ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT ON EFFICIENCY OF LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS IN COOKING IN MALAWI (CASE STUDY BLANTYRE)

LPG is the abbreviated name for liquefied petroleum gas – the generic name for mixtures of light hydrocarbons, predominantly propane and butane, that change from a gaseous to liquid state when compressed at moderate pressure or chilled.

The research was conducted in Blantyre in areas of chitawira, chilobwe and zingwangwa. The researcher was determining the efficiency of liquefied petroleum gas in cooking. The efficiency was based on cost, time to cook a standard meal and on emission of gases like carbon monoxide.

The researcher used simple random sampling to choose the sample size of 60 households. The researcher sampled 20 households in areas of chilobwe, chitawira and zingwangwa respectively to reach a total of 60.

The household's survey shows that 25% of the sample size prefer cooking using LPG Gas stoves and 75% uses other cooking fuels. The household survey also reveals that LPG is efficient in terms of time and cost to cook a standard meal e.g., nsima.

The three laboratory tests done at Malawi bureau of standards shows that LPG is efficient in terms of emission of carbon monoxide, consumption power and takes less time to boil water.

The conclusion made by the researcher is that government, private sector partnership needs to work hand in hand to sensitize people on the benefits of LPG since the other fuels for instance firewood and charcoal are not efficient and results in deforestation. This deforestation at the end brings changes in climate.

LPG is the abbreviated name for liquefied petroleum gas – the generic name for mixtures of light hydrocarbons, predominantly propane and butane, that change from a gaseous to liquid state when compressed at moderate pressure or chilled. The household's survey shows that 25% of the sample size prefer cooking using LPG Gas stoves and 75% uses other cooking fuels. The three laboratory tests done at Malawi bureau of standards shows that LPG is efficient in terms of emission of carbon monoxide, consumption power and takes less time to boil water. The conclusion made by the researcher is that government, private sector partnership needs to work hand in hand to sensitize people on the benefits of LPG since the other fuels for instance firewood and charcoal are not efficient and results in deforestation.

Blantyre city is the oldest urban center in Malawi, established by the Scottish missionaries in the 1870s and declared a planning area in 1897 (UN-HABITAT, 2010). The researcher chose areas of chitawira, chilobwe and zingwangwa as area of study.

District: Blantyre

Coordinates: -15.6817, 34.92535