THE UNIVERSITY OF THE GAMBIA

GENERAL SCIENCE ASSIGNMENT:

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using the following fuels
for heating in the Gambia (between Banjul and Brikama):
1. Firewood
2. Charcoal
3. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

NAME: Yahya King Camara

MAT: 22316006

CLASS: General Science Friday, 8:00am to 10:30am.

COURSE TITLE: General Science

DATE OF SUBMISSION: April 28, 2023.

LECTURER: Antony F. Adjivon

 INTRODUCTION

Fuel is simply any substance that can be consumed to produce energy

(especially heat energy). Fuel is an essential thing in the life of man, we
need fuel to cook/heat food in other to eat, to produce electric energy
and also for the preservation of certain important things. There are
many and different types of fuel such as firewood, charcoal, and
liquefied petroleum gas e.t.c. In the Gambia (between Banjul and
Brikama), all these types of fuel are used for heating but the most used
type is firewood followed by charcoal and in some rare cases liquefied
petroleum gas is also used as well. These fuels are use in this preference
order in the Gambia mostly base on their cost, production and mode of
usage.

We would discuss below some of the usage of these fuels (firewood,

charcoal, and liquefied petroleum gas), and their advantages and
disadvantages in the Gambia (between Banjul and Brikama).

1. FIREWOOD
The most commonly used energy resource in the Gambia (between
Banjul and Brikama) is firewood. This refers to plants which are cut into
wood that are used as fuel for heating/burning. They are mostly used in
the provinces due to the availability of bushes and thick forest in the
area. The act of fetching firewood in the Gambia is mostly carried out by
women.

Advantages of using firewood as fuel in the Gambia:

 It is cheap to acquire due to its low demand and it requires little or

no tax at all. Also no maintenance cost is needed.
 It is fast in heating due to its highly flammable nature when dry,
hence it is preferable for cooking food during ceremonies and large
gatherings.
 It is easy and does not require special skills or techniques to use it, as
it only involves arranging at the pot where one intends to cook and
then lit the fire on it.
 It does not require much labour when using it, once the fire is lit on it
it is allowed to continue burning until the cooking is completed.
 It can be kept or preserved for a long period of time without spoiling
before usage, if not exposed to termites and other insects.
 It does not exhaust faster when using, ashes from burnt firewood
can be used for plastering houses and as fertilizers.
 It is a source of income to its fetchers through selling.

Disadvantages of using Firewood as fuel in the Gambia:

 It takes a lot of time and energy to acquire enough firewood from

the forest, as this work is mostly done by women.
 It is risky to fetch firewood in the thick forests as one can get injure
or become exposed to some harm in the bush by wild life.
 Usage limited; mostly firewood can only be use for home purpose
such as heating and cooking only.
 Firewood is difficult to transport from the forest to home or to the
market for selling, as it cannot be put in bags or tanks.
 Burning firewood causes lot of harm to climate as it produces black
smoke (black carbon) that affect the Greenhouse layer and causes
global warming and air pollution
 Fetching of firewood causes deforestation and subsequently leads to
loss of thick forests which may results to drought.
 Fetching firewood severely affect the conservation of wild life in the
area, animals disappear when the forest is cleared.

2. CHARCOAL
This is a dark/black carbonate material obtained my heating wood
or other organic matter in the absence of air (in a barbecue) and it
is mostly used in the Gambia (between Banjul and Brikama) as a
domestic fuel for heating and cooking. Charcoal is the the
traditional fuel for blacksmith’s forge and other applications where
intense heat is required. It is mostly prepared by youths who cut
down woods, logs and timbers in the forest and then bake them in
barbecues to produce black charcoal.
 Advantages of using Charcoal as fuel in the Gambia:

 It requires little or no skills to produce, as only woods and a good

barbecue is required to produce black charcoal.
 It produces less smoke when being used as compare to firewood.
 It is easier to transport from one place to another especially when
put into bags.
 It can be use for both simple and complex heating of substances such
as domestic heating and black smith work.
 It can be stored and preserved for a long period of time without
spoilage, as it is already it its simplest state.
 It is a source of income for its producers and those who make
business in it.

