Biochar from cookstoves reduces greenhouse gas emissions from smallholder farms in Africa
- PDF / 678,115 Bytes
- 15 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 18 Downloads / 209 Views
Biochar from cookstoves reduces greenhouse gas emissions from smallholder farms in Africa Cecilia Sundberg, et al. [full author details at the end of the article] Received: 29 August 2018 / Accepted: 29 May 2020/ # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract
Biochar produced in cookstoves has the potential to contribute to negative carbon emissions through sequestration of biomass carbon while also providing other benefits for sustainable development, including provision of clean renewable energy and increased yields in tropical agriculture. The aim of the reported research was to estimate effects on food production, household energy access and life cycle climate impact from introduction of biochar-producing cookstoves on smallholder farms in Kenya. Participatory research on biochar production and use was undertaken with 150 Kenyan smallholder farming households. Gasifier cookstove functionality, fuel efficiency and emissions were measured, as well as biochar effects on agricultural yields after application to soil. Cookstoves provided benefits through reduced smoke, fuel wood savings and char production, but challenges were found related to labour for fuel preparation, lighting and refilling. On-farm trials with varying rates of biochar inputs, in combination with and without mineral fertilizers, have led to a sustained increase of maize yields following onetime application. The climate impact in a life cycle perspective was considerably lower for the system with cookstove production of biochar and use of biochar in agriculture than for current cooking practices. Climate benefits from biochar production and use are thus possible on smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa, through reduced use of biomass in cooking, reduced emissions of products of incomplete combustion and sequestration of stable biochar carbon in soils. Biochar-producing cookstoves can be implemented as a climate change mitigation method in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Successful implementation will require changes in cooking systems including fuel supply, as well as farming systems, which, in turn, requires an understanding of local socio-cultural conditions, including power relations and gender aspects. Keywords Biochar-producing gasifier stove . Bioenergy . Greenhouse gas . Woodfuel . Life cycle assessment
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-02009920-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change
1 Introduction In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), high rates of deforestation (Leblois et al. 2017) and soil fertility degradation (Le et al. 2016) contribute profoundly to climate change and food insecurity. Most households in SSA use wood, charcoal and/or crop residues as cooking fuels (Bonjour et al. 2013), hanging on to traditional open combustion systems that have low energy efficiency and produce high emissions of health-affecting gases and fine particles (Jetter et al. 2012). There is a need for integrated technologie
Data Loading...
