Design, development, and performance evaluation of husk biomass cook stove at high altitude condition

Abstract

• Different literature related to husk biomass cook stoves was reviewed. • The dimension specifications for the stove components were described. • The prototype manufacturing process and experimental evaluation of the stove were conducted. • The performance of the husk biomass cook stove was evaluated and discussed by considering tests like the water boiling test (WBT), emission test, and international workshop agreement (IWA). • The selling price of the developed husk biomass cook stove was also determined. In many of the developing countries including Sub-Saharan Africa, most of the improved cook stoves were designed by considering only wood fuel, and as such are not suitable for using husk type biomass available aplenty such as coffee husk, rice husk, saw dust, etc., which get generated sustainably. While some stove eversions have been reported for using briquettes and pelletized biomass employing husks, others such as gasifier stove versions have been reported which mostly are suitable for only batch feeding of husk type biomass. A continuous feed type husk biomass cook stove has been developed and thoroughly evaluated in this study for clean burning at high altitude condition in Ethiopia. The water boiling test (WBT) and emission tests were conducted for a detailed stove performance evaluation. The experimental testing was carried out using two pots with different sizes both for coffee husk and rice husk biomass employing water boiling test version 4.2.3 protocols. The WBT experimental results indicate that for a 3.5 liter pot, the average thermal efficiency and time to boil water are 29% and 7.7 minutes for coffee husk where as 28% and 8.4 minutes for rice husk, respectively, during the hot start phase. The maximum CO emissions of the stove measured are 262 ppm and 235 ppm using coffee husk and rice husk biomass, respectively, during the simmer phase. The international workshop agreement (IWA) norms applied to classify the performance of the stove, and the result indicated that the average indoor CO emissions were 0.186 g/min and 0.274 g/min using rice husk and coffee husk biomass, respectively. The average specific fuel consumption for this stove was 98 g/lit, which is better than the improved biomass cook stove, in which specific fuel consumption was 115 g/lit. The total selling price of the husk biomass cook stove developed amounts to 6.72 USD.