Feasibility study of TEG-integrated biomass cook stove for electrical power generation specific to rural areas with inadequate electricity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Access to standard form of energy in cooking and lighting has been a serious concern among most of the people residing in rural parts of the world. More than 2 billion people concentrated mostly in rural areas of India and sub-Saharan Africa use firewood in inefficient (thermal efficiency is <8–10%) traditional cook stoves. Around 15% of input energy from fuel is stored within the stove body as waste heat. Further, the annual per capita electricity consumption is just over 1000 kWh compared to world average of more than 3000 kWh. Whereas, the figure drops to 314 kWh in the northeastern state of Assam, India. Thermoelectric generator (TEG) can be used to recover the waste heat and utilize it in the conversion into electricity on the principle of Seebeck effect. This research work is attempted to test the feasibility of integrating a TEG module with an Ministry of New and Renewable energy (MNRE)-approved improved clay made cook stove named Sukhad using fundamental heat transfer and thermoelectric equations. Preliminary tests of the TEG-integrated cook stove showed a potential of generating 2.7 W of electrical power and illuminating a 3 W LED bulb.