Search Results (396)

There is still a need to develop scenarios and models aimed at substituting fuelwood and reducing the use of fossil fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), on which low-income rural households in the Global South often depend. The use of these fuels for cooking and heating in domestic and productive activities poses significant health and environmental risks. This study validated, in three different phases, the sustainability of a model for the production and use of biogas from the treatment of swine-rearing wastewater (WWs) on a community farm: (i) A Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), incorporating environmental, social/health, technical, and economic criteria, identified the main weighted criterion to C8 (use of small-scale technologies and low-cost access), with a score of 0.44 points, as well as the Tubular biodigester (Tb) as the most suitable option for the study area, scoring 8.1 points. (ii) Monitoring of the Tb over 90 days showed an average biogas production of 2.6 m³ d⁻¹, with average correlation 0.21 m³ Biogas kg Biomass⁻¹. Using the experimental biogas production rate (k = 0.0512 d⁻¹), the process was simulated with the BgMod model, achieving an average deviation of only 10.4% during the final production phase. (iii) The quantification of benefits demonstrated significant reductions in firewood use: in Scenario S1 (kitchen energy needs), biogas replaced 83.1% of firewood, while in Scenario S2 (citronella essential oil production), the substitution rate was 24.1%. In both cases, the avoided emissions amounted to 0.52 tons of CO_2eq per month. Finally, this study proposes a synthesised, community-based rural biogas framework designed for replication in regions with similar socio-environmental, technical, and economic conditions. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the concentrations of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, ortho-xylene (o-), and meta and para-xylene (m-,p-)) in Croatian households between December 2023 and January 2025. The results showed that BTEX concentrations were higher indoors than outdoors, suggesting a considerable contribution from indoor sources. Significant statistical differences were found between indoor and outdoor levels of ethylbenzene, m-,p-xylene, and o-xylene, especially during cold periods when indoor activities increase and ventilation decreases. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed weak correlations between benzene and other BTEX compounds, implying multiple distinct sources such as cooking, smoking, and outdoor air infiltration. Full article

Rural areas around the world are increasingly dealing with energy and environmental challenges. These challenges are particularly acute in developing countries, where persistent reliance on traditional energy sources—such as wood fuel—intersects with concerns about forest conservation and energy sustainability. While wood fuel use is often portrayed as unsustainable, it is important to acknowledge that much of it remains ecologically viable and socially embedded. This study explores the role of rural entrepreneurs in shaping low-carbon transitions at the intersection of household energy practices and environmental stewardship. Fieldwork was carried out in four rural Zambian communities in 2016 and complemented by 2024 follow-up reports. It examines the connections between household energy choices, greenhouse gas emissions, and forest resource dynamics. Findings reveal that over 60% of rural households rely on charcoal for cooking, with associated emissions estimated between 80 and 150 kg CO₂ per household per month. Although this is significantly lower than the average per capita carbon footprint in industrialized countries, such emissions are primarily biogenic in nature. While rural communities contribute minimally to global climate change, their practices have significant local environmental consequences. This study draws attention to the structural constraints as well as emerging opportunities within Zambia’s rural energy economy. It positions rural entrepreneurs not merely as policy recipients but as active agents of innovation, environmental monitoring, and participatory resource governance. A model is proposed to support sustainable rural energy transitions by aligning forest management with context-sensitive emissions strategies. Full article

Preventing food waste is a pressing global policy concern, with households being the main producers of food waste along the food supply chain. This study aims to analyze consumers’ food waste behavior and identify how different consumer profiles and sociodemographic characteristics influence food waste. A survey was carried out in Spain with a representative sample of 717 participants, and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was applied to understand the influence of consumers’ attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control on their intention to reduce food waste and to find out the main drivers of their food waste behaviors. Results demonstrated that food waste reduction is mainly predicted by attitudes, followed by perceived behavior control, and lastly subjective norms. Finally, characteristics such as responsibility in food purchasing and cooking at home as well as sociodemographic factors played a relevant role in how much the intention to reduce food waste affects the final behavior. Our results suggest the potential of communication to reshape individual preferences towards valuing food conservation. Tailored strategies are recommended for specific groups, emphasizing the importance of targeted approaches in addressing food waste at various levels of society. Full article

