Efficiency Test For A Biomass Cooking Stove PDF

University of Oldenburg / Germany Efficiency test for a biomass cooking stove
Abstract
Increasing dependency on the firewood in many parts of southern Africa has resulted
many adverse effects on environment and human health. Within some decades a lot
of improved cooking stoves were designed and disseminated, but many of them were
not successful, because of unacceptance by the users, high price and high technology
involved.
Therefore many efforts have been put to improve the efficiency and consequently to
reduce the emission from traditional stoves. It is in this light that, the new ‘Tin Can’
stove prototype has been designed by a group of stove designers in Lesotho, to fulfil
the local demands, by using local construction materials.
The performance of the stoves has been tested under optimal conditions with
different pots. Comparison with another existing stove has been done to rank their
acceptance by the users. The reference stove is the sophisticated ‘Vesto’ stove from
South Africa. The procedure followed for the test is in accordance with the standard
test methods recommended by Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA).
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 I

Acknowledgement
The work reported in this thesis was made possible by the
organizer of the postgraduate renewable energy program,
Dr. Konrad Blum, Dr. Michael Golba and Edu Knagge from
the University of Oldenburg; to them I want to convey my
sincere gratitude.
I would like to acknowledge GTZ-ProBEC office Pretoria /

South Africa, especially Dr. Malis Kees, for the
possibility of a practical training, which was the basis
and fieldwork for this thesis.
All my experience and inspirations were only possible
with the helpful financial support by the German Academic
Exchange Service (DAAD).
I am very much thankful to Michael Hönes GTZ consultant

in Maseru / Lesotho and Peter Scott from Aprovecho
Research Center Oregon / USA for their support and
inspirations as the necessary foundation for my thesis
works.
Also I would like to thank the regional chimneysweeper

guild Oldenburg, especially Mr. Gunnar Zube for his
cooperation and support with measurement devices.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr.

Konrad Blum for accepting my thesis title and providing
guidance and suggestions during my thesis and also I am
thankful to Dr. D. Heinemann providing me guidance for my
thesis as a second supervisor.
I am thankful to my PPRE classmates for their continuous

support and help in the University of Oldenburg. My
sincere thanks goes to my best friend and classmate Manoj
Kumar Khadka, who always encouraged and helped me with
discussions and suggestions.
Last but not the least I would like to express my thanks
to my mother and especially to my lovely girlfriend
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 II

Magdalena for their love, support and inspirations during

my study.
Table of contents
ABSTRACT I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II
1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Scenario 1
1.2 Involvement 2
2. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND 3
2.1 Stove types and classification 3
2.2 Design principles and features 5

2.2.1 Combustion 5
Combustion in Small Enclosures 8
2.2.2 Heat transfer 12
2.2.3 Fluid flow 21
2.2.4 Material science 23
3. DESCRIPTION OF THE STOVES 23
3.1 Tin Can Stove 23

3.1.1 Basic principle of the rocket elbow 26
3.2 Vesto Stove 27
4. STANDARD STOVE TEST 30
4.1 Background 30
4.2 Water boiling test 30

4.2.1 Procedure 31
Procedural notes 32
4.2.2 Testing parameters and equipment 33
Humidity and moisture content of wood 35
Volume 38
Pot and stove description 38
Wood 39
Other measurement device 40
4.3 Concepts of efficiency and power 40

Energy losses 41
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 III

Partial efficiencies 41
Specific consumption 43
Efficiencies in water boiling tests 44
5. TEST RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 45
5.1 Efficiency 45
5.2 Wood consumption and Specific consumption 50
5.3 Average Stove- and Cooking power 53
5.4 Emission measurement 56

5.4.1 Emission and health 56
5.4.1 Emission measurement and results 58
6. CONCLUSIONS 61
REFERENCES 63
APPENDICES I
CURRICULUM VITAE
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 IV

List of figures
Figure 1 Current and projected use of biomass by region and selected year 1
Figure 2 Traditional three stone fire 2
Figure 3 Processes in stove design 5
Figure 4 Fire triangle 6
Figure 5 Processes and temperatures in a burning piece of wood 7
Figure 6 Wood combustion 9
Figure 7 Qualitative effects of different factors on thermal and combustion efficiency 11
Figure 8 Conduction, convection, radiation and store heat from: Baldwin 1986 12
Figure 9 Total powers radiated by a black body as a function of the temperature 17
Figure 10 View factor versus the height to the pot 17
Figure 11 Tin Can Stove (prototype) 23
Figure 12 Tin can stove with inside view 25
Figure 13 Rocket Elbow Principles 26
Figure 14 Vesto stove in detail and view inside the stove 28
Figure 15 Stove system with temperature measurement set-up and scale 35
Figure 16 Wood moisture content versa relative humidityand psychrometer 36
Figure 17 Moisture content measurement device -Protimeter Digital Mini 37
Figure 18 Scale with single measurement box and digital display (Söhnle) 38
Figure 19 High mass cast iron pot with 3.6 liter capacity from South Africa 39
Figure 20 Steel pot with long handle and 2.3 liter capacity from Zimbabwe 39
Figure 21 Wood size(3x3; 10x2;15-20x2) used in the tests 40
Figure 22 Energy flow diagram of an Improved cooking stove 41
Figure 23 Heat loss parameter for an ICS 41
Figure 24 Temperature profile of the whole cooking test for the Tin Can stove 46
Figure 25 Temperature profile of the whole cooking test for the Vesto stove 46
Figure 26 Efficiency comparison chart for a 3.6 liter SA pot 49
Figure 27 Efficiency comparison chart for a 2.3 liter Zim pot 49
Figure 28 wood consumption comparison charts for a 3.6 liter SA pot 51
Figure 29 wood consumption comparison charts for a 2.3 liter Zim pot 51
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 V

Figure 30 Specific consumption comparison charts for a 3.6 liter SA pot 52

Figure 31 Specific consumption comparison charts for a 2.3 liter Zim pot 53
Figure 32 Average stove power comparison charts for a 3.6 liter SA pot 54
Figure 33 Average stove power comparison charts for a 2.3 liter Zim pot 54
Figure 34 Average cooking power comparison charts for a 3.6 liter SA pot 55
Figure 35 Average cooking power comparison charts for a 2.3 liter SA pot 55
Figure 36 Effect of carbon monoxide concentration in the atmosphere as a
function of exposure time for various condition of labour 57
Figure 37 Multi flue gas analyser MSI 150-4 Joker 4 58
List of tables
Table 1 Values of the constant of the forced convection equation for typical
configurations 21
Table 2 Properties of stove construction materials 24
Table 3 Pots properties comparison 38
Table 4 Efficiency comparisons for Tin Can and Vesto stove with different pot types 47
Table 5 Thermal properties of stove materials 47
Table 6 wood consumption comparisons 50
Table 7 Specific consumption comparisons 52
Table 8 Average stove power comparison 53
Table 9 Average cooking power comparison 53
Table 10 Mechanism of principle health effects from major
pollutants 56
Table 11 Emission test results for different stove- and pot types 59
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 VI

1. Introduction
1.1 Scenario
In many development countries of the world biomass is the predominant energy

source. About half of the world’s population (3.5 billion in 1999) relies on traditional
biomass (wood, dung or crop residues) for cooking or heating.
The litany of issues associated with low technology, inefficient biomass cook stoves
include:
• Deforestation,
• Land degradation and soil erosion,
• Unnecessarily high fuel costs,
• Global warming,
• Deleterious indoor air quality,
• Poor outside ambient air quality visibility degradation and
• Respiratory disease.
Figure 1 Current and projected use of biomass by region and selected year
The World Bank for example has declared indoor air quality (primarily degraded-
due to cooking) as one of the five major environmental problems facing the world.
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 1

Horribly, more than five million children under the age of five die each year of
pneumonia, with a key causality being poor indoor air quality1.
A huge demand in fuels results in many regions of the world catastrophic ecological
and social situations. Wood scarcity around villages and cities forces people to go
long ways, buy and transport their fuel. This situation causes drastically price
increasing for wood and charcoal, which results less money for food in poor families.
This dreadful cycle has to be broken by decreasing fuel consumption and increasing
efficiency for cooking and other biomass consumption processes.
ICS are a convenience that protect the health of the family and help to conserve the
supply of biomass. Obtaining a stove may be the most fundamental sign of
improving conditions for a family.
Figure 2 Traditional three stone fire
There have been a number of large-scale programs addressed by several international

help and development aid organisations to develop and disseminate Improved Cook
Stoves (ICS). Their main target in the field of household energy is the avoiding of
the very inefficient open fire, which is called traditional three stone fires (fig. 2).
1.2 Involvement
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH as a

government-owned corporation for international cooperation with worldwide
operations was my first touch with the ICS problematic.
1
‘A Global Opportunity’ by J. Houck and P. Tiegs

