Measurement & Instrumentation

Dispensing of Ethanol Cooking Fuel

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Titan Enterprises’ flow meter technology is playing a vital role in supporting KOKO Networks (Nairobi, Kenya) deliver cheap, safe and clean cooking fuel into African homes.

Low cost, reliable turbine flow meter from Titan Enterprises
Low cost, reliable turbine flow meter from Titan Enterprises

Designed and built by KOKO Networks (“KOKO”), “KOKO Point” vending machines dispense liquid bioethanol to customers across Nairobi.  Installed inside local shops, these clean fuel ATMs provide fuel in small quantities for daily cooking, and are part of an elegant solution to a widespread problem in African cities: how to get clean fuel for cooking into homes safely and affordably. 

Across many African countries, where electricity connections are expensive and unreliable, and mains gas non-existent, the cooking fuel market is dominated by charcoal and paraffin, both of which emit toxic fumes and soot that contribute to the premature deaths of hundreds of thousands of people each year.  

Bioethanol (essentially industrial-grade alcohol) is an ultra-clean alternative that can be produced from a number of feedstocks. In East Africa it is a sustainable by-product of the local sugar industry.  

A KOKO Point ethanol Fuel ATM being used by customers in a Nairobi convenience store
A KOKO Point ethanol Fuel ATM being used by customers in a Nairobi convenience store

Until now, however, it has been difficult to package, transport and retail in a safe and cost-efficient way.  By removing the need for single-use plastic bottles, KOKO’s model gets fuel to customers at about half the price of traditional distribution models, creating a scalable solution to the dirty fuels problem.

KOKO has installed around 700 KOKO Point Fuel ATMs in corner stores right across Nairobi, and is preparing to expand across the rest of Kenya from next year.  There is already strong demand for this safe, clean cooking fuel; customers simply dock their reusable KOKO fuel bottles into the machine, and once at home, connect the bottle to KOKO-designed twin-hob stoves.

Neil Hannay, Business development manager at Titan Enterprises,
 commented:

neil hannay
A: KOKO Point ethanol Fuel ATM being demonstrated by Peter Mwako, Senior KOKO Point Production & Deployment Manager at KOKO ; B: A KOKO Point ethanol Fuel ATM being used by customers in a Nairobi convenience store ; C: Low cost, reliable turbine flow meter from Titan Enterprises

A few years ago we were approached by KOKO to work with them on this life changing development for African families. KOKO required a highly reliable and inexpensive flow meter capable of precisely dispensing ethanol cooking fuel in small volumes.”

As a result of our joint development, at the heart of each KOKO Point fuel ATM is a precision Pelton wheel turbine flowmeter that rotates freely on robust sapphire bearings and contains over-moulded magnets that are detected through the chamber wall by a Hall effect detector. The output from this turbine flow meter is a stream of NPN pulses that are directly interfaced with the electronic display. This combination of materials and technology ensures a long-life product with reliable operation throughout. Constructed from totally non-metallic wetted components and offering a flow range of up to 10 litres per minute, our turbine flow meters are helping transform the way that African families undertake their daily cooking tasks.”

For further information on the 800-Series turbine flowmeter please visit https://bit.ly/3iW6gVR or contact Titan Enterprises on +44 1935 812790 or sales@flowmeter.com.  

For further information on KOKO Networks, please visit www.kokonetworks.com.

Titan Enterprises
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Titan Enterprises Limited

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About us

With over 40-years experience in flow meter innovation, Titan Enterprises Ltd are a UK-based manufacturer of high performance solutions such as the Atrato ultrasonic flowmeter, Oval Gear flow meters and the low flow Turbine flow meters and instrument range.

Our knowledgeable team can offer either an off-the-shelf meter or fully bespoke flow system designed for a particular application whether it is a low cost OEM solution or a specialist flowmeter in exotic materials. Titan supplies innovative flow measurement solutions into a broad range of sectors, including medical, industrial, food and drink, laboratory and pharmaceutical, offshire oil & gas industry, power, chemicals and mining.

For higher volume users we can custom design a flowmeter to match exact application requirements and thus not compromise achievable results with a less than ideal sensor.

At Titan we endeavour to produce devices that are inherently reliable as well as manufactured using the latest and most economical production technology. All flow meters produced by Titan are designed and manufactured to ISO9001 and calibrated to an uncertainty of ±0.25%.

We produce chemically resistant, high accuracy digital flow meters that are not only competitively priced but are engineered to give long-term reliable performance.

What we do in a nutshell

Titan Enterprises is a leading UK manufacturer and international supplier of high-performance liquid flow measurement solutions. We specialise in the design and production of small-bore, affordable off-the-shelf flow meters to bespoke flow sensors designed to customer specifications meeting specific flow ranges and environmental conditions.

Where we supply to

Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, North America

Industries we supply to

Automation, Chemicals, Consultants, Components Electronics, Energy and Power, Food and Beverage, Glass Ceramics Cement, Metals and Minerals, OEM, Paper and Pulp, Pharmaceutical Cosmetics Toiletries, Plastics and Rubber, Recycling, Textiles, Tobacco, Water and Wastewater

Something interesting you may not know about us:

Titan's R&D spend is 20% of our turnover where the industry norm is 8-10%.

  • Atrato Ultrasonic Flowmeter from Titan Enterprises, designed by Trevor Forster

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