No gas even at unprecedented prices: The growing plight of the housewife

BY Eng. Parakrama Jayasinghe

Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka

The problem of LPG supplies has now reached epic proportions with the distinct possibility of the prices going up even further. The possibility of adequate supplies even at such higher prices is so remote to be non-existent. As such even for those who can afford to pay such high prices, which is a minute proportion of the population, there is no relief insight by persisting on this failed option. The plight of those who can ill afford the day to day food purchases, this is a double whammy, of not being able to cook what meager amount of food they can procure.

The successive governments which are responsible for creating this mess, has no possible solutions, leaving the Litro Gas company to issue warning only, not to stay in the queues as they don’t have any gas to supply. So as with the issue of the food supplies the solution would have to come from the people, such as the growing of the essential food items to the level of ensuring subsistence at least.

Fortunately, Sri Lanka still has that set of intrepid individuals, but none from any government agencies, who have stepped in to the breach to find solutions to this problem and also to convert the crisis to an opportunity. These are the individuals and small businesses, who have developed stoves for use with charcoal and wood to cater for the needs of the households, as well as for small commercial establishments like restaurants.

As there seems to be no government agency even to recognise these efforts to be promoted for the essential change and make people aware of this possible solution, we give below the available information on such entrepreneurs and their products. The list is growing encouragingly and we will try to keep it up to date in our website www.bioenergysrilanka.lk (See figure: NERD licensees for biomass stoves)

Note. The above information has been presented without any qualification based on data available in the public domain or intimated to us without any restrictions on sharing.

While the above list addresses the segment of the population, mostly the urban sector, there is the need to evaluate the options available to the different strata of the population. For a fair proportion of which the solutions and the costs could be much less. However, to assuage the fears of arm chair critics that we are proposing to go back to the stone age, the offered solutions are based on reported research findings for higher efficiencies on performance and to be made user friendly and economical as well as environmentally benign.

The financial evaluation below of the currently available systems, including those none existent options such as LPG and Kerosene will help the householder to make their own choice. (See graph: Annual Fuel cost)

It is quite evident that there are at least four options available for use with either wood charcoal or wood pellets or even dried and processed wood, using currently available stoves of different models.

It is essential to add the ubiquitous “Anagi Lipa” or variations thereof, which can be targeted with zero cost of fuel, for those fortunate enough to have their own supplies of fuel wood , particularly Gliricidia trees in their fences.

We can therefore categorise the available options by way of the point of usage.(See table)

Once more in appreciation of the ingenuity of the Sri Lankan people in times of need, there are many who are manufacturing their own stoves using whatever available resources and some ingenious innovations. The nation is grateful for their efforts.

The above options are proposed to cater for the cooking of the two main meals in the household. However, the disadvantage of having to plan and cook all the dishes in one go has to be accepted. Therefore, it is expected that the electric rice cooker will continue to serve a need as well as the presently available efficient water heating jugs which consume only a small amount of electricity. As an initial intervention adoption of these could reduce the demand for LPG nationally and extend the usable lifespan of a gas cylinder bought with a struggle to several months to cater to the emergencies.

The possibility of using hybrid solutions incorporating solar cookers and biogas generators will be examined in another article.

It is to be noted that the current manufacturers of stoves advertise them for use with coconut shell charcoal, understandably, as it is the only charcoal presently in the market even to a limited extent. . However, this will gravely limit the adoption of these stoves for two reasons

It far too expensive at Rs 250/kg which makes its use as expensive as LPG

Coconut shell charcoal is the main raw material for the manufacture of Activated Carbon, a major source of export income. It is a crime to just burn this valuable resource. The Activated Carbon manufacturers in Sri Lanka are running well below capacity due to shortage of Coconut shell charcoal. Expansion of this supply is not feasible due to the limitation of national production of coconuts.

However, we are glad to report that we have tested all the stoves that have come in to the market with wood charcoal with similar results as coconut shell charcoal. The wood charcoal cost would be a fraction of the cost of Coconut shell charcoal as shown above.

To ensure that this urgently needed rapid changeover happens expeditiously an essential input is needed. The manufacture of adequate quantiles of wood charcoal, and dried wood processed to feed the particular stoves and saw dust and rice husk pellets is an urgent need.

The development of a vibrant supply chain linking the manufactured stoves and the supply of the particular fuels, with assurance of sustainable and convenient access is also a necessity.

Once more meeting this national need also provides a golden economic opportunity to many as illustrated below.

Suppliers of Consumers Processed Wood and Charcoal

To promote these activities and thereby alleviate the critical problem faced by the entire population, Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka (BEASL) is offering its help with technical help to both the manufacturers of processed fuelwood and the manufacturers of wood charcoal, to be sold together with the stoves to ensure the sustainability of the changeover. This offer is also extended to the current or emerging manufacturers of the stoves to improve their designs for better market penetration.

A much wider and island wide awareness needs to be created to inform the public that there is a way out of this crisis as well as an additional source of income in these times of severe economic hardship. It is hoped that the government will at least take up this task of publicity of this opportunity, at this critical time and provide encouragement to find indigenous solutions to be rid forever from the trap of blind dependence on imported fossil fuels.