With a practical training in the regional GTZ office in South Africa in the
Programme for Biomass Energy Conservation in Southern Africa (ProBEC) for the
SADC region I got my access to this interesting field. One of my working tasks was
organizing a workshop about ICS Design & Standardisation. This allowed me to get
closer contacts to some well-known people in this field.
With my initiative and the new contacts from the workshop I got the opportunity to
be part of a small team of enthusiastic stove designers (Peter Scott/Aprovecho, USA
and Michael Hönes/GTZ consultant, Lesotho) who planned to design a new
improved biomass-cooking stove. Our target was to build a cheap, easy build with
local material and for rural people affordable stove, especially for the poor and less
developed SADC region of the Lesotho Kingdom in Southern Africa.
2. Technical background
2.1 Stove types and classification
There are a large number of ICS models, based on different construction materials,
fuel and end use applications, have been developed. A proper ICS classification is
essential for identifying a model suitable for a particular group of user, target area,
method of production and dissemination, keeping in view the cooking requirements
and the availability of construction materials and fuels. Accordingly, ICS’s can be
classified into various categories:
a) Function
Mono-function stoves. An ICS, which performs primarily one function, such as
cooking or any other single special function such as fish smoking, baking, roasting,
milk simmering, etc.
Multi-function stoves. In many areas, apart from cooking, an ICS can also be used for
other purposes or in combination, such as for water heating, room heating, fish/meat
smoking, grain/flour roasting, simmering of milk, etc.
b) Construction material
ICS’s are mainly made of single materials: metal, clay, fired-clay or ceramics and
bricks or are hybrids in which more than one material is used for different important
components. Classification based on the material helps in selecting an appropriate

design on the basis of locally available raw materials, skills for fabrication and
necessary production facilities (e.g. centralized/decentralized) in the target area.
The cost of an ICS and its expected service life can also be reflected in this
classification, including its portability.
The stove construction materials can be divided into two main categories, namely:
metals and non-metals. Metals can be further subdivided into other categories,
namely: galvanized or no galvanized sheet metals, cast iron, aluminum, etc. Non-
metals are ceramic, fired clay, mud, etc. Besides, there are hybrid stoves, which are
made out of a combination of materials both metal and non-metal or from
combinations of materials from the same group.
c) Portability
On this basis, an ICS can be classified as fixed or portable. Metal and ceramic ICS’s
are normally portable in nature and can be moved indoors or outdoors while
clay/brick, clay/stone ICS’s are generally high mass and thus are fixed. Stoves in this
category can be further sub-divided into different categories depending on the
number of potholes, e.g., single, double and triple.
d) Fuel type
The performance of different ICS’s, having the same function and constructed with
the same materials, will ultimately depend on the type of fuel used. In some cases, an
ICS may be rendered practically inoperable when switching over to fuel types for
which it was not constructed.
Four major types of ICS’s, based on fuel classification, normally encountered are:
charcoal ICS’s, fuel wood ICS’, granular/loose agric-residue ICS’s, stick-form
agriculture-residue ICS’s, cow dung cake ICS’s, and briquette biomass-fuel ICS’s.
From the discussion above, it can be seen that the classification provides critical
information on a number of ICS design issues such as end use applications,
technology and its transfer, cost, durability, fuel compatibility, etc.2
The materials used to construct a stove have a distinct bearing on the durability, cost,
heat losses, safety, the skills required to make a stove and the scale of production
envisaged, etc.
2
RWEDP-Improved solid biomass burning cook stoves- page 8, Bangkok 1993

2.2 Design principles and features
The thermal performance of an ICS system depends upon the efficiency of the heat
conversion system e.g. the conversion of the chemical energy of a fuel into thermal
energy, the efficiency with which the thermal energy produced is transferred to the
cooking vessel, the system with which the combustion products move through an
ICS and finally also the types of material used for the construction of the stove.
Figure 3 Processes in stove design3

2.2.1 Combustion
The combustion process is dependent on the physico-chemical properties of the fuel
(size, shape, density, moisture content, fixed carbon content, volatile matter, etc.),
quantity and mode of air supply (primary and secondary air) and the conditions of
the surroundings (temperature, wind, humidity, etc.).
Wood Combustion
The process of release of thermal energy from fuel is known as combustion. Biomass
fuel is the stored solar energy in the form of chemical energy of its constituents, as a
result of photosynthetic reaction. This energy is released during combustion reaction,
in which oxygen reacts with the chemical constituents of wood to produce carbon
dioxide and water, with the release of heat. Photosynthetic and combustion reactions
are reversible reactions, which can be depicted by the following simplified equation:
Solar Energy
CO + H2O CH2O + O2 (2.0)

Thermal Energy
3

The physico-chemical processes involved in the storage of chemical energy in the

fuel and the subsequent conversion of this energy into heat are complex in nature.
Any combustion process can be depicted by the fire triangle shown in fig. 4. The
figure shows that for self-sustained combustion, three components are essential,
namely: fuel, air and heat. Combustion is a complex process in which processes of
devolatilization, cracking and combustion take place almost simultaneously.
The amount of energy released during combustion reaction depends on the
temperature, pressure, the products of reaction and the state of water produced. These
last two factors are important because incomplete combustion will result in the
production of carbon monoxide and other combustible materials, which results in the
loss of potential energy of fuel.
Figure 4 Fire triangle
Liquid or vapor state of water, produced during combustion of hydrogen in the fuel,
will affect the net heat released. This complex process is depicted in fig. 5 and takes
place in three stages, as explained in the following sections.

Figure 5 Processes and temperatures in a burning piece of wood

(Hasan Khan und Verhaart 1992)4
Stage 1 combustion
Easily combustible kindling (such as tree leaves, wood shavings, scrap paper and
kerosene) on burning raises the temperature of the spot on which the radiation from
the flame is incident. This heat gets distributed throughout the material due to
conductive heat transfer, thus raising the temperature of the material. When the
temperature rises to 100°C, drying of wood takes place due to loss of absorbed and
weakly bound water. This process continues into the deep interior; a part of the heat
of combustion is utilized in this endothermic process (heat consuming). Hence, the
higher the moisture content of the wood, the greater is the loss of energy.
Stage 2 combustion
As the temperature is raised further, the pyrolytic decomposition of the wood starts.
At a temperature of about 150°C, the release of volatile matter begins along with the
appearance of semi-liquid tar. In case this stage gets prolonged due to quenching of
the flame, the fuel starts smoldering and dark or gray/blue smoke with a strong smell
is given off. This results in the loss of some useful energy of wood. The tar gets
deposited in the tunnels and chimney resulting in their choking. There is also the
danger of fire in the chimney due to the spontaneous combustion of the deposited tar.
Tar also gets deposited on the cold surface of the pots resulting in their blackening.
4

Stage 3 combustion
Volatile matter, being at a higher temperature, rises due to the buoyancy force.
During the rise, it mixes with the surrounding air. This mixture of volatile matter
may reach the combustible limit and get ignited, if sufficient heat is available. The
flame resulting from combustion may persist if the heat released from the flame is
sufficient for sustained release of more volatiles from the burning surface. Otherwise,
it will flash back to the surface. Self-sustained combustion commences at around
225°C and reaches a peak at about 300°C.
During this stage, heat released by the combustion process is more than the
combined losses and hence there is a net positive release of heat. Thus, it can be
concluded from the above discussion that for the evaluation of the combustion
process, the understanding of the pyrolysis process and the subsequent burning of the
released volatile matter and char is necessary. The second stage determines the extent
and nature of volatiles and the char generated while the third stage determines the
extent to which the potential heat in the volatile matter and char is released. The
pyrolytic process suggests that, for the best design of the stove, the following factors
(which govern the rate of pyrolysis) must be taken into full consideration:
• the temperature
• rate of heating
• residence time of biomass in the combustion chamber and
• physical characteristics of the fuel such as size and shape
Furthermore, an understanding of the heat level required for ignition as well as for
the maintenance of combustion and their dependence on the thermo-physical
properties such as density, specific heat, thermal conductivity, calorific value and
moisture content is essential.
Combustion in Small Enclosures

The developmental approach to cook stove design has been shifting from fuel-
efficient stoves to emission efficient stoves. A high performance stove should be
efficient from both these perspectives, so as to ensure conservation of the fuel as well
as the environment. This will not only reduce the drudgery of the users but will also
save them from the harmful effects of the pollutants emitted during combustion.

One of the strategies adopted in a large number of designs is to improve thermal

efficiency and provide a chimney for the removal of smoke.
Although this strategy helps in improving the indoor air quality, the quality of
combustion is questionable in a number of designs. A better approach would be to
increase the heat transfer as well as the combustion efficiency. An increase in the
heat transfer results from the efficient transfer of heat produced during combustion
and a reduction in the losses from the body of the stove. Ensuring complete
combustion can enhance combustion efficiency. A complete conversion of chemical
energy to heat with a minimum (but sufficient) amount of excess air can take place if
the following conditions are met:
• High temperature in the reaction zone
• A requisite supply of the oxidant (air) and its complete mixing with the fuel
• Adequate residence time of the reactants (air and fuel) under the above
conditions in the reaction zone
Figure 6 Wood combustion5
5

In case any of these conditions is not met, the combustion reaction will not proceed
to completion, resulting in the emission of pollutants and the loss of potential heat.
In contrast to liquid or gas fuel burners, it is extremely difficult to meet these
conditions in heterogeneous combustion, as is the case in cook stoves using solid
biomass fuel. Whenever there are reducing conditions due to a deficiency of air or an
excess amount of volatile matter in the combustion zone, free carbon and
hydrocarbon compounds escape from the combustion zone without complete
combustion, resulting in the formation of soot and other toxic poly-aromatic
hydrocarbons. Thus the design and operating parameters are as important as the fuel
parameters. There is very little variation in the chemical composition and energy
density (energy/unit mass or volume) in woody biomass.
However, there is a significant variation of other properties among different types of
fuels: wood, agriculture residues, dung cakes, etc. This variation in the properties has
a profound effect on the overall efficiency and hence must be taken into
consideration in the design of cook stoves. In addition to these, there are a number of
process factors, which must be taken into consideration as well, so as to maximize
efficiency and minimize emissions. These can be divided in to three distinct
categories, namely - design, fuel and operational factors:
Fuel factors: Physical and chemical properties of fuel such as volatile

matter, moisture, ash, etc.
Operational factors: Burn rate/size of the fuel ratio, volume to surface ratio, mode
of fuel supply, cooking time, etc.
Stove factors: Fuel/air ratio, temperature of flame and/or envelope, mode of
fuel supply, primary and secondary air, mass of the stove, etc.
It is difficult to predict the quantitatively effect of the variables on the overall

efficiency. Qualitative effects of some of these factors on combustion and thermal
efficiency are given in fig. 7. A critical examination of the factors given in fig. 7
shows that the fuel parameters are uncontrollable as they depend on the type of fuel.
On the other hand, operational parameters such as fuel size and fuel feeding are user
specific, while the stove parameters are design specific. On a qualitative basis, the
stove factors and some of the operational factors are competing factors. However, the

database is inadequate for a quantitative evaluation of the effect of these parameters

on the combustion and heat transfer efficiency.
This is partly due to a lack of proper understanding of various process principles
during which the combustion takes place in small enclosures, and partly due to the
inadequacy of the experimental procedures used.
Figure 7 Qualitative effects of different factors on thermal and combustion efficiency6
The overall efficiency, during combustion at a particular value of the burning rate,
depends on the characteristics of the enclosure (semi enclosed combustion chamber,
enclosure without chimney, enclosure with chimney, etc.). With an increase in the
burning rate, the heat transfer efficiency decreases, while the combustion efficiency
increases. The nature of the combustion operation such as steady/unsteady
combustion, short term/intermittent operation, which is controlled by the ratio of the
burn size and the burn rate, has a profound influence on the overall efficiency of the
cook stove. Burning of wood in small enclosures can be classified as controlled
combustion in contrast to free burning of wood in an open fire. However, the
operation of the cook stove is dynamic in nature because of the interdependence
between the rate of combustion, rate of induction of air and the draft.
6

