The main source of Energy in many African countries is wood and a large part of this is wood is used for cooking either as wood logs or charcoal for cooking. Due to the large amount of wood the forests will be depleted in many countries if the consumption continues at this high level. At the same time agricultural waste residues are being burnt in the fields and the energy potential of this raw material is lost.
C.F. Nielsen has developed a Village Concept consisting of a briquetting press combined with down-sizing and drying equipment. The idea is that all agricultural raw materials/waste from a village can be used. The Village Concept can handle most agricultural- and wood based raw materials. In order to collect raw materials, raw material should be exchanged for finished briquettes, so that for example 100 kg of raw materials could give 30 kg of briquettes. The rest of the raw material will be used as fuel for the Village Concept and what is left will be sold to other customers to cover the cost. The focus will be to collect agricultural based raw materials such as peanut shells, coffee husks, rice husks, bagasse, corn stalks etc.
Many customers in Africa is used to using charcoal and it will take some time to get them to switch to briquettes. Due to this C.F. Nielsen has added an option to produce charcoal from briquettes.
As power is required for the concept C.F. Nielsen has teamed up with a partner, so that a small gasification “power plant” can be supplied, which will produce enough electricity to give power to the Village Concept and during night hours it could produce power for other purposes such as light etc.
In the following you can see pictures of the Village Concept combined with the carbonization unit and small power plant.
By initiating “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, The United Nations encourages all nations to take responsibility in “promoting prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection”. In Denmark the SDGs are fully integrated in our country’s Foreign and Security Policy but it is also the duty of private companies to comply with the given guidelines.
Where do we see C.F. Nielsen fit into this? Sustainable Goal no. 7 states: Affordable and Clean Energy – This means ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. With the C.F. Nielsen Village Concept the overall objective is to support low-income groups by providing them access to sustainable and economically feasible source of energy. At the same time CO2 emissions can be reduced, and the pressure of local forests can also be reduced through the substitution of non-renewable charcoal with an efficient and renewable alternative as briquettes made from agricultural wastes that are not being utilized.
As the World Leader in Mechanical Briquetting, we at C.F. Nielsen continuously work to develop this concept so that we can continue to find waste products suitable for briquetting. For us to do so, the concept can as an option be delivered with a small power plant, which will produce enough electricity to give power to the Village Concept and during night hours it could produce power for other purposes such as light etc. By replacing the current unsustainable wood fuel and charcoal, the project can not only reduce deforestation, but also generate local income and employment.
In addition to Goal no. 7, C.F. Nielsen is also taking part in goal no. 9, 12, 13 and 17.
If you are interested in knowing more about how C.F. Nielsen contributes, have a look our article from the Bioenergy Insight Magazine: "Contributing to the UN Sustainable Developmental Goals".
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