Thermoelectric Power Generation from Biomass Cook Stove: A Waste Heat to Energy Conversion

Abstract

This paper point out the present cooking conditions of rural India and provide a better option for cooking stove for off grid rural areas. The traditional biomass cook stove is associated with number of disadvantages like low efficiency, huge emissions of toxic gases like CO, risks of getting burn. To improve the efficiency of a traditional cook stove it is necessary toprovide sufficient air inside the combustion chamber to increase the air-fuel ratio and to achieve complete combustion. For such requirements, mostly improved cook stoves are attached with a small fan. The fan is usually run by electricity or a battery. Most of the rural households do not have access to electricity, so the concept of fan driven improved cook stove fails in those areas. To run a fan off grid, the waste heat from the cook stove is utilized to convert into electricity with the help of a thermoelectric generator. The waste heat of the cook stove is utilized for heating one side of the thermoelectric generator and the other side of thermoelectric generator is cooled by natural or forced convection of air to generate sufficient amount of energy to power a fan for the cook stove. The power generated can also be used for lighting and charging mobile phone.