The rate of combustion is strongly dependent on the manner in which the combustion
air is supplied. In the case of small enclosures, the combustion takes place due to the
pressure field set up as a result of the upward movement of combustion products and
entrainment of air through the firebox opening and the grate, if provided. On the
other hand, combustion in open-fire is maintained through the laminar or turbulent
entrainment of outside air, depending on the size of fire. Hence, apart from
combustion, fluid flow considerations are equally important in the design of an ICS.
2.2.2 Heat transfer

Heat transfer is the process by which the heat generated from combustion is
transferred (or purposefully targeted) at a heat-absorbing surface. Only a part of the
heat released on combustion is transferred to the food in the cooking pot. For
example, it has been estimated that for cooking rice, in theory, an equivalent of about
18 grams of wood per kilogram of cooked food is required to heat the rice and water
to the boiling point as well to provide the amount of heat necessary for the chemical
reaction to cook rice.
Figure 8 Conduction, convection, radiation and store heat from: Baldwin 19867
7

In practice, however, about 160 grams of wood is required to accomplish this task,
even with improved cook stoves. It is clear that a large part of the heat is lost to the
surroundings through three distinct heat transfer mechanisms: conduction,
convection, and radiation (fig. 8).
In order to minimize the losses to the surroundings and maximize the transfer of heat
to the food in the pot a thorough knowledge of heat transfer mechanisms and their
underlying principles is required to determine the reasons for the losses, how these
losses can be reduced through modifications of the design of the cook stove, etc.
a) Conduction
Molecules are closely packed in solids. Whenever there is a temperature gradient
these molecules tend to distribute and equalize their kinetic energy by direct
interaction. This mechanism of heat transfers known as conduction.
In metals, the movement of high velocity free electrons from high temperature
regions to low temperature regions, where they collide with and excite atoms,
conducts heat additionally.
In general, heat conduction by free electrons is more significant than adjacent atoms
exciting each other. The transfer of heat through conduction can be calculated using
the following equation (Fourierconduction law):
k * A * ∆T
q= (2.1)
∆X
where q is the rate of heat transfer, k the thermal conductivity, A the area, ∆X
the thickness of the surface through which the heat is conducted and ∆T being the
difference in the temperatures of the hot and cold sides. ∆X/kA is called the thermal
resistance. However, the use of this equation alone for calculating the surface loss
gives values, which are many thousands of times, the actual values. This is due to the
non-inclusion of the resistance of the surface boundary layer of air as well as the
resistance due to the dirt or the oxide layer in the above expression. With the
inclusion of these resistances, the equation takes the form:
A * ∆T
q= (2.1.1)
1 ∆X 1
+ +
h1 k h2
where 1/h1 and 1/h2 are the inner and outer surface resistances and h1 and h2
are convective heat transfer coefficients respectively.

These will be discussed in detail in the next section. The ability of a material to store
heat is another important factor in conductive heat transfer.
This is measured by its specific heat, which is the energy required to raise the
temperature of 1 kg of its mass by 1°C. The change in the total amount of heat-stored
∆Q, when the temperature of the stove with mass m is changed by ∆T, is given by
the equation.
The ability of a material to store heat is another important factor in conductive heat
transfer. This is measured by its specific heat, which is the energy required to raise
the temperature of 1 kg of its mass by 1°C. The change in the total amount of heat-
stored ∆Q, when the temperature of the stove with mass m is changed by ∆T, is given
by the equation where cp is the specific heat of the material of the stove.
∆Q = m * c p * ∆T (2.2)
where cp is the specific heat of the material of the stove.

It can be inferred from the equations that massive stoves will warm up slowly, while
lightweight stoves will heat up and dissipate heat quickly.
However, the lower heat loss from thick walls is completely offset by a greater
absorption of heat due to the storage effect. Only a small part of this heat can be
recuperated as useful heat. Hence, thin walls are generally preferred if cooking is
intermittent. Massive stoves have therefore an advantage if the cooking is carried out
throughout the day. It can be concluded from the above discussion that the thermal
inertia of the stove is a direct function of the specific heat and mass, while the rate of
heat transfer is a function of thermal conductivity.
Thus, in order to increase the rate of heat transfer to the pot material, a high thermal
conductivity of the pot material is preferred. In other words, an aluminum pot will
help in faster cooking as compared to fired clay pots. Similarly, in order to reduce
losses from the walls, materials having a low thermal conductivity such as mud or
clay are better. In the case of metal stoves, the application of an insulation layer can
substantially reduce the losses. Regions of interest from the viewpoint of conduction
are:
• Transfer of heat from the pots to the contents of the pot
• Loss of heat through the stove walls
• Transfer of heat from the flame to the interior of the wood

• Storage of heat in wood, pot and its contents and the body of the
stove
b) Radiation
All bodies above the absolute temperature due to molecular and atomic motion as a
result of the internal energy of the material emit energy in the form of heat radiation.
The internal energy is proportional to the temperature of the body in the equilibrium
state. The ability of an object to emit and absorb radiation is given by its emissivity
and absorptivity, which are usually functions of the wavelength of the radiation. The
emissivity and absorptivity of a black material are equal. Heat radiation is absorbed,
reflected, and transmitted when these come in contact with any solid body. The
radiation is emitted over a range of wavelengths. The emitted radiation has a
maximum intensity at the wavelength given by Wien's law with T being the absolute
temperature.
2897.8
Maximum ⋅ wavelength = [µm] (2.3)
T
In a cook stove, as shown in below, the regions of interest from the radiation point of
view are:
• Radiation emitted by the flame
• Radiation exchange between the inner walls, pot and the wood
• Radiation loss to the atmosphere from the wall, pot, chimney, and
the opening of the firebox.
From equation 2.3, it can be concluded that radiation emitted by the burning flame is
in the range of the visible spectrum while that emitted by the stove surfaces at lower
temperature is in the range of infrared radiation. Burning black carbon particles in
the flame make it luminous (yellowish) with luminous flames emitting more
radiation than the no luminous (bluish) flame such as from a charcoal fire. This is
caused by the higher emissivity of the black carbon particles.
Radiation from the flame, which accounts for nearly 14% of the total energy released
from the fire, plays an important role in heating the fuel wood. This accelerates the
release of volatiles that support the flame, thus partly controlling the rate of
combustion.

Hot glowing wood and hot walls of the combustion chamber also radiate heat, which
is absorbed by the cooking vessel. The Stefan-Boltzmann law for black bodies gives
the rate of heat transfer by radiation, which is one of the most important modes of
heat transfer in the combustion chamber.
Q = σ * T 4 [W ] (2.4)
where F is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, which is equal to 5.6697*10-8

W/m2*K4, A is the emitting area of the object in square meters, and T is its
temperature in K.
Black bodies have absorptivity equal to 1, regardless of wavelength. Such bodies are
impossible to find in actual practice. In actual practice, bodies behave as gray bodies,
which absorb only a fraction of radiation impinging on it. For these bodies, the
Stefan-Boltzmann law is modified as:
Q = E m *σ * T 4 [W ] (2.4.1)
where is the emissivity of the material.

