Zambia Workshop on Standards for Liquid Cooking Fuels
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), through its public-private partnership with USAID called the Standards Alliance, organized a workshop on liquid cooking fuel standards in Lusaka, Zambia on November 1.
The Zambian Bureau of Standards (ZABS) served as co-host for the workshop, while POET, a U.S. biofuel company that specializes in the creation of bioethanol, served as co-sponsors and co-organizers.
The one-day workshop enabled a technical exchange on a variety of international standards, including the ASTM International standard for ethanol as a home cooking and appliance fuel.
Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, is one of the most environmentally friendly alternatives to fuel and is produced from organic matter, including corn and other plant materials such as sugar cane
and grasses.
Its impact is significant: Using ethanol can reduce oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. In Southern Africa, the household cooking sector is the main consumer of solid biomass, representing the
largest share of final energy consumption in the region. In Zambia, approximately 82 percent of the population uses solid fuels for cooking. In 2015, an estimated 212 million people in the Southern Africa region were affected by household air pollution from indoor smoke and airborne particles
due to cooking with solid fuels. This exposure leads to more than 153,000 premature deaths per year in the region according to the World Health Organization.
Liquid cooking fuels, however, are uniquely suited for household use. For example, when used in a proper stove, ethanol burns cleanly and efficiently, cannot explode, and cooks meals faster than traditional biomass. Cleaner, more efficient cooking fuels are an
essential component of regional efforts to reduce environmental impacts of deforestation and risks to human health, but also create an opportunity for small holder farmers to diversify their incomes through access to a second market.
The Zambia workshop, entitled, “Workshop on Standards for Liquid Cooking Fuels,” featured a variety of liquid cooking and home appliance fuels, including ethanol. The workshop presentations from ZABS and the Zambian Ministry of Energy underscored the
value of cooking fuel standards and renewable energy goals and programs that exist in Zambia. Following presentations by the Zambian government, U.S. presenters from POET, Project Gaia, and
Dalberg provided information on standards for ethanol as a cooking fuel, liquid cooking fuel programs across Africa, practical cooking fuels standards, and methods for scaling cooking fuels in Africa. Presentations
included a discussion of ASTM E3050, Standard Specification For Denatured Ethanol for Use as a Cooking and Appliance Fuel for denatured
ethanol for use as a clean cooking fuel and appliance and Uganda's experience with this standard following a 2016 Standards Alliance activity.
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