Energy, Exergy, Emergy, Environment, and Economics Analysis of a Three-pot Cookstove

Abstract

As per World Bank's collection of development indicators, about 65% of India's population still live in rural regions, where biomass will continue to be the primary source of energy for cooking. Consumers and governments are concerned about the amount of energy used in cooking. Furthermore, the use of biomass fuel in traditional biomass stoves has been associated with human health, with women being more susceptible to exposure to indoor air pollution and health issues during cooking. This study analysed the performance of a three-pot cookstove suitable for a family of 6 persons with respect to its energy, exergy, emergy, environment, and economics. Emergent indicators such as percent renewable (PR), emergent yield ratio (EYR), environmental load ratio (ELR), and environmental sustainability index (ESI) are accustomed to assessing the environmental load and native sustainability of biomass energy. According to Emergy indicators, the production of three-pot cooking system is more sustainable than traditional cookstove systems. Further, the p-value, standard deviation and coefficient of variance derived from the statistical analysis indicate a significant relationship between feedstock size and thermal efficiency of the developed cookstove.