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Grilling with charcoal less climate-friendly than grilling with propane
May 12, 2009Do biofuels always create smaller carbon footprints than their fossil-fuel competitors? Not necessarily, finds a paper published today in Elsevier's Environmental Impact Assessment Review (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eiar). The article, "Charcoal versus LPG grilling: a carbon-footprint comparison," reports that in the UK, the carbon footprint for charcoal grilling is almost three times as large as that for LPG grilling. (Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), often referred to as propane, is a mixture of mostly propane and butane).
The overwhelming factors behind the difference, notes author Eric Johnson, are that as a fuel, LPG is dramatically more efficient than charcoal in its production and considerably more efficient in cooking. Charcoal is produced by heating wood in a kiln; commercial yields of charcoal are only in the 20-35% range, i.e. most of the rest of the wood is converted to gas and emitted into the atmosphere. Yields of LPG, by contrast, are greater than 90%.
LPG grills are akin to conventional cookers and ovens, in that they have power ratings and can easily be switched on and off. By contrast, charcoal grills do not offer easy mechanisms for regulating fuel consumption, and Johnson explained: "The primary factor in determining fuel consumption is the griller's loading, which is determined by the amount of charcoal that is used along with the quality and quantity of starting-aid that is required. "
Developing countries, primarily in Africa, are likely to be the source of charcoal loaded in the UK, the study points out. Contrary to a claim by the European Commission that "Trade in charcoal from Africa to the EU is not significant," [1] in 2008, the UK imported 80% of its charcoal from developing countries, and 50% of its charcoal from Africa. Nearly 70% of the total import comes from South Africa, Argentina, Namibia and Nigeria.
Forest stocks in the latter three countries are in decline, according to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization, as they are on a global scale, especially in the developing world.
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[1] www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/cm/729/729457/729457en.pdf
Elsevier
Developing countries, primarily in Africa, are likely to be the source of charcoal loaded in the UK, the study points out. Contrary to a claim by the European Commission that "Trade in charcoal from Africa to the EU is not significant," [1] in 2008, the UK imported 80% of its charcoal from developing countries, and 50% of its charcoal from Africa. Nearly 70% of the total import comes from South Africa, Argentina, Namibia and Nigeria.
Forest stocks in the latter three countries are in decline, according to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization, as they are on a global scale, especially in the developing world.
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[1] www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/cm/729/729457/729457en.pdf
Elsevier
Propane Current Events and Propane News RSSHydrocarbons in the deep Earth?
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Argonne scientists discover new platinum catalysts for the dehydrogenation of propane
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Natural gas inhabited by unusual specialists
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UC experts detail new standard for cleaner transportation fuels
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Fluid Dynamics Works on Nanoscale in Real World
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Lucky find off Galapagos
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Ceramic microreactors developed for on-site hydrogen production
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Improved rating for residential fuel cells
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DFG Presents The 2004 MAK And BAT Value Lists
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From laboratory demonstrators over systems to indispensable process plants
Today microreactors are already valuable informants for the process development in the laboratory area. According to a study of the French consulting company YOLE Développement and Institut für Mikrotechnik Mainz GmbH (IMM) the readiness of industry clients to buy such microreaction components for chemical process development rests with 36 million Euro worldwide already this year. The supposed annual growth rate of 3% follows a conservative approach. For selected chemical processes microreactors can be used for production purposes, above all within the field of speciality chemicals. The study predicts that microreactors will be applied in larger scale as process plants for the in
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