ABSTRACTS OF PRESENATIONS BY THE GAIA PROJECT TEAM OCTOBER 23 AND 24

I. INTRODUCTION
Harry C. Stokes M.Sc. Forestry

This will introduce the members of the GAIA team from Switzerland, Sweden, the US and Nigeria, indicate what their respective roles are and what their presentations will cover. The nature and purpose of the GAIA project will be explained including the objective to be accomplished by this conference, namely the establishment of a pilot project(s) to prove the acceptance of the advance in cooking method by the culture and predict whether there will be a viable commercial market so the advance can be widely realized in Nigeria.

2. THE REALITY OF AN IMPROVED METHANOL-FUELED COOKING SYSTEM FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND OTHER
METHANOL-FUELED APPLIANCES

Bengt Ebbeson, Dometic AB

This presentation will demonstrate how the long proven ORIGO non-pressure alcohol stove has been adapted to a low-cost model for use with methanol in developing countries. It will explain the fuel filling, operating and safety features and demonstrate a consumer fuel container for transport of fuel from retailer to home and for storage there.

A methanol lantern with a cooking attachment will be demonstrated and a video will be shown on safety aspects. This device will recover enough heat, without affecting the lighting output, to sterilize in four or five hours of light use, enough drinking and cooking water for a day's use by a family of five.

The operation of a heat-operated refrigerator will be explained and pictures will be presented. These devices have been in commerial use for about 60 years operating on kerosene, LPG or natural gas. They have run very satisfactorily on methanol and it appears to be a nearly optimum fuel. Such methanol-adapted refrigeration could be market ready in a year or two if sufficient demand were demonstrated.

There will be discussion of devices that use methanol to create 100 to 200 watts of electrical capacity, enough for radio, TV and computer equipment. The system would require a battery to store electrical energy during periods of low use the rate of usage could exceed rated power converter wattage at times.

3. PRODUCTION CAPACITY FOR LOW COST ORIGO STOVES FOR THE NIGERIAN MARKET

Anders Magnussen

This presentation will explain the steps that Dometic have taken to make sure of an adequate supply of stoves not only for the market introduction period but also to follow the market growth no matter how rapid it may be. Indeed, it is hoped that the hardest problem will be to keep up with a market rather than absorbing losses for one that is slow to develop! Some comment will be given as to how local production could be established in logical steps.

4. THE ECONOMICS OF METHANOL PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA BASED ON LARGE LOW-COST GAS RESOURCES

Harry C. Stokes, M.Sc. Forestry

This presentation for perspective purposes, will explain why methanol production will occur in Nigeria, not a question of whether but only of when. It will give enough history of the industry and its economics so that one can appreciate the rapid advances being made to improve economics through larger plants and improved technology.

The concept and economics of a modular 100-ton per day plant that might be built quickly to create an interim supply will be explained.

The reasons to use imported African methanol in the interim to go beyond the market development phase for the use of methanol as a cooking fuel will be covered.

5. THE REALITY OF THE ATLANTIC METHANOL COMPANY (AMPCO), FACILITY ON BIOKO ISLAND, EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Harry C. Stokes, M.Sc. Forestry

Without the methanol the ORIGO stove is of no use in solving the cooking problems of the housewife using inferior fuels. Fortunately there is a world-scale methanol plant just off the coast of Nigeria, which was brought on stream in 2000 at a capacity of 850,000 tons per year. This is enough to serve a population of 15 million (about 3 million families), which would be a market penetration about 10 to 15% in Nigeria. Apparently there is ample gas to double or triple the output but no such announcement has been made.

The methanol is loaded into 45,000-ton tankers at a deep water-loading buoy and shipped to US Gulf and Rotterdam mainly. These tankers are somewhat light loaded because of North Atlantic sea conditions. The added amount to a full load could be carried in the relatively calm waters to a Nigerian port and off loaded there. While the freight cost would be favorable, the extra port and terminal charges for low volumes handled will increase unit cost somewhat. Once full tanker loads can be taken these extra cost disappear. The partial shipments would be during the early commercialization phase of the stove project after successful pilots using very small total volumes of methanol.

It is possible that this plant will add a dock for loading isotainers and/or barges but the owners have not announced this. Barges are widely used for gasoline as well as for methanol and a barge can carry either product interchangeably.

This plant is very competitive on the world market. We cannot speak about the price today because the use will be in the future and prices vary with the supply-demand balance. Current prices happen to be high, well above the weighted average over 10 years or so.

Because of the difficulty of loading out small quantities in drums or isotainers from this plant, it cannot supply trial quantities of methanol for the pilots but Ampco will offer some financial support to the pilot for purchase of drum quantities from the present importer to Nigeria. Literature describing the plant will be available to those interested.

6. THE REALITY OF SMALL METHANOL PLANTS

Dennis Norton, Director, Global Market Development Hyrdro-Chem Processing, Inc.

It will be explained why small modular 100-ton/day methanol plants can be built at relatively low capital cost because of factory fabrication and skid mounting. Such plants rest on a long history of success in building modular hydrogen plants, a very similar process to making methanol. Preliminary economics will be given for Nigeria and it will be suggested that such a plant(s) could be the interim supply before a first world-scale plant can be built and depending also upon what happens in the world methanol market.

7. PILOTING THE USE OF METHANOL AS A DOMESTIC FUEL IN NIGERIA

Joe Obueh, Director, Centre for Household Energy & Environment

This will describe the plans underway to conduct a pilot project in Delta State and will show the roles of the numerous organizations, State and NGO, that will assist the project.