Design and Performance Evaluation of Energy Efficient Biomass Gasifier Cook Stove Using Multi Fuels

Abstract

Since the beginning of civilization, cooking has been done by using biomass as fuel. They are used in stoves which cause wastage of fuel and also health problems. Thus, there is the need to analyze the thermal performance of a developed cook stove that operates on multifuel conditions. The stove was designed to work on sawdust, wood, groundnut and charcoal as the primary fuel. Prior to fabrication, design parameters were obtained using the appropriate governing equations. Inputs were further made to simplify the construction of the stove and to minimize heat loss to the surroundings. A thermal efficiency of 32.18%, 80.10%, 38.73% and 50.33% was achieved when the stove was fuelled with charcoal, sawdust, wood and groundnut husk respectively. The highest flame temperature was recorded as 205ºC when wood was used as fuel. The highest stove body temperature recorded was 56ºC. Wood took the shortest time (20 mins) to boil water compared to sawdust, charcoal and groundnut husk which took 29, 23 and 27 minutes respectively for 2 kg of water. The developed cook stove was found to be energy efficient for domestic cooking especially in the rural communities of Nigeria.  Although it has the potential to save fuel, further research could be carried out in the aspect of removing CO emission.