Association of Acute Respiratory Infections with Indoor Air Pollution from Biomass Fuel Exposure among Under-Five Children in Jimma Town, Southwestern Ethiopia

Background. Most of the households in developing countries burn biomass fuel in traditional stoves with incomplete combustion that leads to high indoor air pollution and acute respiratory infections. Acute respiratory infection is the most common cause of under-five morbidity and mortality accounting for 2 million deaths worldwide and responsible for 18% of deaths among under-five children in Ethiopia. Although studies were done on acute respiratory infections, the majority of studies neither clinically diagnose respiratory infections nor use instant measurement of particulate matter. Methods. The community-based cross-sectional study design was employed among under-five children in Jimma town from May 21 to June 7, 2020. A total of 265 children through systematic random sampling were included in the study. The data were collected using a pretested semistructured questionnaire and laser pm 2.5 meter for indoor particulate matter concentration. Associations among factors were assessed through correlation analysis, and binary logistic regression was done to predict childhood acute respiratory infections. Variables with p -value less than 0.25 in bivariate regression were the candidate for the final multivariate logistic regression. Two independent sample t-tests were done to compare significant mean difference between concentrations of particulate matter. Results. Among 265 under-five children who were involved in the study, 179 (67.5%) were living in households that predominantly use biomass fuel. Prevalence of acute respiratory infections in the study area was 16%. Children living in households that use biomass fuel were four times more likely to develop acute respiratory infections than their counterparts (AOR: 4.348; 95% CI: 1.632, 11.580). The size of household was significantly associated with the prevalence of acute respiratory infections. Under-five children living in households that have a family size of six and greater had odds of 1.7 increased risk of developing acute respiratory infections than their counterparts (AOR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.299, 2.212). The other factor associated with acute respiratory infection was separate kitchen; children living in households in which there were no separate kitchen were four times at increased risk of developing acute respiratory infection than children living in households which have separate kitchen (AOR: 4.591; 95% CI: 1.849, 11.402). The concentration of indoor particulate matter was higher in households using biomass fuel than clean fuel. There was statistically higher particulate matter concentration in the kitchen than living rooms (t = 4.509, p ≤ 0.001 ). Particulate matter 2.5 concentrations (μg/m3) of the households that had parental smoking were significantly higher than their counterparts (AOR: 20.224; 95% CI: 1.72, 12.58). Conclusion. There is an association between acute respiratory infections and biomass fuel usage among under-five children. Focusing on improved energy sources is essential to reduce the burden and assure the safety of children.

Analysis of Rational Proportion of Raw Materials Based on Biomass

Most of the air pollutants in the steel industry come from the sintering process, and the air pollutants produced by the sintering process mainly come from the sinter fuel (coke breeze). The S and N content of biomass fuel is low; therefore, biomass fuel is used instead of coke breeze for sintering to reduce the emission of the sinter flue gas pollutants. However, the use of biomass fuel reduces the sintering layer temperature, which results in the deterioration of the sinter properties. In order to ensure the quality of sintering base on biomass fuel, the thermodynamic calculation and related experiments were carried out, the effects of different basicity, MgO and Al2O3 content on the formation of low melting point minerals in sintered mixture were studied, and the suitable composition of sintered mixture was determined in this paper, so as to reduce the liquid phase formation temperature of sinter and increase in biomass fuel addition, which provided theoretical support for the application of biomass fuel in sintering. Experimental results indicate that the suitable conditions for the low-temperature sintering were a basicity of 2.0, and MgO and Al2O3 contents of 1.0% and 1.8%, respectively. Under this condition, more biomass fuel can be used to replace coke breeze, and the emission of flue gas pollutants can be greatly reduced.

Health concerns and use of biomass energy in households: voices of women from rural communities in Western Uganda

Background Over the years, there has been advocacy for use of improved cookstoves as one of the initiatives towards reducing overdependence on biomass energy. There is growing concern that the use of biomass energy may expose users to pollution which may be detrimental to their health. This study aimed at examining the health concerns of women attributed to access and use of biomass fuel in rural areas of Western Uganda. Methods A cross-sectional study design was employed where 193 respondents and 10 key informants participated in the interviews. Four focused group discussions were held in the districts of Mbarara and Bushenyi in Western Uganda. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, while qualitative data were analyzed using the thematic approach. Results Dependence on biomass energy may expose users especially women to both physical and psychological health challenges. Findings suggest that the type of cookstove and cooking structure contribute to indoor air pollution. Women are exposed to pollution while preparing meals using biomass fuel which may lead to respiratory complications and other health-related challenges. Additionally, while gathering biomass fuel, women may be exposed to other risks and hazards that may lead to poor health and or trauma. Conclusion It is crucial for different stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to promote use of improved cookstoves through sensitization programs, promotional campaigns, and development of supportive regulatory frameworks for the well-being of women and their families.

