[Stoves] The price of bottled gas

Christina Espinosa c_espinosa1 at u.pacific.edu
Sat May 4 21:15:49 CDT 2013


In Guatemala, the current price to refill a 25 lb tank is $14 (no subsidy).
A 10lb tank refill would cost $5.60. 5lb tanks are not permited in the
market.

Every country is going to have a different market, regulations, etc....and
not every country has an abundance of readily available biomass. Not every
customer might want to produce char or have access to biomass. LPG is still
an alternative for many families who only purchase wood.

Christina Espinosa

On Saturday, May 4, 2013, mtrevor wrote:

> **
> 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 <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
> 'paul.olivier at esrla.com');>
> *To:* Discussion of biomass cooking stoves <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
> 'stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org');>
> *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<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', '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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-- 
Christina Espinosa
University of the Pacific '10
School of International Studies
c_espinosa1 at u.pacific.edu
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