It can be inferred from these equations that the energy emitted by a body is strongly
dependent on the temperature.
An increase in temperature by just 10% increases the heat output by 50%. Another
important parameter in radiative heat transfer is the View Factor (VF) between the
emitting surface and the absorbing surface. The View Factor is the fraction of energy
emitted by one surface that is intercepted by the second surface. It is determined by
the relative geometry of the two surfaces. The total power radiated by a black body
as a function of temperature and the View Factor versus the distance between fire
bed and pot/radius of fire are presented in fig. 9 and 10 (Baldwin 1986)8.
8

Figure 9 Total powers radiated by a black body as a function of the temperature
The energy emitted by the fire bed corresponding to its temperature is calculated
from fig. 9, while the View Factor is determined from fig. 10.
Figure 10 View factor versus the height to the pot
These graphs are extremely useful for designing the fire firebox of a cook stove.
Energy intercepted by the pot =Power emitted by the fire bed × A × VF (2.5)
The energy intercepted by the cooking pot from the fire bed can be calculated from
the following equation if the View Factor is known.
For example:

Considered a pot with a diameter of 20 cm (r2) placed 9.5 cm (h) above the fire bed
having diameter (r1) and cylindrical single pot stove having height above fire bed
equal to 9.5 cm (h). The value of the View Factor for values of h/r2 (0.95) and r2/r1
from fig. 10 is 0.8.
This means that 80% of the radiation emitted by the fire bed strikes the pot bottom.
From fig. 9, if the temperature of the fire bed is equal to 900°K, it will emit 0.40
kW/m2. Using equation (2.5), the energy intercepted by the pot is 1.0 kW.
Radiative heat transfer from the fire bed in a cook stove can be increased, either by
increasing the fire bed temperature (by controlling the air supply to the fire bed) or
by increasing the View Factor. The latter can be increased by either decreasing the
distance between the pot and the fire bed or by increasing the diameter of the pot.
However, too small a distance between the pot and the fire bed will result in
quenching of the fire resulting in incomplete combustion and increased emission of
CO and hydrocarbons.
This distance should be more than the combined height of the fuel bed and the flame
length. Flame length is dependent on the type of fuel. The fuels with high volatile
matter will produce longer flames. Generating turbulence through design innovations
can reduce the length of the flame. In the case of cook stoves with chimneys, induced
draft modifies the flame length. The distance between the fire bed and the pot should
be optimized taking into account its effect on the emissions in naturally ventilated
stoves as well as in the induced draft stoves.
c) Convective heat transfer

Convective heat transfer involves the transfer of heat by the movement of fluid
(liquid or gas), followed by conductive heat transfer between newly arrived hot fluid
and the matter. Depending on the type of driving force involved in the movement of
the fluid, heat transfer by convection takes place by two distinct mechanisms. When
movement of the fluid takes place as a result of the buoyancy force created by the
temperature difference, the phenomenon is known as natural convection. On the
other hand when the fluid is forced to flow by a blower or a fan or by windy
conditions, the phenomenon is known as forced convection.
Convective heat transfer is the predominant mode of heat transfer in cook stoves. Hot
gases, produced from the combustion of fuel, heat the pot through convective heat

transfer. The cooling of the stove and the heating of the space also takes place
through this mechanism.
In convective heat transfer, fluid flow and heat transfer take place simultaneously.
The theoretical analysis requires the solution of continuity, momentum and energy
conservation equations simultaneously. This makes the solution complex. The
problem can be simplified by introducing the concept of boundary layer resistance.
The boundary layer concept assumes that most of the resistance to the heat transfer is
present in the thin boundary layer adjoining the solid surface and not within the solid
material and flowing hot fluid.
The velocity across this boundary layer varies from zero, at the wall, as a result of
friction, to the mainstream velocity, at its outer edge. The solid and the fluid main
stream, on respective sides of the boundary layer, rapidly carry the heat away.
The conductivity of the stagnant gas layer is very low; hence this is the controlling
resistance, which limits the heat transfer from the flowing gas to the solid surface,
such as the pot on a cook stove.
Reducing the resistance in this boundary layer can increase the rate of heat transfer.
This can be done by increasing the velocity of the gas stream, which reduces the
thickness of the boundary layer, thus reducing the resistance to the conductive heat
transfer across it to the solid surface. Even with these simplifications, the solution of
the resulting equations is still complex. In natural convection the hot gas temperature
decides the flow as well as the heat transfer rates, which in turn decides its
temperature. This inter-dependence of the controlling parameters makes the
theoretical analysis of natural convective heat transfer extremely complicated.
In order to circumvent this problem, an empirical approach is generally used for the
analysis of convective heat transfer problems. In an empirical approach, the
convective heat transfer is estimated using a general equation:
q = h * A * ∆T (2.6)
where q is the heat transferred from the hot gas to the solid surface (pot
surface/wall surface in the case of a cook stove), A is the area of solid surface across
which the flow of heat takes place, h is the convective heat transfer coefficient, and
∆T is the difference between the temperatures of the hot gas and the solid surface.
The heat transfer coefficient, h can be either determined experimentally or
theoretically (in some specific cases).

The heat transfer coefficient can be calculated empirically using the Nusselt number.
The Nusselt number is the ratio of the characteristic length of the system and the
thickness of the local boundary layer.
It is defined as hd/k, where h is the heat transfer coefficient, d is the characteristic
length of the system, and k is the thermal conductivity of the fluid (hot gas). The
characteristic length is a function of the system configuration. For example, in the
case of a flow through the cylindrical pothole in a cook stove, it is equal to the
diameter of the pothole. In the case of a flow between the two vertical walls, it is the
distance between them. For flow over a free surface, as in the case of a stove surface,
it is the distance from the leading edge.
In the case of heat transfer by natural convection, generally encountered in naturally
vented cook stoves, the Nusselt number can be evaluated from the relation:
Nu = C * (Gr * Pr) n (2.7)
where Gr and Pr are the Grashoff and Prandtl numbers respectively which are
defined as:
g * B *T * l 3
Gr = (2.7.1)
υ2
cp
Pr = µ * (2.7.2)
k
where g is the acceleration due to gravity, B the volumetric expansion coefficient

(approx.= 1/T), T is the temperature difference between the surface and the ambient,
µ the viscosity of the fluid, k the thermal conductivity and ν the cinematic viscosity.
For flow over vertical cylindrical surfaces, the characteristic length l is equal to the
height.
In cook stoves the values of C and n are taken as 0.53 and 0.25 respectively.
In the case of forced convection, the Nusselt number is described by the equation:
Nu = C f * Re x * Pr y (2.8)
with Re being the Reynold's number, which is the ratio of the inertial forces
in the fluid and the viscous forces and is defined as:
d *v* ρ
Re = (2.8.1)
µ
where d is the diameter, v the velocity of the fluid, ρ the density of the fluid
and µ the viscosity of fluid. Cf is a constant and depends on the system configuration.

A critical value of the Reynold's number defines the transition from laminar to
turbulent flow. For flow in a pipe, the critical Reynold's number is 2,300, while for
flow along a single wall the value is 5x105.
Values of the constant of the forced convection equation for some typical situations
are given in table 1.
Table 1 Values of the constant of the forced convection equation for typical configurations
In cook stoves, the regions of interest from a convective heat transfer point of view
are (Baldwin 1986):
• Hot gas plume from the fire
• Stagnation point of plume on the pot
• Wall jet along the pot bottom and or sides,
where the hot gases flow outward and upwards
• Flow through tunnels, chimney, over baffles,
and in the gap between the pot and wall in the case
of stoves with pots
• Outer hot surfaces of pots, stoves and chimney
The convective heat transfer problems in a cook stove are complex as strongly
accelerating flows with varying temperature difference in the direction of flow are
encountered. Hence, conventional solutions for hydro-dynamically and thermally
stable flow give approximate results.
2.2.3 Fluid flow

A thorough knowledge of fluid flow principles is also essential for understanding the
flow of air and flue gases through the stove and the chimney as well as for
understanding how these influence the combustion process, the transfer of heat from
the hot flue gases to the pots in the different chambers and the heat losses from the
pots and the different stove components of the stove to the surroundings.

The induction of air required for the combustion of fuel in the combustion chamber
and the subsequent flow of the combustion products through various chambers and
connecting tunnels is governed by the principles of fluid flow.
The suction effect, responsible for the induction of air into the combustion chamber,
is created as a result of the flow of flue gases through the chimney. The amount can
be estimated by the application of principles of fluid flow. The steady state flow of
fluid is governed by the continuity equation, which is based on the principle of
conservation of mass. According to this equation the mass of fluid passing all
sections per unit of time is constant. This can be represented by the following
equation:
ρ1 * A1 * v1 = ρ 2 * A2 * v 2 (2.9)
where ρ is the density, A is the area and v is the velocity.

This equation can be used to calculate the velocity of the flue gases and air at
different locations in the stove. Based on the applications of conservation of energy
to the flow of fluid, an equation known as Bernoulli's equation can be derived. For
the steady state flow of low-pressure gas in which there is a negligible change in
internal energy, the equation can be described as:
H st + H dy * H po = H tot (2.9.1)
where Hst is the static head, Hdy is the dynamic head, Hpo is the potential head
and Htot is the total frictional head. The head is expressed in meters and is equal to
∆P/ρ where ∆P is the pressure loss and ρ is the density.
The potential head or Hpo is equal to Hz where z is the elevation above any given
level in meters.
In some cases a sudden expansion and contraction is encountered during the flow of
flue gases through the tunnels and the chambers. The frictional loss Hfr due to the
sudden expansion of a duct with a cross sectional area of A1, where the mean velocity
is v1 into a duct with a larger cross sectional area of A2 where the velocity is v2 is
given by the expression:
(v1 − v 2 )
H fr = (2.9.2)
2gc
where gc is a conversion factor having a numerical value equal to the

acceleration due to gravity.

