalubega Lubwama

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kabale University, Kabale, Uganda

    Vianney Andrew Yiga

  5. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Dar Es Salaam, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

    Joseph Kihedu

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  1. Michael Lubwama
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  4. Ivan Ssempijja
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Contributions

Michael Lubwama: conceptualization, project funding, data analysis, and manuscript writing. Vianney Andrew Yiga: conceptualization, experimental design, and manuscript writing. Ivan Ssempijja: experimental design, experimental work, and data analysis. Harriet Nalubega Lubwama: conceptualization and manuscript writing. Joseph Kihedu: conceptualization, data analysis, and manuscript writing.

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Correspondence to Michael Lubwama.

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Lubwama, M., Yiga, V.A., Lubwama, H.N. et al. Emissions and emission factors for Dichrostachys cinerea, Morus Lactea, Piliostigma thonningii, Combretum molle, and Albizia grandibracteata firewood species and their charcoals. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04005-2

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