Traditional smoking techniques, while historically valued for preservation and flavor enhancement, face limitations in aromatic diversity and safety, prompting exploration of spice-derived alternatives to meet modern culinary demands. This study explores the volatile compound profiles and aroma modulation of chicken wings smoked with four spices—cardamom, rosemary, mint, and rose—using a novel, household-friendly smoking protocol. The method combines air fryer pre-cooking (180 °C, 16 min) with electric griddle-based smoke infusion, followed by HS-SPME/GC-TOF/MS, relative odor activity value (ROAV) calculations, and metabolomic analysis. A total of 314 volatile compounds were identified across five samples. Among them, 45 compounds demonstrated odor activity values (ROAV) ≥ 1, contributing to green, woody, floral, and sweet aroma attributes. Eucalyptol displayed the highest ROAV (2543), underscoring its dominant sensory impact. Metabolomic profiling revealed a general upregulation of differential volatiles post-smoking: terpenes were enriched in wings smoked with cardamom, rosemary, and mint, while aldehydes and alcohols predominated in rose-smoked samples. An integrated screening based on ROAV and metabolomic data identified 24 key volatiles, including eucalyptol, β-myrcene, methanethiol, and α-pinene, which collectively defined the aroma signatures of spice-smoked wings. Spice-specific aroma enrichment and sensory properties were evident: rosemary intensified woody–spicy notes, mint enhanced herbal freshness, and rose amplified floral attributes. The proposed method demonstrated advantages in safety, ease of use, and flavor customization, aligning with clean-label trends and supporting innovation in home-based culinary practices. Moreover, it facilitates the tailored modulation of smoked meat flavor profiles, thereby enhancing product differentiation and broadening consumer acceptance. Full article

A majority of households in sub-Saharan Africa use inefficient biomass stoves in poorly ventilated kitchens, leading to indoor air pollution. Biomass for cooking can be sustainably sourced from agricultural residues such as prunings from agroforestry. This study assessed biochar-producing gasifier cookstove performance among 150 households in Embu, Kwale, and Siaya Counties through household surveys and participatory cooking tests with 75 households. With the gasifier, carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations were lower in Embu (5.1 ppm), while carbon dioxide (CO₂) and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) were lower in Kwale, at 588 ppm and 136 μg/m³, respectively. Compared to the three-stone open fire, reductions in CO and PM_2.5 concentrations were highest in Embu, at 82% and 97%, respectively. The biomass-to-char conversion efficiency with the gasifier was 17–18%. If households consider the produced char as a soil amendment, they could save 24–43% of fuel compared to the three-stone open fire; if the char is seen as fuel, the potential savings are 42–65%. Significant differences between the three sites were observed with the gasifier for gross and net fuel use, and for concentrations of PM_2.5 and CO₂. Gasifier uptake can reduce the need for fuel collection and indoor air pollution, with a positive impact on both the environment and human wellbeing. Full article

Background: Cooking skills represent an important yet often overlooked form of social and cultural capital, influencing dietary quality and health outcomes. As modern societies face growing challenges related to unhealthy eating patterns and a loss of traditional food practices, understanding the societal role of culinary competence becomes critical. This study explored the association between culinary skills, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and nutritional intake. Methods: Baseline data from 111 adults (60 women; mean age 47.6 ± 10.5 years) participating in the iMC SALT randomized controlled trial (Portugal) were analyzed. Culinary skills were assessed using the Cooking Skills Score, while the dietary intake was evaluated with a Food Frequency Questionnaire and adherence to the Mediterranean diet through the alternative Mediterranean Diet (aMED) Score. Food and beverage processing levels were categorized using the NOVA classification, and the sodium/potassium intake was measured via 24 h urinary excretion. Results: Women demonstrated better culinary skills (5.1 ± 0.9 vs. 4.0 ± 1.1, p < 0.001) and greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet (5.1 ± 1.9 vs. 3.8 ± 1.8, p = 0.001) than men. Better culinary skills were associated with younger age, larger households, and increased adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Culinary skills significantly explained 27.2% of the variance in the Mediterranean diet adherence. Better culinary skills were linked to a greater energy and protein intake; but a lower sodium and potassium intake. Conclusion: These findings highlight culinary skills as a key societal factor shaping dietary behavior and nutritional intake. Promoting culinary education may offer a powerful strategy to address dietary inequalities, support cultural food heritage, and foster healthier, more resilient societies. Full article

