AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
A Comparative Study on Emission Characteristics of Different Cook Stoves and Modeling of Particle Formation During Cook Stove Operation
SAMEER PATEL, Jiaxi Fang, Anna Leavey, Siqin He, Chang Ki Kang, Kyle O'Malley, Smit Shah, Pratim Biswas, Washington University in St Louis
Abstract Number: 700 Working Group: Combustion
Abstract A large fraction of the world’s population depends on biomass to cook their food; and due to the inefficient combustion this results in serious public health and climate issues. However, on the other hand, biomass is emerging as a sustainable and carbon-neutral energy resource and is receiving increased attention for energy generation. Biomass combustion in cookstoves typically results in higher PM which deteriorates air quality and adversely impacts health. Although particulate formation during biomass combustion in cookstoves has been studied extensively [1, 2]; there has been a lack of detailed characterization of particle formation and the evolution of aerosol size distributions. Variations among cookstove designs along with the different operating conditions make it difficult to compare different cookstove studies. A better understanding of particulate formation in cook stoves along with detailed characterization of aerosol processes is necessary to overcome this limitation.
The goal of this study is to examine emission characteristics of different types of cookstoves in a controlled environment. Three different representative cookstoves which operate on different principles were examined in this study. Emissions measurements such as PM$_(2.5), CO-CO$_2 ratio, lung deposited surface area concentration, total organic carbon and particle number size distributions were obtained. The effect of fuel type was studied by measuring emissions from two types of fuels; apple wood and coal.
Results from these measurements were used to compare to predictions from a cookstove aerosol model to elucidate particulate matter formation and growth dynamics. The effects of biomass chemical composition, size and cookstove operating conditions on emissions were studied using the model. Data generated in this study will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the major parameters affecting overall indoor air pollution and exposure during cookstove operation.
References:
1.Sahu et al. (2011) Env. Sci. Tech, 45(6):2428-34.
2.Leavey et al. (2013) Aerosol Sci. Tech, 47(9):966-978