Prospects for Coal Briquettes as a Substitute Fuel for Wood and ...

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The government can diminish market uncertai nties to consumers by
minimizing 1 nterruptions in smokeless coal briquette suppl ies. Because
re1 iabil ity of supply is important to consumer acceptance, the
government may want to ensure that. availabdl ity is not interrupted in
the marketpl ace. One way to do this is to ensure that government pol icy
puts priorl’ty on del iveri ng inputs to smoke1 ess coal briquetti ng and
carbonizing operations. Another way is for the government to provide a
stockpile of coal briquettes which could bo distributed to the
population if in fact there should be an interruption in manufacture
during the initial stages of market develo
Fi nal ly, government standards can assist the success of the coal
briquetting/carbonizat~o~ technology. To assure a qual it) product that
the pub1 ic w i l l acceptp the government may wlsh to set standards on such
things as ash content, vol atil e material contentr sul fur missions, a
shatter index, and a1 lowabl e sizes. The standard for val at11 e material
content would be important both for health reasons and for ignitabilityy.
Also) the government may find in necessary to regulate briquetting to
make sure that it meets environmental health and safety standards for
both production Nsrkers and the users.
5 * -l3uuEss-.-. E D N . Coal briquetting is an
excellent technology for private sector initiative, since all phases
frm mining to manufacture to distribution can be undertaken by private
entrepreneurs. 5@yond a pilot plant and some of the pol icies mentioned
in the previous section, the goal is for the role of the government to
rmain minimal. Thus, there should be an assessment of technical talent
and potential entrepreneurs for getting production and distribution
started. A1 so9 capital markets must be assessed for thei r sufficiency
to finance the ventures,
To involve private individuals who have the expertise, the financial
attractiveness of the venture must be well documented. Does the
financial attractiveness match the econ ic attractiveness from a
soci eta1 standpoi nt7 Have processi ng ri sks been cons1 dered and
solutions proposed? Are these mining risks that affect the costs
estimated? A full descrfption of the des-ign and oporatians must also be
prov i ded.
In imp1 menti ng di stri buti on of the make1 ess coal briquettes, the
current dealers of firewood and charcoal might provide a ready
distribution system. The examination of sources and aistribution of
fuel wood made under the market asses ent can provide valuable
i nf ormati on i n setti ng up briquette di stri buti on. The exi sti ng deal ers
should be encouraged to take on the new product.
Finally, initial marketing to consumek~ is extremely important in
assuring the success of the briquettes. It may be advantageous in sme
locations to concentrate on a certain sector of the market in initial
efforts to sell smoke1 e5s coal briquettesQ such as the commerci a1
sector. Restaurantsr hotel sp and street vendors currently making use of
fuelwood and charcoal may be a ready-made market for the smokeless coal
briquette. They are often a smallp well-defined group that uses a