Food loss and waste are critical challenges in Taiwan’s agri-food supply chain, deteriorating security and resource efficiency. By employing the best–worst method (BWM), a multi-criteria decision-making model was developed in this study to evaluate the severity of losses and wastes. Combining literature review results with expert survey analysis results, key loss points, and mitigation strategies were identified to enhance sustainability and efficiency in Taiwan’s agricultural food system. Among the seven stages of the agricultural food supply chain, supermarket waste (16.95%) was identified as the severest, followed by government policies (16.63%), restaurant waste (15.35%), processing loss (14.71%), production site loss (13.64%), household waste (11.93%), and logistics/storage/distribution loss (10.79%). In the subcategories of each supply chain stage, the eight severe issues were identified as “Inadequate planning and control of overall production and marketing policies” under government policies, “Adverse climate conditions” and “Imbalance in production and marketing” under production site loss, “Inaccurate market demand forecasting” and “Poor inventory management at supermarkets” under supermarket waste, and “Improper storage management of ingredients leading to spoilage” as well as “Inability to accurately forecast demand due to menu diversity” under restaurant waste. The least severe issues included “Poor production techniques” under production site loss. Other minor issues included “Inefficient use of ingredients due to poor cooking skills”, “Festive culture and traditional customs”, and “Suboptimal food labeling design”, all of which contributed to household waste. Based on these findings, we proposed recommendations to mitigate food loss and waste in Taiwan’s agricultural food supply chain from practical, policy, and academic perspectives. The results of this study serve as a reference for relevant organizations and stakeholders. Full article

Maintaining quality of life through functional autonomy is crucial for supporting aging in place. While assistive technologies and architectural adaptations have received significant attention, there is limited knowledge on how older adults independently adapt domestic routines using everyday household products. Background/Objectives: This study aimed to explore how functionally independent older adults manage key domestic tasks and to identify user-driven adaptations that could inform inclusive product design. Methods: We conducted a qualitative field study involving non-participant observations and in-depth case studies with 20 older adults aged 65–85 living in urban Chile. Participants were observed while performing cooking, dishwashing, and waste disposal activities. Thematic analysis and axial coding, based on grounded theory principles, were applied to identify adaptation strategies and usability barriers. Results: Participants employed a range of adaptation strategies across tasks, including temporal redistribution of effort, spatial reorganization, informal tool use, and reliance on social support. These adaptations reflected creative and situated responses to physical and environmental constraints. Many strategies could be interpreted as emergent user solutions, offering practical insights for the inclusive and low-cost redesign of everyday objects. Conclusions: Older adults actively modify their interactions with domestic environments to preserve autonomy and functionality. Recognizing and incorporating these emergent user adaptations into product design processes can strengthen inclusive design practices, support aging in place, and inform public health strategies aimed at promoting independence among aging populations. Full article

