Biomass burning: a comparative analysis of performance of improved cookstoves
Student name: Mr Manshu Madan
Guide: Dr Suresh Jain
Year of completion: 2011
Host Organisation: TERI University
Abstract: Approximately two-thirds of the populations of developing nations are still mainly dependent on biofuels for
household use, and it is nowadays well recognized that this results in degradation of indoor air quality. The
efficiency of the fuel used for burning and emissions from wood burning cookstoves consequently have
important implications for a number of important, interrelated aspects of development such as health
promotion, protection of the environment, and the household economy etc. This study focuses on the testing,
assessing and comparing the performance of four wood-burning cookstoves in terms of thermal efficiency,
specific fuel consumption, fire power and burning rate using Acacia nilotica and Prosopis juliflora as the fuel
wood also to identify the type of cookstoves and biomass used in three rural areas i.e. Mewat (Haryana),
Mehrauli (New Delhi) and Ghaziabad (Uttar Pardesh). The performances of following wood burning
cookstoves have been tested and compared i.e. Philips (ND), Philips (FD), Envirofit (O) and Envirofit (B). The
performance of cookstoves is tested and assessed using standard protocol i.e., Water Boiling Test Version 4.1.2
(WBT). Emissions measurement was not carried out in this study. The results show that type of cookstove used
in three rural areas selected is conventional and type of biomass used for household purpose is mostly wood.
Specific fuel consumption does not have a definite trend with thermal efficiency in all the four cookstoves tested
with both the fuel woods used in different phases. But on combining results of all the phases for each cookstove
thermal efficiency and specific fuel consumption have significant inverse relationship with both the fuel woods.
Maximum thermal efficiency is shown in simmering phase by all the cookstoves i.e. in the range of 18% to 46%
with Acacia nilotica and 12.5% to 52.5% with Prosopis juliflora. Burning rate and firepower has direct
relationship in all the four cookstoves with thermal efficiency from cold start phase to hot star) phase and has
inverse relation with thermal efficiency from hot start to simmering phase with both the fuel woods except in
Philips (ND) with Prosopis juliflora which has the inverse relationship with thermal efficiency from cold start
phase to hot start. Analysis of variance also shows that Thermal efficiency and Specific fuel consumption are
highly dependent on type of cookstove and type of wood used for testing the performance of cookstoves.
Key Words: Improved Cookstoves; WBT; Energy Performance; Specific Fuel Consumption;
Fire Power.