2.2.4 Material science

The materials used to construct a stove have a distinct bearing on the durability, cost,
heat losses, safety, the skills required to make a stove and the scale of production
envisaged, etc (see section 2.1 under -construction materials- page 4).
3. Description of the stoves

The following section of this thesis focuses on the description of the two stove types,
which were tested. With different design principles this stoves approach the main
target to improve the efficiency of the combustion. There is the new Tin Can Stove
prototype, which bases on an existing stove design from Aprovecho Research Center.
A solid insulation of the combustion chamber keeps the temperature in the stove in
the optimal range (about 600-700 °C see fig. 5) for the wood combustion ignition.
The high sophisticated and mass-produced Vesto stove uses with gas cooling and
preheating air in a double wall design to capture the escaping heat from the
combustion a different principle. This stove was chosen instead of an open fire,
because of the technical and environmental possibilities of the ‘Energielabor’ at the
Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg.
3.1 Tin Can Stove
The Tin Can Stove as a prototype has a design that is based on an internal chimney
inlet as combustion chamber, which uses an exiting design from the rocket stove
principle, combined with a stove case made of tin cans (fig. 11).
Figure 11 Tin Can Stove (prototype)

The internal chimney inlet is made of a mixture from clay and vermiculite, which
keep the heat, as an insulator, in the combustion chamber. The chamber is build with
6 new Vernacular Insulated Ceramic (VIC) bricks, which form a hexagon shape and
a round bottom plate.
The stove has a diameter of 50 cm with a height of 60 cm and weights about 14 kg.
The estimated stove price is in the range of 10-12 US$ (2003).
This design is using the advantage of the insulation properties of the material
combination clay/ vermiculite, which has a very low thermal conductivity (about
0.12 W/mK)9.
The rocket elbow design creates a draft in the stove, which supports the fire with the
necessary air for a complete combustion. The table 2 shows the insulation advantage
of clay compare to other materials, because of the low thermal conductivity (about 1
W/mK for clay; steel 47-58 W/mK or aluminium 204 W/mK).
Vermiculite as a mineralogical material based on hydrated laminar magnesium-
aluminum-ironsilicate has in exfoliated form a very low thermal conductivity, which
is depending on the bulk density between 0.051-0.071 W/mK. Therefore it is an ideal
insulation and filling material for the combustion chamber bricks. Therefore it is an
ideal insulation and filling material for the combustion chamber bricks.
Table 2 Properties of stove construction materials10
9
Thermal properties of insulative bricks Overall heat losses, Dale Andreatta 2003
10

In a test series, which were done during my practical training in Maseru / Lesotho,
we mixed different local available clay types to with medium size exfoliated
vermiculite from South Africa. A mixture of about 85 % vermiculite and 15 % clay
gave the lightest brick (1.038 kg). This result was still not convenience compare to
the bricks designed by Aprovecho with about 0.86 kg, which probably leads to even
lower thermal conductivity values. The new designed tin can case is based on the
knowledge from Michael Hönes, who is with experience in projects in this field the
perfect specialist. The case is made of used tin cans, which introduce the ecological
and economical advantage of this system.
The cost factor will be significant drop, because the raw material ‘tin can’, which is
almost free of cost (small cost for tin can collection) would not lie around unused.
Rather a positive side effect for the environmental protection will be created.
Another benefit for the stove design is the insolation effect of the tin cans with the
created air layer around the bricks. With using an existing stove principle the
development time for the new stove concept could be optimised significant.
The main advantages of the Rocket stove principle will be described in the following
section. The in this thesis described stove system is based on the existing knowledge
and the support from Peter Scott Aprovecho Research Center (Oregon / USA).
Figure 12 Tin can stove with inside view

3.1.1 Basic principle of the rocket elbow
11
Figure 13 Rocket Elbow Principles
The Rocket stove principle, invented by Dr. Larry Winiarski thirteen years ago, have
an added feature, the L shaped, which is called the ‘rocket elbow’, insulated
combustion chamber and horizontal feed magazine that increases combustion
efficiency reducing harmful emissions (fig. 13).
The rocket elbow is designed to be able to burn biomass like wood completely and
decreasing fuel consumption with increasing efficiency by easy handling of the
stove.
This principle is based on some several following advantages:
• Insulated combustion chamber, with low mass, heat resistant material in order
to keep the fire as hot as possible and not to heat the higher mass of the
stove body
• Within the stove body, above the combustion chamber, use an insulated,
upright chimney of a height that is about two or three times the diameter
before extracting heat to any surface (griddle, pots, etc.).
• Heat only the fuel that is burning (and not too much). Burn the tips of sticks
as they enter the combustion chamber, for example. The object is not to
produce more gasses or charcoal than can be cleanly burned at the power
level desired
11
Aprovecho Research Center Oregon / USA, http://www.efn.org/~apro/

• Maintain a good air velocity through the fuel. The primary Rocket stove
principle and feature is using a hot, insulated, vertical chimney within the
stove body that increases draft.
• Do not allow too much or too little air to enter the combustion chamber. We
strive to have stoechiometric (chemically ideal) combustion: in practice there
should be the minimum excess of air supporting clean burning.
• The cross sectional area (perpendicular to the flow) of the combustion
chamber should be sized within the range of power level of the stove.
Experience has shown that roughly twenty-five square inches will suffice for
home use (four inches in diameter or five inches square). Commercial size is
larger and depends on usage.
• Elevate the fuel and distribute airflow around the fuel surfaces. When burning
sticks of wood, it is best to have several sticks close together, not touching,
leaving air spaces between them. Particle fuels should be arranged on a grate.
• Arrange the fuel so that air largely flows through the glowing coals. Too
much air passing above the coals cools the flames and condenses oil vapours.
• Throughout the stove, any place where hot gases flow, insulate from the
higher mass of the stove body, only exposing pots, etc. to direct heat.
• Transfer the heat efficiently by making the gaps as narrow as possible
between the insulation covering the stove body and surfaces to be heated but
do this without choking the fire. Estimate the size of the gap by keeping the
cross sectional area of the flow of hot flue gases constant.
Exception:
When using an external chimney or fan the gaps can be substantially reduced
as long as adequate space has been left at the top of the internal short chimney
for the gasses to turn smoothly and distribute evenly. This is tapering of the
manifold. In a common domestic griddle stove with external chimney, the gap
under the griddle can be reduced to about one half inch for optimum heat
transfer.
3.2 Vesto Stove
This Vesto stove model is a portable, biomass burning, gas insulated; air pre-heating,
semi-gasifying and single pot improved cooking stove, produced from the company

New Dawn Engineering in South Africa and Swaziland. The name comes from the
word combination Variable Energy STOve.
Figure 14 Vesto stove in detail and view inside the stove12
The stove consists of five main components (fig. 14). A double walled metal sheet
cylinder (bucket) as main stove body with a height of 45 cm and 35 cm diameter.
The replaceable cylindrical fire grate, with holes punched through it and a spiral
opening in the bottom, is inside placed. The pot support is by a folded stainless steel
strip done. The stove weights about 7.5 kg and has a price in the range of 39 US$
(2003).
The air in the double wall can be dumped with an outer secondary air controller the
primary air controller. A wire handle makes the stove portable.
With an innovative air circulation system, below described, the stove approaches the
main target, good efficiency range and less emission.
Secondary air innovation

Type 1 - Supplied through the bottom between grate and secondary air tube,
significant preheating is achieved: 500 C
Type 2 - Supplied through centre of secondary air tube, modest preheating
Type 3 - Supplied near the top of the secondary air tube – significant preheating
Primary air
• Supplied air comes through a control damper with an external handle, so that
the operator can vary the heat output by a factor of at least 5:1
12
http://www.newdawn-engineering.com/website/stove/singlestove/vesto/vesto1.htm

• Primary air is warmed by heat passing outside the secondary air tube, below
the damper; this air cools the lower exterior of the body
Wood burning phase
• When the primary air is open, the stove burns the wood or other biomass
(dung, charcoal, twigs, briquettes)
• Secondary air is mostly Type 1 with some Type 2 and a small amount of
Type 3 the
• Power is maximized at about 4 KW
Wood gas phase
• If the primary air supply is closed, pyrolysis of wood continues because of
retained heat in the grate, fuel, secondary air tube, air insulation and small air
flow (leakage)
• Significant gas production leads to major increases in internal CO
• Because of high temperatures inside the grate and lack of primary air,
secondary air is automatically drawn in, primarily Type 2, which completes
the combustion during power level change
• Secondary air feeds downwards, outside the grate extending primary
combustion for a while, with significant preheating power output drops
significantly,
though not instantly as the stove will continue to produce excess gas until the
heat dies down, drawing secondary air as it is able to do so
• Gasification stabilizes, excess Type 2 secondary air decreases, combustion
rate remains low with the wood gas burning in the grate centre
Unique technical points
• Uses gas cooling (air) to capture heat escaping from the light metal body and
recycle it into the stove in a manner that provides a remarkable capacity to
completely burn multiple fuels
• Provides 3 types of secondary air to cool the body, provide air where and
when needed, and preheats it so as not to quench combustion
• Primary air is spun in a vortex to increase turbulence during combustion
• Produces then burns charcoal leaving almost no wasted fuel, typically less
than 30 gm per meal

• In mass production it can be made, assembled, packaged and labelled in 9

man-minutes
4. Standard stove test
4.1 Background
Stove testing is the systematic measuring of the advantages and limitations of a
particular stove model. Its primary aim is to help identify the most effective and
desirable stoves for a specific social and economical context. With ongoing stove
production, a testing program provides essential quality control and may lead to
important design modifications. A group of stove experts by Volunteers in technical
Assistance (VITA) introduced a standardized stove-testing concept prepared from
proceedings of a meeting convened 1982 in Arlington13.
The group formulated the following tests:
A Water boiling test, to measure how much wood is used to boil water under fixed
conditions. This is a laboratory test, to be done both at full heat and at a lower
“simmering” level to replicate the two most common cooking tasks.
While it does not necessarily correlate to actual stove performance when cooking
food, it facilitates the comparison of stoves under controlled conditions with
relatively few cultural variables.
A Kitchen performance test, to measure how much fuel wood is used per person in
actual households when cooking with traditional stove, and when using an
experimental stove. The tester simply measures how much wood the family has at
the beginning and at the end of each testing period.
A controlled cooking test, to serve as a bridge between the water boiling test and the
kitchen performance tests. Trained local cooks prepare pre-determined meals in a
specified way, using both traditional and experimental stoves.
4.2 Water boiling test
The Water Boiling Test (WBT) is a relatively short, simple simulation of common
cooking procedures. It measures the fuel consumed for a certain class of tasks. It is
used for a quick comparison of the performance of different stoves.
13
Testing the efficiency of wood-burning cook stoves VITA 1985

WBT use water to simulate food, the standard quantity is two-thirds the full pan
capacity. The test includes “high power” and “low power” phases.
The high power phase involves heating the standard quantity of water from the
ambient temperature to boiling as rapidly as possible. The lower power phase
follows. The power is reduced to the lowest level needed to keep the water
simmering over a one-hour period. Each WBT should be repeated at least four times.
Results may be averaged and analysed statistically.
4.2.1 Procedure
1. Determine and record moisture content for wood to be used in test. (Note:
this is generally done for a series of tests, rather than each individual test.)
2. Note and record the test conditions. Prepare a drawing of the pots and stove
to be tested. Include all relevant stove dimensions and show how the pots fit
into the stove. Note climatic conditions (air temperature, relative humidity,
wind conditions).
3. Weight the empty, dry pots, and record this weight on the data and
calculation form. Fill each pot with water to 2/3 capacities and record the new
weight.
4. Take a quantity of wood not more than twice the estimated needed amount,
weight it, and record the weight on the data form.
5. Place a thermometer in the pot so that water temperature may be measured in
the centre, about 1 cm from the bottom. Record water temperatures and
confirm that they vary no more than 2°C from ambient temperature.
6. After a final check of preparations, light the fire, in the way it is normally
done in the households. For example, use paraffin (kerosene) as the ignition
material. A measured amount of paraffin (less than 10 grams) simply pours
over the wood. The test’s starting time coincides with the lighting of the
paraffin-soaked wood pieces. The paraffin used may be considered as
consumed fuel. 1 gram of paraffin (lower heating value (LHV) ~ 42MJ/kg) is
equivalent to about 2 grams of dry wood (LHV ~ 19MJ/kg GTZ
recommendation).
Throughout the following “high power” phase of the test, control the fire with
the means commonly used locally to bring the water to boil as rapidly as
possible.