With the global emphasis on sustainable growth and development, the depletion of natural energy reserves due to reliance on fossil fuels and non-renewable sources remains a critical concern. Despite strides in transitioning to electrical mobility, rural and agricultural communities depend heavily on liquefied petroleum gas and firewood for cooking, lacking viable, sustainable alternatives. This study focuses on community-led efforts to advance biogas adoption, providing an eco-friendly and reliable energy alternative for rural and farming households. By designing and developing balloon-type anaerobic biodigesters, this initiative provides a robust, cost-effective, and scalable method to convert farm waste into biogas for household cooking. This approach reduces reliance on traditional fuels, mitigating deforestation and improving air quality, and generates organic biofertilizer as a byproduct, enhancing agricultural productivity through organic farming. The study focuses on optimizing critical parameters, including the input feed rate, gas production patterns, holding time, biodigester health, gas quality, and liquid manure yield. Statistical tools, such as descriptive analysis, regression analysis, and ANOVA, were employed to validate and predict biogas output data based on experimental and industrial-scale data. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were also utilized to model and predict outputs, inspired by the information processing mechanisms of biological neural systems. A comprehensive database was developed from experimental and literary data to enhance model accuracy. The results demonstrate significant improvements in cooking practices, health outcomes, economic stability, and solid waste management among beneficiaries. The integration of statistical analysis and ANN modeling validated the biodigester system’s effectiveness and scalability. This research highlights the potential to harness renewable energy to address socio-economic challenges in rural areas, paving the way for a sustainable, equitable future by fostering environmentally conscious practices, clean energy access, and enhanced agricultural productivity. Full article

Biogas is once again emerging as a potential household cooking option that can help developing countries achieve energy targets. However, the adoption of biogas remains relatively slow, necessitating a diagnosis of the problem the review of literature identified. The review identified key factors influencing the adoption of household biogas technology, including policy and regulatory frameworks, financing mechanisms, public awareness, and socio-economic factors. Therefore, this study involved undertaking a survey where heads of 385 households were interviewed. The study found that low income of households, averaging USD 67/month, is a major constraint to biogas adoption, especially when dirty fuels cost little or nothing. In addition, a lack of awareness of the benefits of biogas over the available dirty fuels has the potential to limit its adoption. This explains why 99% of the households interviewed indicated firewood and charcoal were their first option, and 52% believed that these dirty fuels were dependable. Regardless of these bottlenecks, the study found that households are ready to try better cooking options. About 99% of households were interested in using biogas, and 94% wanted to learn more about biogas. Therefore, there is a need for increased awareness, and suppliers must adopt innovations that make biogas more accessible and competitive against traditional cooking fuels. Full article

Seasonal, diurnal, and site-to-site variations in indoor PM_2.5 concentrations in Akure, a city in southwestern Nigeria, are investigated by continuous observations using low-cost sensors in six households. Significant seasonal variations were observed, with the highest monthly PM_2.5 concentrations occurring in the dry season, both indoors and outdoors. Significant seasonal variations with higher PM_2.5 levels during the dry season were observed, with mean PM_2.5 concentrations of 55 μg/m³ in the kitchen and 48 μg/m³ in the living rooms, compared to those during the wet season (23 μg/m³ in the kitchen and 14 μg/m³ in the living rooms). The kitchen-to-outdoor and indoor-to-outdoor PM_2.5 ratios increased particularly during the morning and evening hours at several sites, suggesting significant contributions from cooking activities in the kitchen, as well as the transfer of PM_2.5 into the living room. An assessment of PM_2.5 exposure risks among 32 residents in the studied households revealed higher risks among individuals who cook routinely. This study underscores the importance of addressing indoor air pollution alongside outdoor pollution, particularly by improving ventilation and reducing cooking emissions, to effectively minimize exposure risks. Full article