Disadvantages of using Charcoal as fuel in the Gambia:

 It requires hard labour and is difficult to prepare, as it is difficult to

carry big logs and arrange them to prepare a barbecue.
 It consumes lot of time before one could finish producing charcoal
before it could be use as fuel.
 It more expensive to buy compared to firewood.
 Burning charcoal may cause bush burning and destroy the entire
forest resulting the disappearance of wild animals from the forest.
 Cutting down trees for charcoal production may causes
deforestation which may subsequently leads to drought.
 Burning wood for charcoal production may leads to global warming
and air pollution due to the high emission of black smoke.

3. LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS

This refers to hydrocarbon gases (especially propane and butane), that
are kept under pressure and stored as a liquid and used as a fuel source.
In the Gambia (from Banjul to Brikama), it is commonly used as a fuel for
cooking, heating and transportation. It is also a cleaner and more
efficient alternative to traditional fossil fuel.
 Advantages of liquefied petroleum gas as fuel in the Gambia:

 It is less time consuming and more environmental friendly, it is a

clean-burning fuel that produces fewer emissions than other fossil
fuels.
 Versatility; it can be use for different purposes sch as cooking,
heating, and fuel foe vehicles.
 It is the easiest to transport from one place to another, it can be
easily delivered to homes and businesses in tanks, pipelines or
cylinders.
 It can be stored and preserved in tanks or cylinders for a very long
period of time without wastage.
 It is a great source of income for both the government and those
involve is trading and producing it.
 It is faster in heating and more effective in energy production, the
rate of energy needed to heat or cook something can be release
accordingly without wastage of energy since there is a controller for
that.

Disadvantages of of liquefied petroleum gas as fuel in the Gambia:

 It is the most expensive fuel to buy or produce among the three; this
is due to high demand, transportation cost, and taxes.
 It requires great technique and specialists to produce, as a balanced
mixture of propane and butane are required in their right
proportions.
 It takes a lot of time and labour to produce LPG, both human labour
and machine force are in the production of LPG.
 It can waste easily as it evaporates away when exposed to air,
leakages can also take place with use of poor tanks and cylinders.
 It can cause air and water pollution if not properly store in good
tanks and cylinders.
 Limited availability; it may not be easily accessible in some areas like
rural or remote locations
 Safety concerns; incidents can occur if fuel is not handled or stored
properly, it should be stored in well-ventilated areas and regular
checked to ensure safety
 CONCLUSION
Hence with the light of the present study, the cheapest, least-efficient,
and more environmental unfriendly fuel used in the Gambia (between
Banjul and Brikama) is firewood, followed by charcoal, and then
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) being the most reliable and conducive.
LPG was the least used fuel in this region in the early days, but in recent
years it has increase in demand due to lack of thick forests in the region
to acquire firewood or charcoal, and also due to the use of modern
kitchens, heating and cooking tools in a rapidly developing country.
Charcoal now in the Gambia (between Banjul and Brikama) is restricted
to irony and making tea or heating snacks on small metal stove. While
firewood is mostly use for cooking in large gathering such as wedding
and naming ceremonies and also in the production of charcoal as well.

RECOMMENDATION
As per the result of the present study, I recommend liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG) for usage in the Gambia (between Banjul and Brikama) due to
the following reasons:

 I believe that with the use of modern kitchens and tools of cooking,
LPG is more suitable for heating and more human and environmental
friendly.
 With the bad effects caused by other fuels to the greenhouse layer
which results to the decrease in rainfall in the Gambia, LPG is more
recommended for usage as it is less harmful compare to charcoal
and firewood which emit a great amount of black carbon.
 Considering the limitations of other fuels (e.g firewood and charcoal),
LPG can be used for multiple purposes (both domestic and business
purposes) such as cooking, heating, fueling vehicles and engines in
power stations.
 It generates income for the country and serve as a source of revenue
for the government through, transport costs, tax and licence
payments.
 It is safer to used due to its high standard protective measures such
as tightening the opening top,avoiding leakages, e.t.c, compare to
 firewood and charcoal which leads to frequent fire accidents and
bush burning within the region.

REFERENCES:

 Gambia women initiatives

 Keystone Agriculture for senior secondary school
 Climate Technology Center and Network
 Food and Agricultural Sector Development Project (FASDEP)
 Agricultural Policies and Performance in the Gambia
 The Gambia Agriculture and Food Security Project
 Market Oriented Farming in the Gambia