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Lp Gas Barbecuing Less Damaging than Charcoal

Charcoal barbecues are more damaging to the environment than lp gas-fuelled grills according to research published by Eric Johnson of research firm Atlantic Consulting in the science journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review.

The article reports that, in the UK, the carbon footprint for charcoal grilling is almost three times as large as that for lpg gas grilling. The overwhelming factors behind the difference are that, as a fuel, lpg is dramatically more efficient than charcoal in its production and considerably more efficient in cooking. Secondary factors are use of firelighters, which lp gas does not need; lpg’s use of a heavier, more complicated grill, and lpg gas’s use of cylinders, which charcoal does not need.

Charcoal is produced by heating wood in a kiln. Commercial yields of charcoal from source material are only 20-35 per cent, i.e. most of the rest of the wood is converted to gas and emitted into the atmosphere. Yields of lpg, by contrast, are greater than 90 per cent. Lpg gas grills are akin to conventional cookers and ovens, in that they have power ratings and can easily be switched on and off. By contrast, charcoal grills do not offer easy mechanisms for regulating fuel consumption.

Charcoal and lp gas grill systems were defined, and their carbon footprints were calculated for a base case and for some plausible variations to that base case. In the base case, the charcoal grilling footprint of 998kg CO2e is almost three times as large as that for lpg grilling, 349 kg CO2e.

Eric Johnson explained: “The primary factor in determining fuel consumption is the griller’s loading, which is determined by the amount of charcoal that is used, along with the quality and quantity of starting aid that is required.”

Britons fire up their barbecues around 60 million times a year, consuming many thousands of tonnes of fuel. The study argued that developing countries, primarily in Africa, are likely to be the source of charcoal sold in the UK. Last year, the UK imported 80 percent of its charcoal from developing countries, and 50 percent from Africa.

Nearly 70 per cent of the total import comes from South Africa, Argentina, Namibia and Nigeria. Forest stocks in the latter three countries are in decline, according to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, as they are on a global scale, especially in the developing world.

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