A comparative approach in the utilisation of rice husk and empty palm bunch in the biomass boiler

Growing world’s population has immense contribution towards world economy and energy utilisation. The enormous usage of conventional fuel has contributed many environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emission (GHG), world climate change, and deterioration of human health. Recent study focuses on the generated power from EPB compared with methane in a typical biomass boiler. Also, there are very limited studies on the Air to Fuel (ATF) ratios value in boiler operation. In this paper, empty palm bunch (EPB) and rice husk (RH) have been selected as biomass fuel in the biomass boiler. The same recommended parameters of boiler and turbine was chosen for both EPB and RH feedstocks from previous study. Overall, the study proven to produce about 33% and 25% of energy from EPB and RH of what a methane (CH4) can produce from the same amount of feeding rate, respectively, with EPB producing 13.31% of higher turbine power than RH. This directly contributes to the technical feasibility and adaptability of environmentally friendly elements by seizing the opportunity of carbon emission of conventional fuel and replacing it with natural resources such as EPB and RH which are part of the biomass fuel replacement regime. However, ATF ratio of RH is significantly minimal of what a CH4 and EPB utilised to burn 1 kg of fuel. Therefore, EPB and RH would be suitable for future renewable biomass feedstock in comparison with conventional fuel for power generation purposes.

Community Based Prospective Study of Miscarriages in Context of Biomass Fuel Use by Tribal Women of Rural Remote Region

OBJECTIVE Community based prospective study was carried out to know about the occurrence of miscarriages in context of Biomass fuel use by rural tribal, pregnant women. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis. SETTING Villages and Dr. Sushila Nayar Hospital, Utavali, Melghat, Amravati Maharashtra. POPULATION Study in 100 villages, all pregnancies included. METHODS After approval of the institute’s ethics committee, study was conducted in 100 villages. After base information, villages were divided into 50 study, 50 controls, subdivided into 40 study villages with advocacy for protection from ill effects of Biomass fuel, 40 non-advocacy controls and 10 study villages where in addition to advocacy Chimneys were fixed on roofs of huts with no windows, for exit of smoke and 10 controls where neither advocacy was done nor Chimneys were fixed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Change in occurrence of miscarriage with Biomass fuel use. RESULTS In 50 study villages, of 1005 pregnancies, 2.8% reported miscarriages and in 50 controls, of 1097 pregnancies 3.1% had miscarriage. Of 2700 pregnancies in 40 Advocacy study villages 6.6%, of 40 controls of 2700 pregnancies, 10.5% had miscarriages. In 10 villages with Advocacy as well as Chimneys, of 700 pregnancies, 2.4% had miscarriages in 10 controls, of 700 pregnancies 5.6% ended in miscarriages. In first year it could have been underreporting. CONCLUSION In rural tribal women miscarriages were not more than globally known, but Biomass fuel did affect occurrence of miscarriages.

Combustion temperature analysis in a fluidized-bed reactor by utilizing palm oil biomass for a renewable energy

Biomass from palm oil is a renewable energy source that can be utilized and has very promising availability. Biomass energy is a renewable and sustainable energy that can replace conventional (fossil) fuels. The main objective of the experiment in this article is to analyze the combustion temperature, emissions, and efficiency of palm oil biomass fuel to use and applied in rural/remote areas. The palm oil biomass used in this study is palm kernel shells, empty fruit bunches, oil palm midrib, and oil palm fibers. The experiments in the research carried out in a fluidized-bed combustion chamber designed explicitly with capacities of up to 5 kg of biomass. The results of operations on fluidized-bed when the valve is open 100%, 75%, and 50% with overall palm oil biomass show a high combustion temperature. The highest combustion temperature was recorded in the TC test for 100% open valves with 3 kg biomass of 943°C. While the minimum combustion temperature obtained on TF2 at 50% open valve with 1 kg biomass of 619°C, overall combustion temperatures in this experiment showed high results. The maximum emission for O2 is 20.4% which is obtained at 50% open valve, while for CO2 the maximum emission is produced when 100% open valve is 19.9% with a biomass weight of 1 kg and 3 kg, respectively. The yield for maximum combustion efficiency when using 1 kg of biomass recorded at 50% open valve was 94.9%. While the minimum efficiency of 87.7% is obtained when the valve is 100% open with biomass of 2 kg. As the biomass fuel used in fluidized-bed increases, the combustion temperature also increases significantly.