Liquid biofuels
Practical Action
Other manufacturers for ethanol stoves include the SuperBlu stove manufactured by Bluwave
Ltd. The stove has been designed to be reliable, safe and easy to manufacture. The fuel
consumption is highly efficient compared to paraffin stoves, and it burns cleanly with no
smell. It has no consumable parts, such as wicks. In cold conditions, it converts into a heater
by the simple means of a ceramic cylinder which fits on top of the stove. The cylinder heats up
and retains and radiates the heat to warm the surrounds, and on top of the cylinder a space is
provided for a kettle. A detailed discussion on testing of this stove can be found on the
HEDON Household Energy Network website (Bluwave).
Plant oil stoves
There are a wide variety of plant oils that have
potential for cooking, including coconut, jatropha,
soya bean, corn, peanut, cotton, sunflower and many
more. The Protos stove was developed in the
Philippines by Leyte State University (LSU) in
collaboration with Bosch and Siemens Home
Appliance Group (BSH), who have supported and
funded the work, alongside the German government
(Guarte).
A key feature of this type of stove is that fuel can be
bought in very low quantities – and for people on
small incomes, not having to save for a refill means
that the tradition of buying enough just for the next
day can be continued.
Protos plant oil cooker
Plant oil is safe to use: it does not burn under normal room conditions, and burns cleanly, so
is good for health.
Those piloting the use of the plant oil stove say that it cooks faster than a traditional kerosene
stove and the cost of fuel tends to be lower. Most of the stove parts are manufactured locally,
although the high precision components are still made by BSH. The German agency, GTZ, is
testing the stove in the longer term in Tanzania. Already there is wide demand for the stove.
Biofuel lighting
Ethanol can be used to produce a clean bright light.
Petromax, who produce the BriteLyt Methanol/Ethanol/Alcohol
Lantern, makes the best known of these lanterns. This lantern is
manufactured currently in the USA (Britelyt).
The Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in the
Philippines has developed the Noorie lantern that burns very
cleanly, producing light equivalent to that from a 100 W
incandescent light bulb. By removing the top of the lamp, an
attachment can allow the lantern to be used for small amounts of
cooking
Noorie lantern with
cooking attachment
Electricity generation
There are several types of vegetable oils that can be used to generate electricity in adapted
diesel engines. For example, in the Amazon region, around 1000 small power plants
(<500kW) use diesel to supply electricity to small towns and villages, whilst huge plantations
of oil palm are cultivated for biofuels for export (Coelho, 2005).
Diesel is not subsidised, and the electricity is often too expensive for households to buy. Diesel
engines adapted to burn vegetable oil are being tested in demonstration units in isolated
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