Ethanol as a household fuel in Madagascar
Practical Action
Results
The overall results of HAP measurement showed a marked decrease in levels of PM and CO for
the group using ethanol stoves, in comparison to both the control group and the charcoal and
biomass stove groups. Table 2 shows the average emissions reductions for the ethanol group
compared against the baseline measurements for the biomass and charcoal groups over the 3
sample periods.
Ambositra
Vatomandry
Emission
Ethanol (vs.
Ethanol (vs.
Ethanol (vs.
Ethanol (vs.
biomass baseline) charcoal baseline) biomass baseline) charcoal baseline)
CO N/A
-79%
-93%
-93%
PM2.5 (predicted) N/A
-57%
-85%
-72%
Table 2: Average emissions reductions of ethanol group against baseline measurements from biomass and
charcoal groups
The improved biomass (wood) stove that was used only in Vatomandry achieved
reductions of 66% (PM) and 63% (CO) compared to its baseline measurements. The
improved charcoal stove was not effective in reducing HAP levels.
The ‘awareness only’ groups saw little effect on HAP levels in Ambositra, although
amongst households in Vatomandry, where use of woody biomass is common as a
conventional fuel, significant reduction in PM levels was recorded.
The control groups at both locations showed little change in HAP levels over the 3
sampling periods, suggesting conditions remained stable throughout the study.
The individual measurements taken with a CO tube attached to mothers and children showed a
significant decrease for the ethanol group compared to the control group, as shown in Table 3.
Ambositra
Vatomandry
Emission
Adult exposure
Child exposure
Adult exposure
Child exposure
(mother)
(mother)
CO
-74%
-64%
-53%
-35%
PM2.5 (predicted) -62%
-63%
-44%
-47%
Table 3: Average reductions of HAP exposure levels for adults and children; ethanol group compared to
control group
Approximately 80% of households in the ethanol group also used a charcoal or wood
stove for some of their cooking requirements and consequently results could be even
lower if only ethanol was used.
In Ambrosita, the charcoal and awareness groups showed little change in exposure levels
between baseline and 2nd and 3rd samples.
Levels of HAP exposure were much greater in Ambrosita than Vatomandry, predominantly
due to the closed design of the house structures.
In Vatomandry, all improved stove groups showed reductions in predicted PM exposure
levels compared to the control group.
Compliance among the population to use the CO tube was high, with 90% of adults and
91% of children found to be wearing the equipment when fieldworkers arrived on Day 2.
Analysis and potential health benefits
The post-study analysis by the project team developed the following conclusions regarding the
HAP and health monitoring stage of the process:
A comparison of the kitchen CO averages shows that the ethanol stove can significantly
reduce kitchen CO levels below the 8-hr WHO guideline level of 8.7 ppm. Although the
ethanol stove significantly reduced PM2.5 concentrations in the kitchen, the Round 2 and
3 levels in Vatomandry were still about two to three times the annual WHO Interim Target
1 for PM2.5 of 35 µg/m3, while in Ambositra they were approximately four times this
target.
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