Liquefied petroleum gas is a great fuel. It is not only smokeless and easy to put off it also generates more heat than wood, easy to handle, and is environment-friendly. The international energy agency says about 800million to 2 billion people will switch to LPG from wood and other traditional fuels within 2030.
According to Gerardo Ruiz-Mercado, a chemical engineer of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory, LPG is much better in combustion efficiency, fuel efficiency, or both than wood. This can reduce carbon emission, reduce deforestation, help in balancing the ecosystem, etc.
Let’s see why LPG is far better than wood-
- Researchers said, only 10.75kg LPG can replace about 100kg of wood. If you need 144 kg LP Gas per year you can save up to 1.3 tons of wood! Then why burning trees when LPG is in your hand.
- We all know the emission of carbon is the main reason for global warming. Wood emits 5 times of carbon than LPG while burning. So, switching to LPG from wood will reduce the emission of carbon to the atmosphere of about 60%.
- As per international energy agency if 800 million to 2 billion people switch from wood to LPG within 2030 then annually 170-415 million-ton CO2 will be reduced. From a perspectival view Countries like Pakistan or Netherlands emits 170 million-ton CO2 per year. Large countries like South Africa or the United Kingdom emit about 415 million-ton CO2 annually.
- LPG transfers about 50% of its total energy where wood is providing only 10-20% while cooking.
- The fuel that lies in wood is only 50% where LPG contains 100% of fuel. Wood contains oxygen and moisture which aren’t helpful. vaporizing the moisture of wood consumes heat.
- If we see the impact of reducing CO2 in a smaller picture then annual savings per person will be 211kg CO2, about 1.06 tons for a medium family consisting of five members. If you drive a brand-new car for 8,000km then you will emit the same amount of CO2 that can be reduced by using LPG.
- If the international energy agency is correct then about 800 thousand to 2 million hectares of forest will be saved from deforestation. That means it will reduce 16-40% of total deforestation internationally.
- A 12 kg cylinder can stop deforestation of the 6m2 forest area. If your family uses LPG then your household can save 100m2 forest each year.
- LPG is better for indoor use as it doesn’t produce choking smoke like wood after putting off the fire.
Also collecting woods costs a significant amount of time. By switching to LPG this time can be spared and be used in many other productive ways. Wood carrying is a tough job for humans as well as animals. Those who carry wood would have to go through a lot of stress. It can be a cause of several accidents and pain through the continuous load-carrying job. On the other hand, people who use wood as cooking fuel are subjected to a lot of carbon emissions each day. Pneumonia, bronchitis, lung cancer, asthma, and heart disease are some dangerous things that might happen to people for excessive exposure to the wood burner exhaust system.
Some people will argue about using wood instead of fuel. They will say trees will grow back. But statistics said, the time required to grow the tree in its full formation is quite long. If you go to the area where trees grow faster than anywhere else on earth even then it will take about 60 years to regain its full form after cutting it once. The scenario is worse in areas where temperatures are higher. It will take more than 100 years to regenerate trees.
According to the research of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization about 4.8 million hector forest is being harvested each year. By switching from wood to LPG we can save 1.95 million hector forests each year. So, switching to LPG is not an option anymore, it has become a must now.
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