Clean fuels are urgently needed to reduce household cooking emissions. The thermal efficiencies (η) and pollutant emission factors (EFs) of biocoal briquettes (made from a mixture of biomass and coal powder) burned in a typical cooking stove were investigated and compared with those of coal briquettes and biomass briquettes. Biocoal briquette samples were obtained by molding blends of anthracite with 10-30 wt % crop straw of various types (maize straw, wheat straw, or rice straw). The optimum proportions for energy savings and PM EF reduction were found to be 15-20 wt %. Compared with the η of coal briquettes and biomass briquettes, the η of biocoal briquettes increased by 81-127% and 88-179%, respectively, with the optimum addition ratios of crop straw, while the delivered energy-based PM EFs of the biocoal briquettes were reduced by 61-67% and 99.0-99.5%, respectively. Delivered energy-based EFs of NO, SO, and toxic elements (As, Se, and Pb) also showed a significant reduction. These results indicated that biocoal briquettes can serve as a promising substitute for domestic solid fuel to reduce pollutant emissions and save energy.
Emissions of air pollutants from household solid fuel combustion in low-efficiency stoves have serious negative impacts on human health and air quality in China. This study compares the thermal efficiency (TE) and emissions from solid fuel combustion in a newly developed underfire heating stove and a typical traditional over-fire heating stove. The average TEs for burning all tested fuel types (semi-coke, anthracite, briquette, bituminous, lignite, and biomass) were 83 and 42% for the new stove and the traditional stove, respectively. The new stove was effective in reducing CO 2 and pollutant emissions per unit energy delivered to a radiator. The average reductions were ∼50% for CO 2 , 79% for PM 2.5 , 95% for EC, 85% for benzo[a]pyrene equivalent carcinogenic potency, and 66% for eight selected toxic elements (Pb, Cu, Sb, Cd, As, Ag, Se, and Ni) in PM 2.5 . Improvements in stove technology are demonstrated as a practical approach for improving TE and reducing emissions of hazardous pollutants and CO 2 .
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