Chapter 8 Techno-Economic Feasibility of Green Charcoal Production in Kenya Kevin S. Kung, Samuel Wanderi Rigu, Steve Kariithi Karau, Kamau Gachigi and Libby McDonald Abstract Many people in emerging markets use solid fuels such as charcoal for domestic cooking. This has alarming negative environmental and economic impacts. Efforts have been made to find ways of replacing wood charcoal with waste-derived briquettes also known as “green charcoal.” This chapter explores the technology, economics, and implementation of charcoal briquettes made from pyrolyzed organic waste, based on a case study in Kenya. Given the lack of formal and centralized waste management systems in emerging markets, we focus on a low-cost thermal treatment system for producing the briquettes. First, we present an economic analysis of the current domestic cooking fuel consumption pattern. The low-income households we surveyed spend a significant fraction (about 25 %) of their total income on charcoal, and the most important criterion by which they assess charcoal quality is its energy density. This is worth considering when developing alternative products. We then explore the low-cost processes enabling the conversion of agricultural residues into substitute charcoal. We find that the K.S. Kung (&) Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA e-mail: kkung@mit.edu S.W. Rigu Department of Agribusiness Management, Safi Organics, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya S.K. Karau School of Human and Social Sciences, Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya K. Gachigi Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya L. McDonald Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 S. Hostettler et al. (eds.), Sustainable Access to Energy in the Global South, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20209-9_8 87