Abstract

Madagascar is ranked among the countries most affected by deforestation with a deforestation rate of over 1%, or a loss of around 40,000 ha per year. Today, less than 21% of the island's area is still covered with forests (World Bank, 2021). Fuel wood is the main source of energy in Madagascar, meeting the main energy needs of Malagasy households, that of cooking. Excessive and inefficient consumption of fuel wood, coupled with insufficient production and low-yield carbonization, as well as the search for new agricultural land and mining contribute to the degradation of forest ecosystems (erosion, drying up of forest reserves). Water, decrease in biodiversity, etc.) and greatly contribute to the increase in the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the national level, the demand for wood energy (18.3 million m3 per year) greatly exceeds the potential for sustainable production (9.169 million m3 per year). Thus, more than 60% of consumption is covered by overexploitation of forest resources. In order to face this Malagasy reality, this research work aims to find a solid fuel, potential, able to compete with wood energy, appreciated by the social layers and efficient in energy and ecological terms. Five fuels were studied: charcoal and bamboo charcoal, firewood and finally briquettes made from sawdust and cylindrical and extruded models. From the development of a prototype press to the manufacture of fuel briquettes based on sawdust of cylindrical model, the determination of the physicochemical characteristics and the energy efficiency of the latter has been found to be satisfactory. The same is true for the case of extruded model sawdust briquettes and bamboo charcoal. Thus, the evaluation of the calorific value of the fuels, the average consumption, the power and the efficiency of the stove used will be the determining factors of the comparison. Therefore, the results mentioned in this research work can be provided as basic data for future actions on the valorization of biomass through the manufacture of fuel briquettes.

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