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Title: Practical design considerations for secondary air injection in wood-burning cookstoves: An experimental study

Abstract

Billions of households worldwide cook using biomass fires and suffer from the toxic smoke emitted into their homes. Laboratory studies of wood-burning cookstoves demonstrate that secondary air injection can greatly reduce the emission of harmful air pollution, but these experimental advancements are not easily translated into practical cookstove designs that can be widely adopted. In this study, we use a modular cookstove platform to experimentally quantify the practical secondary air injection design requirements (e.g., flow rate, pressure, and temperature) to reduce mass emissions of particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) by at least 90% relative to a traditional cooking fire. Over the course of 111 experimental trials, we illuminate the physical mechanisms that drive emission reductions, and outline fundamental design principles to optimize cookstove performance. Using the experimental data, we demonstrate that low-cost (<$10) fans and blowers are available to drive the secondary flow, and can be independently powered using an inexpensive thermoelectric generator mounted nearby. Furthermore, size-resolved PM measurements show that secondary air injection inhibits particle growth, but the total number of particles generated remains relatively unaffected. We discuss the potential impacts for human health and investigate methods to mitigate the PM formation mechanisms thatmore » persist.« less

Authors:
; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1772131
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1604724
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231; 1106400
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Development Engineering
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Development Engineering Journal Volume: 5 Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 2352-7285
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING; biomass cookstove; household energy; air pollution; design; combustion

Citation Formats

Caubel, Julien J., Rapp, Vi H., Chen, Sharon S., and Gadgil, Ashok J. Practical design considerations for secondary air injection in wood-burning cookstoves: An experimental study. United Kingdom: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1016/j.deveng.2020.100049.
Caubel, Julien J., Rapp, Vi H., Chen, Sharon S., & Gadgil, Ashok J. Practical design considerations for secondary air injection in wood-burning cookstoves: An experimental study. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.deveng.2020.100049
Caubel, Julien J., Rapp, Vi H., Chen, Sharon S., and Gadgil, Ashok J. Wed . "Practical design considerations for secondary air injection in wood-burning cookstoves: An experimental study". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.deveng.2020.100049.
@article{osti_1772131,
title = {Practical design considerations for secondary air injection in wood-burning cookstoves: An experimental study},
author = {Caubel, Julien J. and Rapp, Vi H. and Chen, Sharon S. and Gadgil, Ashok J.},
abstractNote = {Billions of households worldwide cook using biomass fires and suffer from the toxic smoke emitted into their homes. Laboratory studies of wood-burning cookstoves demonstrate that secondary air injection can greatly reduce the emission of harmful air pollution, but these experimental advancements are not easily translated into practical cookstove designs that can be widely adopted. In this study, we use a modular cookstove platform to experimentally quantify the practical secondary air injection design requirements (e.g., flow rate, pressure, and temperature) to reduce mass emissions of particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) by at least 90% relative to a traditional cooking fire. Over the course of 111 experimental trials, we illuminate the physical mechanisms that drive emission reductions, and outline fundamental design principles to optimize cookstove performance. Using the experimental data, we demonstrate that low-cost (<$10) fans and blowers are available to drive the secondary flow, and can be independently powered using an inexpensive thermoelectric generator mounted nearby. Furthermore, size-resolved PM measurements show that secondary air injection inhibits particle growth, but the total number of particles generated remains relatively unaffected. We discuss the potential impacts for human health and investigate methods to mitigate the PM formation mechanisms that persist.},
doi = {10.1016/j.deveng.2020.100049},
journal = {Development Engineering},
number = C,
volume = 5,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2020},
month = {Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2020}
}

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