Charcoal briquetting: Alternative energy sources and waste management solution for sustainable cities in Tanzania

Abstract

This paper presents a report as part of a comprehensive study on the utilization of some forms of solid waste (SW) to make charcoal briquettes (CB) as an alternative fuel source in communities that are reliant upon traditional charcoal (TC) and wood as the primary cooking fuels. The study coincides with the Tanzanian government’s efforts to diminish reliance on wood and charcoal as a primary fuel source, particularly for large-scale consumers. Nevertheless, the government restriction on TC usage comes with little or no presentation of alternative sources that are both eco-friendly and economically sustainable. Introducing the mechanism that meets both environmental and economic criteria, the study employs a cross-sectional approach to collect the required data and uses experimental methods to evaluate the performance of the produced CB. Such tests focused on cooking duration, burning rate (BR), specific fuel consumption (SFC), and the general efficiency expressed by the percentage of heat utilized (PHU). In most cases, CB performs by far or less well than TC. Such results make the study important as it develops clean cooking technologies to solve the existing fuel crisis and improve health and environmental conditions from SW pollution while reducing deforestation, subsequent desertification, and climate change for sustainable environmental conservation.