7. Regularly record the following on the data form:

- the water temperature in the pot
- the weight of any wood added to the fire
- any action taken to control the fire (dampers, blowing, etc.)
- the fire reaction (smoke, etc)
8. Record the time at which the water in the pot comes to a full boil.
9. At this time rapidly do the following:
- Remove all wood from the stove and knock off any charcoal. Weight the
wood, together with the unused wood from the previously weighed supply.
- Weight all charcoal separately.
- Record the water temperature and the weight of the pot with its water.
- Return charcoal, burning wood, and the pot to the stove to begin the “low
power” phase of the test.
10. For the next 30 minutes maintain the fire at a level just sufficient to keep the
water simmering.
11. Use the least amount of wood possible, and avoid vigorous boiling. Continue
to monitor all conditions noted in step 7. If the temperature of the water in the
pot drops more than 5° below boiling, the test must be considered invalid.
12. Recover and weight separately the charcoal and all remaining wood.
13. Weight and record the pot with its remaining water.
14. Calculate the amount of wood consumed, the amount of water remaining, the
test duration, the specific fuel consumption.
15. Interpret test results, and fill out a test series reporting form.
Procedural notes
1. Stove tests are often conducted with lidded pots to reduce the effect of drafts
on evaporation rate from the pot. However, if the testing site is properly
protected from drafts, lids should be left off, thus reducing the error caused by
condensed water dripping from the lid back into the pot.
2. With lightweight stove models, often the stove and its contents can be
weighted together as a unit, and the weight of the empty stove subtracted
later. It is not necessary to separate charcoal and ashes, since ash weight is
usually insignificant.

3. “High power” and “low power” tests may be conducted separately. The fire is
extinguished at the end of step 7, and the stove are allowed to cool. The entire
test is then repeated in the exactly the same way, except that the fire is
reduced the moment the water comes to boil.
There is no interruption to weight water or fuel as described in steps 8-13.
The test is ended 30 minutes after boiling, and all measurements are recorded.
The weight of the fuel using during the “high power” phase is subtracted from
the total amount used in the “low power” phase.
4. It is important to know how to interpret the results of the WBT, and to
remember that a low Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) indicates a high
efficiency. As efficiency declines, SFC rises. It is possible to use WBT results
to judge the suitability of a stove for various cooking tasks.
For example, high power cooking (rapid frying and boiling), a stove with the
greatest high power efficiency might be best; for simmering, however, the
best stove might be the one that shows low SFC for both high and low power.
4.2.2 Testing parameters and equipment

Climatic conditions
Among the climatic data to be reported during stove testing, the most important are:
air temperature, wind conditions, relative humidity, altitude and moisture content of
wood, dung or peat fuel. Moisture content of dry charcoal is not relevant.
• Air temperature affects the rate of heat loss from stove and pot. It also
establishes initial water temperature in the Water Boiling Test. Ideally, air
temperature measurements should be taken before and after each test so that a
mean value can be estimated.
• Wind conditions affect the stove's draft and can have considerable influence
on stove performance. Ideally, stove testing should be done only when
conditions are calm. Where this is not possible, a windbreak should be
erected around the stove to reduce air movement and convective heat losses.
A hand-held anemometer is useful for measuring wind speed. However,
precise measurements are probably unnecessary, and a simple description of
wind conditions may be satisfactory.

• Relative humidity (RH) provides one indication of the moisture content of

air-dried fuel. It is a simple and useful condition to measure during stove
testing. For this purpose, a small sling psychrometer, a hair hygrometer, or a
similar instrument is satisfactory. Recalibrate a hygrometer frequently by
wrapping it in a wet cloth, leaving it for five minutes, and adjusting it to 100
% RH. Wet and dry bulb temperature measurements were used in conjunction
with a psychrometric chart in this test series to measure the RH (Fig. 16).
Atmospheric pressure and boiling temperature

The normal boiling temperature of water depends on atmospheric pressure, which is
mainly a function of altitude above sea level. At an altitude (H) the normal boiling
temperature can be computed from:
Tb = (100 – H / 300) [°C] (4.0)
when H is expressed in meters. For example, the normal boiling point is 100°C at
sea level, and 95 °C at 1500m altitudes.
In this test the boiling temperature was assumed as 100°C, because the average
altitude at the test site ‘Energielabor’ at the University of Oldenburg is about 5m
above sea level14. Calculated with the equation (4.0) gives an exact value of 99.98 °C
for the boiling temperature. With the used measurement devices an accuracy of
0.1°C could be measured.
Note that cooking time increase with reduced boiling temperature at high altitudes.
The cooking time is doubled for a temperature decrease of 5° to 10°C, depending on
the kind of food (no influence for the WBT).
The temperature of the water in the pot was measured with a digital measurement
device from AHLBORN Therm 2283-2 with Pt104 range -200…850°C (+/- 0.1°C)
in the beginning, until it was not working. After this mistake a GREISINGER
electronics GTH 1150 Digital thermometer with a NiCr-Ni thermo element with a
range -50…1150°C (+/-1°C) were used. A second temperature measurement system
with a Pt 100 connected to an VOLTCRAFT M4650B Digital Multimeter, PHYWE
power supply and constant current source to control the results were used (fig.15).
14
http://www.admin.uni-oldenburg.de/aaa/de/en/internat/booklet/unioldsc.htm

Figure 15 Stove system with temperature measurement set-up and scale
Humidity and moisture content of wood

The relative humidity of air (RH) controls the equilibrium moisture content (X) of
"air-dried" fuels, which in fact still contains moisture (fig. 16). The type or quality of
fuel and the ambient temperature also influence moisture content.
A useful first approximation of wood fuel moisture content is given by:
X = (water mass)/ (mass of dry wood) = or approximately 0.2 RH (4.1)
So-called “air-dried” wood is, in fact, moist. Its moisture content varies with the
average relative humidity and with the species of wood.
For example, in saturated air (RH = 1), 1.0 kg of dry wood will contain about 0.2 kg
of water (possibly more). At a lower RH = 0.6, the moisture content (X) drops to
about 0.12. Of course, RH and X can be expressed as percentages as well.
Obviously, the specific heating value (Hx), of moist fuels is lower than the heating
value of dry fuel (Ho). It can be shown that for moderate moisture contents (X=0.2 or
less) that:
Hx = Ho (1 - X) = Ho (1 - 1.1 X) (4.2)
As a consequence, a larger quantity of moist fuel Mx is needed for a given job than of
dry fuel Mo. This can be accounted for by computing equivalent dry fuel
consumption from a measured moist fuel quantity.
(equiv. dry fuel quantity) = Mo = (1 - X) Mx (4.3)

Figure 16 Wood moisture content versa relative humidity15and psychrometer

The humidity was measured with an aspiration psychrometer model Assmann from
the company Thies. The measuring is in the range of - 10...+ 60 °C with an accuracy
±0,2 K for the thermometer. The aspirator is spring-wound driven and the
measuring time is approximately 8 min (4 ... 2 m/s).
Moisture measurements
The moisture content (X) of air-dried wood can be estimated from the humidity (RH)
as shown above. The most direct and precise procedure is to make a double
weighting of a moist or air-dried sample: first as it is, and then after drying it in an
oven (at 110°C for 24 hours or more, depending on the sample size). Mx is the moist
weight and Mo is the dry weight:
X = (Mx - Mo)/Mo or X = (Mx - Mo)/Mx (4.4)
The moisture content may be expressed with reference to the dry wood quantity as
done above or, alternatively, with reference to the moist wood quantity as well:
X = (water mass)/(mass of moist charcoal) (4.5)
In fieldwork the first weighting is done at the test site (Mx). The second weighting
can be done afterwards in a lab. Alternatively, the charcoal moisture (X) can be
measured with a battery-operated tester, which uses the electric resistance of the
sample as an indication of its moisture content.
15
http://www.natmus.dk/cons/tp/rhbuff/buffer1.htm

The results will depend slightly on the quality of the charcoal and on the quality of
the instrument used.
The moisture content of the wood in the described stove tests was measured with a
Conductivity measurement device, PROTIMETER Digital Mini with a range 6-28%
fibre saturation (fig.17).
Figure 17 Moisture content measurement device -Protimeter Digital Mini
Weight (mass)
Weighting can be done with any good balance. For field-testing, direct reading
instruments are preferable, as no adjustments of weights are needed.
Spring balances do a good job if they have a long reading scale and thus good
resolution, and if they are used within 20 to 100% of the full capacity. Spring
balances should occasionally be checked with calibrated weights (1 litre of water has
1 kg of weight, etc.). The weighting basket used with a balance should be as light as
possible, since precision is lost when the difference between two weightings is
relatively small.
The weight of the whole stove system (stove + pot + water) in the described stove
tests was measured with a spring balance from SOEHNLE (fig.18).
This scale with a measurement bridge 52x40 cm and single measurement box has a
range up to 50 kg and an accuracy +/- 5 g. The digital display was a GSE Type 550 i.

