Panwar2009 PDF
Panwar2009 PDF
Panwar2009 PDF
DOI 10.1007/s11027-009-9187-4
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
N. L. Panwar
Abstract This paper deals with design and performance of energy efficient biomass
cookstove suitable for different fuel wood & briquetted fuel. It was tested with babul wood
(Prosopis julliflora), goundnut (Arachis hypogaea) shell briquettes, sawdust briquettes and
Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale) shell. The stove was insulated by refractory cement
(Insulyte -11U) to minimize heat losses. The stove has exhibited about 35% thermal
efficiency. The CO and CO2 emission was in the range of 3–6 ppm and 17–25 ppm
respectively. The stove works in the range of 1.53 to 1.76 kW of power rating. The
maximum flame temperature was recorded as 763°C when Cashew nut (Anacardium
occidentale) shell was used as feed stock.
Keywords Biomass combustion . Biomass stove . Pollutant emission . Water boiling test
1 Introduction
Ever increasing energy demand and the polluting nature of existing fossil fuel energy sources
demonstrate the need for other none polluting and renewable sources of energy (Natarajan et
al. 1998). Biomass is widely considered as an important potential fuel and renewable
energy resources for the future. The common usage of biomass is in low capacity boilers or
furnaces, local house hold cooking or farm heating, which is the simplest and cheapest way,
but inefficient for extensive energy production (Jankes and Milovanovic 2001).
When combustion of biomass fuels is completed, the resultant products are carbon
dioxide (CO2) and water vapour (H2O), which are not harmful at all, whereas incomplete
combustion release health damaging pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHS) such as CO,
N2O, CH4 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) etc. (Bhattacharya and Salam
2002). A stove based on the principle of gasification especially for powdery biomass was
developed and tested by Mukunda et al. (1993). Further studies were conducted by Dixit et
N. L. Panwar (*)
Department of Renewable Energy Sources, College of Technology and Engineering,
Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313 001, India
e-mail: nlpanwar@rediffmail.com
628 Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change (2009) 14:627–633
al. (2006) to explore the status of emission from pulverized fuel stove and its performance
was found superior as compared to traditional biomass stove in terms of efficiency and
emission.
Typically, the minimum power requirement to cook food for a meal (for a family of 4
persons) is about 1.5 to 2 kW with burning time about 1.0 to 1.5 h. Commonly domestic LPG
stoves are provided with two burners of 1.5 and 2 kW that work at an efficiency of 40–60%
Wick type kerosene stoves in use are also commonly of 1.0 and 2.0 kW capacity (with 8–10
and 16 wicks, respectively). Under reasonable wind conditions, it operates at an efficiency of
48–58% (Mukunda et al. 1988). Similarly, well-designed wood stove operate at 40–42%
efficiency (Mukunda et al. 1988) and pulverized fuel stove at 37% (Dixit et al. 2006).
There is a scope to develop an energy efficient biomass stove which emits less emission
and can be easily operated with wide variety of biomass. Keeping this in view, an energy
efficient biomass cookstove was developed by Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture
and Technology (MPUAT), Udaipur (27° 42,N, 75°33′ E). The inexpensive biomass stove
can bring the “Joy of cooking with gas” to everyone while using a wide variety of renewable
biomass fuel (Fontaine and Reed 1993; Reed and Larson 1996a, b; Reed and Walt 1999)
An energy efficient biomass stove was designed and fabricated at the department workshop
to meet the cooking energy requirement of a family having 4–6 persons. The schematic
diagram of biomass stove is shown in Fig. 1. The biomass stove consists of well insulated
cylindrical reactor, cast iron grate and adjustable air opening from bottom end. The reactor
is a mild steel (IS 2062) cylinder having diameter about 16 cm and height about 47 cm. in
order to minimize heat losses critical insulation thickness of insulyte 11U from Mahavier
Refractories Corporation was held by mild steel anchors welded to the inner shell. Prior to
use, the refractory was cured for 48 h. Figure 2 shows the inside view of stove. The
technical specification of gasifier stove is given in Table 1.
The stove was tested with four different types of biomass i.e. babul wood (Prosopis
julliflora), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) shell briquettes, saw dust briquettes and Cashew
nut (Anacardium occidentale) shell. Proximate analysis was conducted to analyze the feed
stock characteristics. The parameters studied were, moisture content (ASTM D317373),
volatile matter (ASTM D3175-73) and ash content (ASTM D3174-73). Fixed carbon (FC)
was determined using material balance (ASTM 1983; Singh et al. 1999; Singh and Patil
2001). The physical and thermal properties of feed stock used for testing purposes are given
in Table 2
The sized wood, briquettes and Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale) shell were put into
stove and ignited at the top with few drops of kerosene oil. The required air flow was
governed and flame established because of free convection of air from bottom end. The
temperature inside the stove shell was increased with time and pyrolysis zone was
established. The existing volatile matter released from biomass, in later stage charcoal is
left, as temperature increased it became red hot and produced combustible gaseous mixture
of CO, H2 and CH4 as it is released from simple gasifier system. The sufficient number of
holes were provided for secondary air which gets mixed with combustible gas as shown in
Fig. 3. The combustible gas was burnt at top end of stove where utensil is to be placed.
