Briquetting is a way of converting loose and low-density biomass residues into high density solid blocks that can be used as a fuel for cooking and industrial processes in place of traditional fuels.

The densification of agricultural residues and agro-industry waste into pellets and briquettes has gained momentum in the recent past with its growth in popularity as a source of energy spurred by environmental consciousness, the attractive economic benefits, and advances in technology. Left to decompose naturally, biomass releases CO2 and methane, both gases that contribute to global warming. Burnt in the open, biomass releases gaseous emissions and black carbon, which also have high global warming potential. It is estimated that cooking using traditional fuels accounts for 5% total global warming derived from human activities and that over 4 million people per year die from illness caused by household air pollution from cooking with solid fuels.

Approximately over 140 billion tons of biomass is generated annually and about 2.7 billion people cook and heat their homes using solid fuels like firewood, charcoal, manure, and crop residues. In Kenya alone, about 8 million households rely on solid fuels for cooking [37- 40 million people]. This is compounded by the huge number of institutions [schools, colleges, hotels and hospitals] that use wood fuels for cooking/heating.

Our target at Kawi is to increase the production and marketing of fuel briquettes to an average of 20,000 tons p.a. and enable 25% of the households in Kenya to convert to the use of fuel briquettes instead of firewood or charcoal by the year 2025.

Kawi Industries is in the process of acquiring and setting up a high capacity plant to undertake the industrial production, distribution and selling of briquettes, pellets, and complementary products as from the 1st quarter of 2021. The firm’s production process will involve the sourcing and compacting/densification of agricultural-waste, agro-industrial residues and municipal solid waste (MSW) into high density biomass fuels. This follows a successful 3-year piloting phase. 

Compared to products made of other unsustainable raw materials, briquettes offer the following advantages to our customers: they have higher heat content [calorific value] vis-à- vis conventional fuels, are more consistent and have a longer burning duration, they are user friendly since they are compatible with multiple technologies and have varied households and industrial uses, they are cheaper than competing fuels in terms of heat per unit, they are environmentally friendly since they produce lower emissions and indoor pollution, and they are made from readily available materials.

Our business offers the following benefits to the stakeholders: better health outcomes compared to burning traditional fuels, employment opportunities for women and youth, substitution of fossil fuels, reduced greenhouse emissions and reduced deforestation.