Figure 18 Scale with single measurement box and digital display (Söhnle)
Volume
Volumes can be measured with graduated bottles. Commercial bottles with known
volumes (1/4, 1/3, 3/4, 1/1 litre) or like, in this test a can with a measurement scale
were used.
Pot and stove description

Largely dimensional relations between the stove and the pot determine the test
results. To make this kind of test as much as possible comparable to the reality in the
households of the user, original pots from the dissemination region in the SAHEL
region in Southern Africa were chosen. A complete description of the used pots, like
size, shape, weight, capacity, material, etc. are shown in the table 3 below. For the
tests the pots were used without lid.
Table 3 Pots properties comparison

pot SA Zim
diameter 23 cm 19.5 cm
height 16 cm 13 cm
weight 5 kg 2.3 kg
capacity 5.55 liter 3.45 liter
material cast iron steel
country of origin South Africa Zimbabwe
remarks not coated long handle
high mass low mass

Figure 19 High mass cast iron pot with 3.6 litre capacity from South Africa
Figure 20 Steel pot with long handle and 2.3 litre capacity from Zimbabwe
The internal dimensions of the stove are especially important (see section 3).
Wood
For the tests locally dominate wood, air-dried, preferable pieces of uniform size 3x3
cm (Vesto stove) or 10 – 25 cm sticks (Tin Can stove) were used.
Depending on the stove design different sizes of the same type and conditions of
wood were used for the test. The wood was air-dried pine, with around 13 %
moisture content from a local building market (OBI).

Figure 21 Wood size (3x3; 10x2; 15-20x2) used in the tests
Other measurement device

To stop the time of each test a normal watch (SUUNTO Vector) with a stopwatch
function were used.
4.3 Concepts of efficiency and power
There are many different ways of looking at stove performance and of measuring
stove efficiency. A widely used method compares energy that goes into the stove
with the energy that comes out, to determine Percentage of Heat Utilized (PHU). A
broader concept of efficiency accounts for energy losses in evaporation. Once food
reaches the boiling point, the amount of additional heat it absorbs is relatively small.
In water-based cooking the pot requires only enough heat to maintain boiling
temperatures all else is excess.
This excess heat is used to generate steam, which escapes from the pot without
adding anything to the cooked food. Thus a stove that is regulated to maintain
simmering temperature with at least production of steam is, in that respect, most
efficient.

Energy losses
In figure 22 is a general energy flow diagram for a wood-burning cook stove. Useful
heat is absorbed in the food, but heat losses are associated with:
• Incomplete combustion of wood
• Heat loss from the stove body to the environment
• Heat loss from the pot surfaces (including lids)
• Heat loss through the chimney (if existing)
• Thermostatic steam escaping from the pot due to excessive stove power.
Figure 22 Energy flow diagram of an Improved cooking stove16
Heat losses more in detail are shown in the below chart (fig. 23).
1. Evaporation
2. Distance From Fuel to Pot
3. Convective Loss from Wind
4. Unburned Volatile Gases
5. Radiation from Pot
6. Poor Seal at Pot/Stove Interface
7. Cool Combustion Air or Fuel
8. Radiation From Stove
9. Conduction Through Stove
10. Wet Wood
11. Pot Contents
Figure 23 Heat loss parameter for an ICS17
Partial efficiencies
The concept of efficiency is based on the thermodynamic considerations, which are
used to evaluate the performance of a stove. It is an engineering concept and
according to the first law of thermodynamics, the efficiency of a stove for a specific
operation, is the ratio of the energy output to the energy input.
16
Testing the efficiency of wood-burning cook stoves VITA 1985
17
Improved cook stoves; A training manual, Peace Corps, M. Lillywhite, 184

The second law of efficiency is the ratio of the actual work output to the maximum
possible work output, for the same task. While the first law of efficiency gives the
energy wise performance, the second law gives the efficiency of the stove to perform
a given task. In a wood fired cook stove, heat is generated by partial combustion of
wood. Some of the heat so generated is transferred, by radiation and convection,
from the fire bed and the flue gases to the vessel, and some of it is utilized for
cooking food. The remainder of the heat is lost to the environment, through various
heat transfer mechanisms, as described in section 2.2.2. The final residual heat of the
flue gases is lost to the environment by dilution. A number of partial efficiencies
have been defined (VITA 1985) taking into account the effect of various losses that
take place at different stages in a cook stove. These are:
Combustion efficiency: ηc = heat generated by combustion (4.6)
energy potential in fuel wood
Heat transfer efficiency: ηt = gross heat input to the pan (4.7)
heat generated
Pot efficiency: ηp = gross heat input - surface losses (4.8)
gross heat input
Control efficiency: ηr = heat absorbed by the food (4.9)
net heat input to the pot
These efficiencies can be associated with stoves operated in predictable or well-
defined ways, such as at a single power level, or in defined cooking patterns.
Overall efficiency
An “overall stove efficiency” is often used. This is a product of the first three partial
efficiencies described above.
Overall efficiency: ηstove = net heat absorbed by the pot (4.10)

ηstove = ηc* ηt* ηr
A cooking efficiency can defined as:
Cooking efficiency: ηcook = heat absorbed by the food (4.11)
This final efficiency level accounts for all the heat losses. It is the overall stove
efficiency multiplied by the control efficiency:
η’ = ηc* ηt* ηr* ηp = η’* ηr (4.12)

The thermal efficiency of a stove could be based on the measurements of steady state
or unsteady state operations. In the case of steady state operations, the measurements
can be taken at any given moment, while in the case of unsteady state operations, the
input and output values are measured and integrated over the entire process. Most of
the real life processes fall under the second category. Another index of performance
is the specific energy consumption, which is defined as the amount of energy input
required performing a given task.
While applying these indicators, it should be kept in mind that efficiency is not an
absolute physical quantity but a self-defined ratio which depends on the conditions
under which a process takes place and how input/output are measured, thus serving
only as a guideline. Efficiency may be reproducible in a system having a standard
performance like an internal combustion engine. However, combustion of biomass in
a cook stove is a variable process because thermodynamic efficiency of a cook stove
depends upon a large number of factors such as stove design, fuel composition,
vessel design, culinary practice, meteorological conditions and operational variables,
such as fire tending and rate of heat supply, etc. Most of these factors are variable in
nature and hence the thermodynamic efficiency of a cook stove is not a unique
property of the cook stove.
Thus, it has a limited utility and cannot predict the actual fuel consumption. The
efficiency is a design tool rather than a means of predicting field performance of ICS.
Specific consumption
The stove performance can also be alternatively expressed in terms of specific
consumption (SC), which measures the fuel wood required to produce a unit output.
For cooking efficiency level, this can be expressed by the equation:
SC = mass of fuel wood consumed (4.13)
mass of food cooked
There is a link between SC and the cooking efficiency, which can be expressed as
shown in the following equation:
ηcook = heat absorbed in cooked food

ηcook= (mass of cooked food)*cpf*∆T
(mass of consumed dry wood)*heating value

1 c pf * ∆T
η cook = = (4.14)
SC HV
where cpf is heat capacity of specific food and HV is the calorific value. The
specific consumption appears to be a better index for expressing the performance of a
cook stove and describing the wood consumption pattern, for planning exercises.
Efficiencies in water boiling tests

The overall stove efficiency can be measured in WBT by heating the stove at high
power, or by heating it at a controlled power level where steam generation simulates
absorbed heat.
Cooking efficiency can be measured in a similar way. Note that this steam generation
as a loss. At simmering power levels the cooking efficiency is close to zero. The
cooking efficiency concept therefore has been applied to a cycle that includes both
the heating up period and simmering. In this case, however, the cooking efficiency
drops as simmering times increase.
It can be concluded from the above discussion that the cooking efficiency can be
checked more realistically in controlled cooking tests. In order to draw realistic
conclusions, the water-boiling test, and specific fuel consumption, turn down ratio, as
well as the evaporation rate should also be specified.
Power and energy determination

The equation for overall stove efficiency (4.14) can expressed in more detail:
ηcook = (mass of cooked food)*cpf*∆T = QW (4.15)
(mass of consumed dry wood)*heating value Qwood
The heat absorbed in cooked food (in the WBT test the heat absorbed in the water
QW) can be calculated with the following equation:
QW = c w * mWB * (ϑ B − ϑ S ) + mevap * hevap (4.16)
where cw (4.18 kJ/kg*K)is the specific heat capacity of water, mWB is the
amount of water after boiling, ϑ B is the temperature of the boiling water, ϑ S is the
temperature of the water at the beginning (starting), mevap is the amount of evaporated
water and hevap (2260 kJ/kg) is the evaporation enthalpy of the water.
The energy potential in the fuel wood expressed can be by:
Qwood = mdrywood * LHV (4.17)

where mdrywood is the mass of consumed dry wood and LHV is heating value of
the consumed dry wood (19 MJ/kg GTZ recommendation).
Beside the efficiency of an ICS the power output of the stoves is a useful figure. The
average power of the stove Q’stove as the firepower of the stove can be expressed by:
Q’stove = Qwood (4.18)
∆T
The average cooking power Q’cook as the transferred heating power to the water can
be expressed by:
Q’cook = ηcook* Q’stove (4.19)
Q’cook = QW
∆T
where ∆T is the time to reach the boiling temperature in the water.
With all this equation the results and analysis in the following section where done.
5. Test results and analysis

The WBT tests with the two stoves were done with two different pot types. To
distinguish between the different tests two abbreviations for the pots were used. For
the bigger and heavier cast iron pot with 3.7 litre capacity from South Africa (SA)
where used. For the smaller pot with 2.3-litre capacity from Zimbabwe (Zim) were
used. Each test was three times repeated and the average was determined.
5.1 Efficiency
The following figures describe the tested cooking efficiency comparison between the
Tin Can stove prototype and the sophisticated mass produced Vesto stove with
different pot types. The tests were done in two phases, the boiling phase and the
simmering phase. The simmering, low power phase was always 30 minutes directly
after the water boiled at the high power phase. Fig. 24, 25 compare the typical
temperature profile for both stoves with the smaller 2.3-liter pot.
In the simmering phase the water should be at boiling temperature with the smallest
amount of wood, which are necessary to keep the water in the boiling phase. The
most important parameter to compare stoves is the total efficiency, which includes
both phases, the simmering and boiling phase.

