The publication of South African National Standard (Sans) 448, which specifies the requirements for ethanol gel for cooking and other gel burning appliances, was viewed as major milestone in the development of ethanol gel for wider use by South African consumers.

"Sans 448 was produced because there was considerable interest in a safe, clean renewable fuel, and ethanol gel seemed to offer this possibility. However, early experiences were not too good - quite a lot of low-quality material was produced," explains the technical specialist who played a role in drafting standards to improve the safety of paraffin stoves Dr Phillip Lloyd.

The earlier bad experiences revolved around: the heat content, as manufacturers tried to get as low an ethanol content as they could get away with, and the product burned so cool that it would barely boil a litre of water; the gelling agent, as the early gels would turn to liquid soon after they were lit, which defeated the purpose, because the beauty of gel was that it would not spread when alight; and the packaging, as some packaging 'leaked' ethanol, and the product lost energy on storage.

"The standard addresses most of the problems that were experienced. There is an absolute minimum alcohol content, the gel has to be stable, the packaging has to keep the fuel in a stable condition, and the product has to be denatured: that is, made nasty to taste, to prevent people from consuming it," confirms Lloyd.

Lloyd explains that the advantages of gel are that it is somewhat easier to light; it will not spread if the appliance is knocked over; and if some spilled material catches alight it is easy to put out using water.

To get a clean burn the fuel needs to be mixed well with air before it burns. In other words, one needs to get the gel to give up its ethanol as vapour, and then mix this vapour with air before it burns.

"For optimum results when using ethanol gel for cooking or heating, it is therefore important that a high-quality appliance be used in which attention has been paid to the design to ensure the cleanest possible burn. It is also essential that the gel manufacturers use a high-quality ethanol," Lloyd adds.

During 2009, an estimated 550-million litres of paraffin - worth around R3,5-billion at current retail prices - was sold in South Africa, much of it for domestic and household use. While accurate data is not available, an estimated two-million South African homes use flame-based, liquid-fuel appliances for cooking and heating, which are regularly associated with thousands of domestic fires, injuries and deaths yearly.

Ethanol gel, long used for camping, recreation and military applications, is now being considered by many as a possible alternative, especially for cooking.