[Stoves] The price of bottled gas

[mtrevor]

Just curious.
What size bottle costs USD $21.00
Here in the Marshall Islands the standard US 20 lbs bottle is $37.50 
and the small pressure cans in the stores run from $0.96 up to $2.00 plus.

Michael N Ttvor


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Paul Olivier 
  To: Discussion of biomass cooking stoves 
  Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2013 11:28 PM
  Subject: Re: [Stoves] The price of bottled gas


  Philip,


  Here in Vietnam bottled gas costs more than $21.00 US per bottle. There is no distribution problem here at all. Some households use up a bottle in less than one month. When the monthly wage is not more than $120 US per month, the situation is extremely dire.


  In many parts of Vietnam, rice hulls and coffee husks are often dumped in rivers and valleys. Sometimes they are uselessly burned as a means of disposal. With the right type of stove, these agricultural residues put out a beautiful blue flame that rivals that of bottled gas. 

  When we derive energy from fossil fuels, there is nothing of value left behind. But when we gasify or pyrolyze biomass, a valuable biochar remains. When incorporated into the soil, biochar promotes plant growth and sequesters carbon.

  Why derive energy from fossil fuels when we can get it from renewable biomass? 
  Are you not, in any way, concerned about global warming?



  Thanks.

  Paul




  On Sat, May 4, 2013 at 5:56 PM, Philip Lloyd <plloyd at mweb.co.za> wrote:

    Paul Oliver commented " The price of bottled gas is a huge problem
    throughout most of the
    developing world."

    Part of the problem is poor models of distribution.  Locally, we are seeing
    the entry of a supplier who a) has found a way of filling 5kg bottles
    rapidly at a central plant and b) distributing them directly to the retailer
    at minimal cost, with a growing chain of retailers chosen so that the
    householder can resupply within 500m.  The net result is a halving of the
    street price of bottle gas, and it is now the cheapest way to cook.

    The advantage of filling at a central plant is that safety is greatly
    enhanced; and the discovery of a way of filling small cylinders rapidly
    means high throughput and low costs.  Most big bottlers of gas don't like
    the really small cylinders because they couldn't fill them rapidly enough to
    get throughput - it was cheaper (and far less safe) to refill them at the
    retailers.

    Regards to all




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  -- 
  Paul A. Olivier PhD
  26/5 Phu Dong Thien Vuong
  Dalat
  Vietnam

  Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam)
  Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam)
  Skype address: Xpolivier
  http://www.esrla.com/ 


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