Abstract
Direct combustion of solid biomass fuel is one of the most common energy sources in developing countries. Evaluation of technology for household biomass pellet fuel combustion is critical, since promoting poorly designed devices may have risks due to exposure to high levels of emissions. This study evaluated the effects of various testing conditions on a top-lit forced-up-draft semi-gasifier cooking stove. An orthogonal test was designed with different fuel masses, chamber heights, air supply rates, and ending points. The investigation showed that using forced secondary air and more fuel tended to improve both thermal and gas emissions performance. The ending points did not have significant effects on thermal efficiency or the carbon dioxide emission factor, but did affect particulate matter emission. A relatively lower chamber height demonstrated better performance on thermal metrics. However, a taller flame had better performance on particulate matter emission factors. The results of the indicators reported by different bases, such as fuel mass-based or useful energy-based were also quite different. The study showed that different testing conditions had significant effects on combustion performances. Testing sequences and emission factors should be reviewed and defined clearly when forming testing methods and standards for biomass pellet fuel combustion.
Highlights
IntroductionMore than three billion people rely on solid fuels such as biomass (wood, charcoal, agricultural residues, and animal dung) and coal as their primary sources of household energy all over the world [1]
More than three billion people rely on solid fuels such as biomass and coal as their primary sources of household energy all over the world [1].Since poorly-designed stoves might harm human health and the atmosphere, many programs have been carried out to promote clean-burning household appliances [2,3].Based on the needs of stove evaluations required by stove promotion, many testing methods were developed
Based on the resolution and accuracy of the instruments, the thermal efficiency and CO emission factors (EFs) were reported to one decimal place, and the particle matters (PMs) EFs were reported with three decimals
Summary
More than three billion people rely on solid fuels such as biomass (wood, charcoal, agricultural residues, and animal dung) and coal as their primary sources of household energy all over the world [1]. Based on the needs of stove evaluations required by stove promotion, many testing methods were developed. The testing operations and performance indicators of different testing methods vary. When considering pot lid operation, the Chinese testing method heats the pot with the lid on, but removes the lid when the water temperature reaches the boiling point; while WBT version 4.2.3 requires the lid to be off throughout the test. With the development of the global stove market, the need for results from different testing methods that are comparable with each other becomes quite important. Some research studies have tried to compare the results from different testing methods. This study designed an orthogonal test to investigate the influence of different test operations on thermal and emission performances. Differences between the testing results for two different based indicators were analyzed
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