The flame temperature was measured by Chromel -Alumel type K- thermocouple and
digital temperature indicator (Analog & Digital Instrumentation, Vadodara). The emission
from the stove was measured by gas analyzer (AFRISO EURO INDEX, Multilyzer
Industries). The calorific value of feed stock was also measured by a digital bomb
calorimeter (Advance Research Instrument Company).
The water boiling test was carried out as per the protocol of the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy, Government of India, to evaluate the thermal performance of the stove.
The thermal efficiency of biomass stove was calculated as 35%, which is close to 37% as
reported by Dixit et al. (2006) and it is almost 10% higher than earlier studies reported by
Panwar and Rathore (2008) and Bhattacharya et al. (2001). The fire hole of stove was filled
with fuel within 5 cm of the top. It is desirable to have the uniform spread of fire laterally
across the surface to provide heat over the whole area. This was accomplished by spreading
kerosene oil initially on top of the fuel bed. Once it ignited from top, it gave combustible gas
(producer gas) and a blue flame was established within 5 min of ignition. The use of kerosene
oil was limited for experimental purpose only. For actual operation loose biomass which catches
fire easily can be used to ignite the cookstove. The ignition time and flame temperature of stove
with different fuel is given in Table 3. It has been observed that the stove burns continuously
for 41 and 35 min when it operates with Babul wood (Prosopis julliflora) and Cashew nut
(Anacardium occidentale) shell respectively. Whereas it gave gas continuously for 62 min
duration in both groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) shell and sawdust made briquettes.
The ash was collected from bottom end when it operated with Babul wood (Prosopis
julliflora) and briquettes but no ash was recorded when it operated on Cashew nut
(Anacardium occidentale) shell. The shell remains in their actual shape with dark black
colour. The burnt shell has to be removed from the stove, if second operation of stove is
needed. During the testing, temperature of the outer surface of stove was recorded as about
95°C. The power rating of the stove varies in the range of 1.53 to 1.76 kW. The production
cost of each unit is about $21.2 and it increases with capacity.
Emission of pollutants from biomass fuel during combustion depends on the quantity of
fuel consumed and type of combustor used. Most of the wood gas stoves working with low
emission can be operated indoor with proper precaution once flame gets established (Reed
and Larson 1996a, b). During the experiment it was found that the amount of CO2 emission
inside the kitchen has been reduced, which was measured at a distance of 1 m from biomass
stoves with the help of gas analyzers. It was found in the range of 17–25 ppm, which was
within safe limit (26.8 ppm) as reported by Uma et al. (1997) and CO emission was in the
range of 3–6 ppm for all fuels and it was also within safe limits as quoted on indoor air
quality fact sheet (2009).
The out side temperature of the stove during testing was recorded as 95°C, which can
accidentally burn users, so it is recommended to use a handle when moving or handling a hot
stove. During the operation of the stove, carbon monoxide was obtained, which is toxic in
nature. Therefore, it is recommended not to use the stove in an enclosed area, i.e. in a tent,
camper or in a house. Subsequently after completion of the burning period some charcoal is
obtained as unburnt fuel. If the stove is closed before charcoal is fully consumed, there are
chances that the charcoal remains a fire hazard. Disposal of the charcoal in a safe place
where it does not produce a fire, or waiting until it cools to a safe temperature as mentioned
on wood camp stove (2009), is also an important requirement in operating a stove.
More details on the technology including training and dissemination of technology can be
provided by author’s university.
4 Conclusion
An energy efficient biomass cookstove based on gasification principle was developed and
tested for different biomass fuels. A variety of biomass including densified fuel can be used
in this stove. It has potential to save fuel wood and emits less pollutant. It is expected that
the convenience, efficiency and safety advantages offered by developed biomass stove will
help its rapid adoption in rural households across India. The developed stove work at higher
efficiency hence would consume less fuel wood. Consequently less CO2 is added to
environment. As CO2 mitigation benefits from biomass become well understood by
investors and so carbon emissions trading begins, there is likely to be a significant increase
in the application of energy efficient biomass cookstoves.
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