Exploring the possibility of using low-grade ethanol as a kerosene substitute for cooking

The island of Mauritius, with a land area of approximately 2,000 square kilometres, has a population of slightly above one million. Currently the total annual consumption of primary energy, excluding energy consumption for the manufacture of sugar, is around 16 million gj. With limited hydro-power sites and no proven fossil energy reserves, Mauritius depends heavily on imported refined products - fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, gasoline, LPG, and coal - to meets its energy requirements. For example, in 1987 imported energy represented 65 per cent of the total consumption. The remaining 35 per cent was obtained for hydro-power stations (6 per cent), excess bagasse electricity from sugar industries (10 percent) and woody biomass (19 percent). Imported energy represents around 10 to 15 percent of total export earnings. Analysis carried out at the University of Mauritius in order to investigate primary energy consumption by end use has revealed that 4,984,000 gj were consumed in 1987 solely for cooking. This cooking energy represented around 31 percent of the total primary energy consumption for 1987. On a primary energy basis, kerosene supplies up to 20 per cent (952,000 gj) of the cooking energy requirements. The total cost for its import is around Rs 90 million (US$7 million) for 26 x 106 litres, which represents around 10 percent of the total energy import bill. It is important to add that there is no government tax on kerosene used for cooking. Within the general strategy of lessening the island's dependency on imported products through better utilization of local reserves, University of Mauritius researchers have identified low-grade ethanol produced from molasses as a substitute for kerosene. This has been labeled the ethanol/kerosene strategy. The outcome of this exploratory work is presented in this paper