Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Enugu State Government says it has designed and produced an innovative green energy and safe cooking stove meant to secure Nigeria and Africa from deforestation and ecosystem losses.
The stove, known as the Enugu Stove, is designed with 100 per cent local content and uses smokeless and odourless coal briquettes to produce heat for cooking.
The state’s Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Lawrence Eze, disclosed this to newsmen in Enugu on Tuesday.
Eze said the innovative stove, fabricated by the Scientific Equipment Development Institute (SEDI), remains unique due to its human and environmental safety features.
He noted that with the stove, the days of gas explosions and explosions from adulterated kerosene used in kerosene stoves at homes and eateries are over.
According to him, sometimes, if there are no fatalities, the degrees of body burns from such explosions are unimaginable; and this is the principal problem the stove is meant to solve.
He explained that the stove has two chambers, adding that the burning chamber is well-insulated from the outer chamber even when the heat and cooking are ongoing.
The commissioner said that, in terms of economic benefit, the stove is a one-off purchase, while the coal briquette, which would be a recurring purchase, is cheap and made from purified and dehydro-carbonised coal with which Enugu is blessed.
“On economic value, it is the most economical source of energy and fuel for cooking. It is cheaper than gas and kerosene, while electricity is a no-go area due to its cost for now.
“It is odourless and does not transmit smoke, unlike a kerosene stove, because it has two components: the inner component and the outer component.
“It is the inner component that retains the heat. It is just like a flask.
“There is a well-insulated vacuum between the inner component (or chamber) and the outer component (or chamber). So the void (well-insulated area) between the two makes it difficult for heat to be transmitted.
“While the coal briquette is heating up and boiling water or items being cooked, you can hug or touch the outer component (chamber), and it is still as cool as possible,” he said.
The commissioner said that the energy produced burns in a gentle manner, like when using an electric stove, and “you only notice the boiling and cooked item producing steam.”
He said, “The stove, which is produced in three sizes – student, family, and commercial/eatery sizes – is designed not to allow heat losses, which increase the temperature of the immediate environment in the usual cooking kitchen or location.
“God has blessed Enugu State with an enormous and abundant quantity of coal, which is largely untapped.
“Enugu State Government has duly applied to the Federal Government for the coal to be mined.
“This is why His Excellency, Dr. Peter Mbah, has set up the Ministry of Energy and Solid Minerals to oversee this and give the state a sustainable energy mix meant to ensure a green environment and ecological protection.”
Eze said that the new ministry would attract investors to mine the coal, while his ministry would provide quantities of the coal, at a reasonable cost, to the coal briquette-producing factories.
According to him, the four factories, one in each senatorial zone, will refine the raw coal into smokeless and odourless coal briquettes for stove use and ensure availability, affordability, and accessibility.
“It will definitely stop the radical felling of trees in our communities, eliminate the environmental hazards of charcoal production, and protect our vegetation, forests, and ecosystem in general,” he added.
