Energy poverty, shack fires and childhood burns

Burn injuries are a persisting challenge in South Africa. Energy poverty, prevalent in under-resourced communities, is a key contributor to the problem. The energy-poor rely on solid fuels and flammable hydrocarbons, such as paraffin, for energy services. The fuels are burnt in inefficient, leaky and unstable appliances, leading to health losses from pollutant emissions, burns, and conflagrations. Within cramped informal home settings, using flammable fuels and risky combustion technologies, the situation can become devastating, especially for young children. Those who survive fiery incidents have to contend with trauma and property losses that may lead to further impoverishment. Proactive intervention strategies are required and should include the broadening of access to safe and sustainable energy. We advocate greater enforcement of home appliance standards and targeted support for the distribution of proven alternative energy technologies, such as liquefied petroleum gas and solar power. Support and advocacy from professional and citizen groups would be necessary to ensure that government prioritises the safe energy requirements of poor citizens

Optimising the imbaula stove

In South Africa, human and environmental health implications from domestic solid fuel combustion have spurred interest in cleaner alternative sources of energy and better combustion technologies. Field research among wood and coal burning informal settlements in Johannesburg has shown that the most prevalent mode of combustion is self-made imbaula (brazier) stoves, manufactured from discarded 20 L steel drums. Such stoves are made without any measure of performance optimisation, leading to fuel inefficiency and high emissions - previous field surveys have indicated that the number, size and placement of primary and secondary air inlets (taken as holes below and above the fire grate respectively) vary over a wide range, starting from an extreme with no holes below the grate [1]. Researchers at SeTAR Centre, University of Johannesburg, have set out to develop an enhanced imbaula, by investigating performance in terms of size and distribution of primary and secondary air inlets, and height of grate level. The test imbaulas are constructed out of standard 20 L drums with a height of 360 mm and diameter of 295 mm. A range of hole configurations has been designed, from which selected test configurations are fabricated for experimental evaluation of thermal and emissions properties, using the SeTAR heterogeneous testing protocol. The results indicate that higher hole densities (above and below the grate) lead to higher power outputs and lower specific CO emissions, but with lower thermal efficiency. Further, results indicate that adequate air holes below the grate (primary air) are more important for proper combustion in an imbaula; however this should be synchronised with secondary air in-lets (above the grid) in order to have congruence of all the performance criteria. This study should lead to the development of a set of criteria that can further enhance emissions reductions and fuel efficiency obtained by top-down stove ignition methods (Basa njengo Magogo) for imbaula type stoves