In-Home Emissions Performance of Cookstoves in Asia and Africa

Abstract

This paper presents results from eight field studies in Asia and Africa on the emissions performance of 16 stove/fuel combinations measured during normal cooking events in homes. Characterizing real-world emissions performance is important for understanding the climate and health implications of technologies being promoted as alternatives to displace baseline cooking stoves and fuels. Almost all of the stove interventions were measured to have substantial reductions in PM2.5 and CO emissions compared to their respective baseline technologies (reductions of 24–87% and 25–80%, for PM2.5 and CO emission rates, respectively), though comparison with performance guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) suggests that further improvement for biomass stoves would help realize more health benefits. The emissions of LPG stoves were generally below the WHO interim PM2.5 emissions target (1.75 mg/min) though it was not clear how close they were to the most aspirational ISO (0.2 mg/min) or WHO (0.23 mg/min) targets as our limit of detection was 1.1 mg/min. Elemental and organic carbon emission factors and elemental-to-total carbon ratios (medians ranging from 0.11 to 0.42) were in line with previously reported field-based estimates for similar stove/fuel combinations. Two of the better performing forced draft stoves used with pellets—the Oorja (median ET/TC = 0.12) and Eco-Chula (median ET/TC = 0.42)—were at opposite ends of the range, indicating that important differences in combustion conditions can arise even between similar stove/fuel combinations. Field-based tests of stove performance also provide important feedback for laboratory test protocols. Comparison of these results to previously published water boiling test data from the laboratory reinforce the trend that stove performance is generally better during controlled laboratory conditions, with modified combustion efficiency (MCE) being consistently lower in the field for respective stove/fuel categories. New testing approaches, which operate stoves through a broader range of conditions, indicate potential for better MCE agreement than previous versions of water boiling tests. This improved agreement suggests that stove performance estimates from a new ISO laboratory testing protocol, including testing stoves across low, medium, and high firepower, may provide more representative estimates of real-world performance than previously used tests. More representative results from standardized laboratory testing should help push stove designs toward better real-world performance as well as provide a better indication of how the tested technologies will perform for the user.

Modeling approaches and performance for estimating personal exposure to household air pollution: A case study in Kenya

“…Kitchen event concentrations (mean = 886 µg/m 3 ; range of 10–16 161 µg/m 3 for PM 2.5, and mean = 28.6 ppm; range = 0–196 ppm for CO) and 24‐h exposures for PM2.5 (mean = 135 µg/m 3 ; range = 14–686 µg/m 3 ) were reasonable given previous studies' ranges of 24‐h exposures for these fuel user groups 3,40 . Emission rates were also similar to estimates for wood and charcoal stoves in the region 19,27 . Our estimated LoD for PM 2.5 emission rates was approximately 5 mg/min, which was greater than what we measured for LPG.…”

“…There are limited data on stove emissions and HAP exposure in Kenya. To our knowledge, the only published field emission performance studies on stove interventions focused on charcoal and kerosene 18,19 . The data on personal exposures are also limited, with available studies reporting only carbon monoxide 20 or associated with only wood‐fueled stoves 21 …”

Plant Power: Opportunities and challenges for meeting sustainable energy needs from the plant and fungal kingdoms

“…Smoke from open fires, known as the "killer in the kitchen" has significant health implications that disproportionately affect women and children (Gordon et al, 2014;Olopade et al, 2017;Perez-Padilla, Schilmann, & Riojas-Rodriguez, 2010;Smith et al, 2011;Thorsson et al, 2014). Clean energy technologies and fuels such as small-scale anaerobic digesters for biogas production and improved cooking stoves using sustainably harvested wood, biochar, bio-briquettes, and pellets are in development (Champion & Grieshop, 2019;Dinesha, Kumar, & Rosen, 2019;Garfí, Martí-Herrero, Garwood, & Ferrer, 2016;Gitau, Mutune, Sundberg, Mendum, & Njenga, 2019;Johnson et al, 2019;Orskov, Yongabi Anchang, Subedi, & Smith, 2014;Rajendran, Aslanzadeh, & Taherzadeh, 2012;Vasco-Correa, Khanal, Manandhar, & Shah, 2018) (cleancookingalliance.org). In the northern hemisphere, lignocellulosic biomass such as white wood pellets produced from forestry residues and solid fuels such as Miscanthus (Poaceae) and Salix (Salicaceae) are used in thermal power plants.…”

The Shamba Chef Educational Entertainment Program to Promote Modern Cookstoves in Kenya: Outcomes and Dose–Response Analysis

“…Furthermore, households who purchase fuel to use in traditional or rudimentary stoves often have much higher annual fuel costs than those who use more efficient technologies [5]. On the other hand, more efficient cooking technologies have the potential to make a substantial contribution to income and other economic activity, while cleaner alternatives have the potential to reduce emissions, reducing health and climate impacts [6]. Modern cooking options include well-engineered biomass stoves, electric stoves, or stoves using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, ethanol, and in some cases, pellets, briquettes or other compressed biomass fuels.…”