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Economic analysis of biomass briquettes made from coconut shells, rattan waste, banana peels and sugarcane bagasse in households cooking

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the economic viability of cooking biomass briquettes made from coconut shells, rattan waste, banana peels, and sugarcane bagasse by replacing conventional fuels such as fuelwood, charcoal and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). The life cycle cost method and the sensitivity analysis based on a 10-year lifetime are applied to a typical Cameroonian household with an annual cooking energy requirement of 950 kWh. According to the results, briquettes made from coconut shells have the lowest life cycle cost (384.6€), while those made from banana peels have the highest cost (729.6€). The fuelwood replacement has the highest present value of net benefit. Among the three conventional fuels investigated, wood charcoal is the cheapest. Changes in the price of conventional fuels and the market discount rate affect the economic feasibility of biomass briquettes. With the exception of the banana peel briquettes, briquettes are more cost-effective than fuelwood, wood charcoal and Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Decision makers should consider ways to include massive household use of biomass briquettes in sustainable development because they could be a leading mover in sustainable development.

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Abbreviations

CCS:

Coconut shells

PVT :

Present Value at the year T, €

RWT:

Rattan waste

d:

Discount rate, %

BNP:

Banana peels

Ed :

Energy demand, kWh

SGC:

Sugarcane bagasse

ACT :

Annual cash flow at the year T, €

IEA:

International Energy Agency

FC:

Fuel Cost, €/kwh

WHO:

World Health Organization

INV:

Initial investment cost, €

LPG:

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

i :

Fuel cost inflation rate, %

PVNB:

Present Value of Net Benefit, €

j :

Maintenance cost inflation rate,%

LCC:

Life Cycle Cost, €

PVT :

Present Value at the year T, €

LCCconv :

Life Cycle Cost of conventional fuel, €

d:

Discount rate, %

LCCbio :

Life Cycle Cost of biomass briquette, €

MC:

Maintenance cost, €

kWh:

Kilowatt-hour

kWht :

Kilowatt-hour thermal

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Acknowledgements

This work was carried out in the framework of the HIGHER EDUCATION—KA107 INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY project between University of Douala and University of West Attica, Athens, Greece. The authors acknowledge the European Union and the ERASMUS + Program [Agreement No 205] for support. Authors thank department of mechanical engineering of University of West Attica.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Energy, Materials, Modelling and Methods, Higher National Polytechnic School, University of Douala, PO Box, 2701, Douala, Cameroon

    Bill Vaneck Bot

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Attica, Campus II, Thivon 250, 12241, Aegaleo, Athens, Greece

    Bill Vaneck Bot, Petros J. Axaopoulos & Evangelos I. Sakellariou

  3. Laboratory of Thermal and Environment, Advanced Teacher’s Training College for Technical Education, University of Douala-Cameroon, PO Box 1872, Douala, Cameroon

    Olivier Thierry Sosso

  4. Department of Thermal and Energy Engineering, University Institute of Technology, University of Douala, PO Box, 2701, Douala, Cameroon

    Jean Gaston Tamba

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  1. Bill Vaneck Bot
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  4. Evangelos I. Sakellariou
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Contributions

BVB involved in conceptualisation and writing original draft; PJA involved in methodology and review and editing original draft; OTS involved in software and visualisation; EIS involved in review and editing original draft; and JGT involved in supervision and project administration.

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Correspondence to Bill Vaneck Bot.

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Bot, B.V., Axaopoulos, P.J., Sosso, O.T. et al. Economic analysis of biomass briquettes made from coconut shells, rattan waste, banana peels and sugarcane bagasse in households cooking. Int J Energy Environ Eng 14, 179–187 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-022-00508-2

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