The main goal of this study is to investigate the possibility of using residual materials (biomass derived from used cooking oils and lignocellulosic biomass from plant waste) on a large scale for producing renewable fuels and, in particular, the best way to collect them. The methodology of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as well as spatial analysis (SA) techniques were used to investigate the Greek case for this. The data recorded in the geographic database were quantities of waste cooking and household oils as well as quantities of lignocellulosic biomass. The most common global and local indices of spatial autocorrelation were used. Concerning the biomass derived from used cooking oils, it was found that their quantities were important (163.17 million L/year), and these can be used to produce green diesel in the context of the circular economy. Although the dispersion of the used cooking oils was wide, there is no doubt that their concentration in large cities and tourist areas is higher. This finding suggests a collection process that could be carried out mainly in these areas through the development of small autonomous collection units in each neighborhood and central processing plants in small regional units. The investigation of the geographical–spatial distribution of residual lignocellulosic biomass showed the geographical fragmentation and heterogeneity of the distributions. The quantities recorded were significant (4.5 million tons/year) but widely dispersed, such that the cost of collecting and transporting the biomass to central processing plants could be prohibitive. The “geography” of the problem itself suggests solutions of small mobile collection units in every part of the country. The lignocellulosic biomass would be collected and converted in situ into bio-oil by rapid pyrolysis carried out in a tanker vehicle. This would transport the produced bio-oil to the nearest oil refineries for the conversion of bio-oil into biofuels through deoxygenation processes. Full article

Background: Exposure to household air pollution (HAP) is one of the primary risk factors for acute lower respiratory infection (ARI) morbidity and mortality among children in low-income settings. This study aimed to examine the relative contribution of residing in deprived neighbourhoods and exposure to HAP on the occurrence of ARI among children using data from the 2014–2015 Chad Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Methods: We applied multilevel modelling techniques to survey data of 2882 children from 372 communities to compute the odds ratio (OR) for the occurrence of ARI between children of respondents exposed to clean fuels (e.g., electricity, liquid petroleum gas, natural gas, and biogas) and respondents exposed to polluting fuel (e.g., kerosene, coal/lignite, charcoal, wood, straw/shrubs/grass, and animal dung). Results: The results showed that children exposed to household polluting fuels in Chad were 215% more likely to develop ARI than those not exposed to household air pollution (OR = 3.15; 95% CI 2.41 to 4.13). Further analysis revealed that the odds of ARI were 185% higher (OR = 2.85; 95% CI 1.73 to 4.75) among children living in rural residents and those born to teenage mothers (OR = 2.75; 95% CI 1.48 to 5.15) who were exposed to household polluting fuels compared to their counterparts who were not exposed. In summary, the results of the study show that the risk of ARI is more common among children who live in homes where household air-polluting cooking fuel is widely used, those living in rural areas, those living in socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods and from the least wealthy households, and those born to teenage mothers in Chad. Conclusions: In this study, an independent relative contribution of variables, such as HAP from cooking fuel, neighbourhood deprivation, living in rural areas, being from a low-income household, having a mother who is a manual labourer worker, and being given birth to by a teenage mother, to the risk of ARI among children is established. Full article

With the development of society, energy application and building thermal comfort in rural residences are receiving more and more attention. The rural residences in this survey mainly cover the rural areas of 21 prefectures in Guangdong province, of which 24.7% are in the Pearl River Delta, 18.9% in western Guangdong, 13.1% in eastern Guangdong, and 43.2% in northern Guangdong. Rural household energy consumption is mainly used for lighting equipment, household appliances, and cooking equipment, where lighting equipment and household appliances mainly consume electrical energy, and cooking equipment consumes different types of energy due to the diversity of types. First, there is a wide variety and variation in rural energy consumption, with electricity and liquefied petroleum gas as the main sources of cooking energy. Hot water is mainly obtained by heating with electricity and natural gas. Secondly, for rural residents, renewable energy is too expensive to build, is also affected by the environment and weather, and is often not convenient to use. Third, rural residents generally experience a warm, humid indoor environment with adequate airflow, but poor kitchen ventilation reduces air quality satisfaction. To enhance renewable energy adoption, technological advancements and cost reductions are necessary, along with increased government efforts in awareness campaigns, policy incentives, and demonstration projects. This study analyses the rural energy structure in Guangdong, proposes the direction of rural energy optimization, and analyses rural energy use and the feasibility of renewable energy promotion, considering the population and income of rural households. Full article