Thermal Performance of Wood-Particles on a Household Stove

Abstract

Over-harvesting of woodfuel and the environmental impact associated with the use of woodfuel have become the major problem for the Department of Energy. The problem becomes critical especially when woodfuel is viewed as the major energy source for rural communities and low-income households in cities and towns. In many cases low-income households use woodfuel in open fires which compromises the efficiency with which woodfuel is used. This paper describes an experimental study aimed at determining thermal performance of a household fuelwood stove before and after some modifications were made on the existing cooker stove. Generally, the results revealed that internal lining of household stove with 25 mm thick refractory material improved the burnout time and yields relatively high fuel bed temperatures. It was concluded that if the combustion conditions such as burnout time are improved for the modified stove, household stove similar to the current test rig would reduce the fuelwood consumption rate reported in section 1.

Key words: Household stove, Fuelwood, and Carbon monoxide

Eastern African Journal of Rural Development Vol.20(1) 2004: 72-80