Thermal Performance Evaluation of a Single-Mouth Improved Cookstove: Theoretical Approach Compared with Experimental Data

Hamed Atajafari, Birendra Raj Pathak and Ramchandra Bhandari ()
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Hamed Atajafari: Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences), 50679 Cologne, Germany
Birendra Raj Pathak: School of Engineering, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
Ramchandra Bhandari: Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences), 50679 Cologne, Germany

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-19

Abstract: This work aims to address the knowledge gap in the thermal efficiency performance of a locally made cookstove in Mali. Despite the fact that the thermal efficiency of cookstoves is a crucial aspect of cooking, the performance of commercially produced cookstoves in Mali has not been thoroughly studied. In this context, the thermal efficiency of a single-mouth biomass stove has been investigated using a theoretical and experimental approach. First, the fundamental principles of physics for the three forms of heat transfer were applied. Then, the theoretical thermal efficiency of the stove was calculated based on the percentage share of energy gains and losses for the respective heat transfer modes. This analysis shows that the highest energy gain is achieved by radiation heat transfer from the flame and the fuel bed, followed by convection heat transfer to the bottom and sides of the pot, respectively. In order to validate the findings, the theoretical results have been compared with the experimental data at a case study site in Katibougou, Mali. Accordingly, the experimental thermal efficiency is slightly lower than the theoretical value, with a measured value of 27% compared to the theoretical value of 31.45%. The theoretical thermal efficiency can be closer to the experimental efficiency if the combustion losses caused by incomplete combustion of the fuel are taken into account.

Keywords: thermal efficiency; firewood; cooking; rural energy; Mali (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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