Characteristics of eight firewood species of Botswana

Abstract

Abstract Eight firewood species of Botswana were compared as regards various aspects of their burning, physical and chemical characteristics. The wood species varied from highly preferred species to species that, though used, were not preferred at all. Burning properties were studied in water boiling experiments. Preferred firewood species heated the water up slowly and after the water stopped boiling, the remaining ashes caused the water to cool down slowly. Non-preferred firewood species burned out fast and had fast heating up and cooling down rates of the water. Irrespective of these differences and a wide range of specific weights (0.64 to 1.17 g·cm −3 ), the energy transfer efficiency for all species was low (approx. 2%) and within a close range of each other. The moisture content in the air dried wood was low, with an average of 7.2%.