The testing for the Tin Can stove was in all tests slightly longer, than for the Vesto
stove. This is due to the behaviour of the insulative bricks, which take some of the
utilized energy to heat up.
Tin Can Stove tem perature profile w ith 2.3 liter pot
100
90
80
temperature [°C]
70
60
50
40
30
20
boiling simmering
10
0 4 9 13 17 20 25 30 35 44 51 55 62 64 66 68 77
tim e [m in]
Figure 24 Temperature profile of the whole cooking test for the Tin Can stove
Vesto Stove temperature profile with 2.3 liter pot
100
90
80
70
temperature [°C]
60
50
40
30
boiling simmering
20
10
12
16
20
28
34
40
48
50
56
62
0
tim e [m in]
Figure 25 Temperature profile of the whole cooking test for the Vesto stove

The determined efficiencies are nearly optimal efficiencies due to the fact, that only
the smallest required amount of wood were used to boil and simmer the water.
As expected the efficiency of the ‘stove-pot system’ increases with increasing the
water volume in the pot.
Table 4 Efficiency comparisons for Tin Can and Vesto stove with different pot types
efficiency 3.6 l pot SA efficiency 2.3 l pot Zim
[%] Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove
total 15.3 29.1 total 12.1 18.6
boiling 15.1 27.1 boiling 11.6 17.6
simmering 18.2 37.8 simmering 15.8 23.1
The fact, that the efficiency of the Tin Can stove is only about half of the Vesto
stove, which seems to be to low, could be influenced by different effects. Comparing
thermal properties of the different stove materials and concepts (see table 5) makes
the difference in the efficiency between the Tin Can stove, with insulative
clay/vermiculite bricks, which called Vernacular Insulated Ceramic (VIC) and the
Vesto stove with double wall air/gas insulated steel drum clear. The values in,
specific heat conductivity and specific heat capacity, underline the difference for the
in the most important physical material parameter, which influence the stove design.
Table 5 Thermal properties of stove materials18

unit steel (unalloyed) stainless steel clay/vermiculite air (dry)
density kg/m³ 7900 7900 559 1.29
spec. heat conductivity W/(m*K) 47-58 14 0.69 0.0245
spec. heat capacity kJ/(kg*K) 0.45 0.51 0.12 1.005
Analysing the thermal properties there are huge difference in density and specific
heat, which are an advantage for the bricks as stove material. The specific heat
capacity of the insulative bricks is more than 3 times smaller than for steel. That
means less heat are necessary to heat up the 1 kg of brick material for 1 K. The main
advantage and disadvantage effect in the Tin Can stove is the indolent and slow
behaviour due to keeping or storing the heat in the VIC bricks (see temperature
profile fig. 24). The Tin Can stove (prototype) has more mass (about double) and
volume due to the bricks, which has to be heated up in the beginning of the test
procedure. This energy in form of heat is a loss for the process of heating up the
water in the pot. The tin can layer around the bricks is acting like another insulative
air layer due to the air in the tin cans and support for the stove body.
18
Thermal properties of insulative bricks, Dale Andreatta, FTI Consulting, 2003

More Energy in form of wood is used to reach the same result of raising the
temperature in the water, which influence the efficiency and time of the test. The
Vesto stove has less mass and volume (about half of the Tin can stove) to heat up,
with the double walled air/gas insulated combustion chamber.
With metal as a very good heat conductor the utilized heat from the combustion gets
transferred first into the stove body, where air/gas with a very bad conductivity,
transport the heat due to the very good draft in the stove to the pot. The smaller
efficiency difference for the test with the smaller pot with less water can be
explained by the faster heating process for the less mass steel pot. The 3.6 litre cast
iron pot needs much more time to transfer the utilized heat to the water, due to the
own high mass. The advantage of this pot is to find in longer cooking processes,
where the retained heat saves energy, which has to be delivered in form of
combustion of wood.
A main influence for the efficiency of the stoves is the actual ambient temperature
during the test. As higher the ambient temperature as lower are the thermal losses for
the cooking process. The influence of the ambient temperature can be estimated as
follow19:
ηy
ηx = (ϑ100 − ϑ y ) (4.20)
ϑ100 − ϑ x
The index x and y in the equation gives the different stoves parameter at different
ambient temperatures.
The efficiency of an improved biomass cooking stove is one crucial parameter for the
designer and user and has to be in an acceptable range.
Depending on the cooking purpose the Tin Can stove can be more efficient for a
longer cooking process, due to the retained heat in the VIC bricks, which can save
energy and fuel. To make a stove successful for dissemination other parameter, like
price, reliability, durability and easy maintenance are other important parameter.
The results for the Tin Can stove prototype are not totally satisfying, but with the low
price and other parameters compare to other stoves, like the Vesto stove this stove is
an acceptable product for the target market in development countries. Improvements
in the design of the Tin Can stove have to be done to make it more successful.
19
Test for the wood stove “Swazi Stove”, IBEU, K. Schwarzer, 2003

Efficiency comparison with 3.6 l pot

40
37.8
Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove
35
29.1
30
27.1
efficiency [%]
25
18.2
20
15.3 15.1
15
10
0
total boiling simmering
test phases
Figure 26 Efficiency comparison chart for a 3.6 liter SA pot
Efficiency comparision with 2.3 l pot

25
23.1
20
18.6 17.6 15.8
efficiency [%]
15
12.1 11.6
10
0
test phases
Figure 27 Efficiency comparison chart for a 2.3 liter Zim pot

Increasing the draft in the combined stove combustion chamber and chimney
(insulative bricks) has to be tested in further developments, to improve the efficiency
parameter of the Tin Can stove.
Other thoughts between the cooperated stove experts are design developments
towards a semigasifing-stove design to fulfil other biomass fuel requirements.

One option could be using a small pipe (about 6-10 cm long) on top of the
combustion chamber, which gets narrow and introducing a secondary air inlet in
form of holes in the second part of the pipe. The secondary air gets sucked into the
pipe through the holes, by the draft in the pipe due to the narrowness of the pipe and
the draft from the combustion. Complete burning of the flue gases in this part of the
‘chimney’ enhances the difficult combustion process of cow dung and similar fuels,
which requires a gasifying process.
5.2 Wood consumption and Specific consumption

The wood consumption table shows, that the Tin Can stove needs in the WBT for
heating up the bigger amount of water nearly double of the wood of the Vesto stove.
This comes probably from stove design effects of the bricks, which were described in
the efficiency section above.
Table 6 wood consumption comparisons

wood consumption 3.6 l pot SA 2.3 l pot Zim
[kg] Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove
total 0.85 0.48 0.75 0.51
boiling 0.58 0.30 0.46 0.27
simmering 0.27 0.18 0.28 0.24
The disadvantages of only a WBT by comparing different designed stove types are
shown in the results of the Tin Can stove. The indolence heating up behaviour of the
stove due to the insulative bricks could be an advantage for longer cooking
processes. The retained heat released from the bricks can decrease the wood demand
for this purpose.
One main target the reduction of wood consumption should be fulfilled. The
reduction of wood consumption for the Tin Can stove with an efficiency range of 12-
16 % is about 30 % compare to a traditional open three stone fire with 8-9 %
efficiency. For the Vesto stove with an efficiency range of 18- 30 % the reduction is
about 50-60 %.

Wood consumption comparision with 3.6 l pot

1.0
0.85 Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove

0.8
dry wood consumption [kg]
0.58
0.6
0.48
0.4
0.30 0.27
0.18
0.2
0.0
test phases
Figure 28 wood consumption comparison charts for a 3.6-liter SA pot
Wood consumption comparision with 2.3 l pot

0.8
0.75
dry wood consumption [kg]
0.6
0.51
0.46
0.4
0.28
0.27
0.24
0.2
0.0
test phases
Figure 29 wood consumption comparison charts for a 2.3-liter Zim pot

The specific consumption is a good approach to compare stoves in the WBT. It

shows the consumed wood energy input from the boiling- and simmering phase versa
the produced evaporated water output.
Table 7 Specific consumption comparisons

spezific consumption 3.6 l pot SA 2.3 l pot Zim
[kgconsum.wood / kgevap.water] Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove
total 1.30 0.64 1.58 0.94
boiling 2.41 1.83 5.42 3.71
simmering 0.62 0.31 0.79 0.57
The value from the test especially for the wood consumption might be higher in real
household conditions due to limited dynamic flexibility or poor stove control during
the cooking process. Related to the efficiency the Vesto stove has a better specific
consumption, which is remarkable in the test with the bigger water amount.
To take into consideration at the end of the testing process the fire was always totally
burned down and the remaining charcoal with a negligible weight were not
considered. In practice all parameters are lower, because of less optimal conditions
and less control of the cooking process by the user.
Spezific consumption comparision with 3.6 l

pot
2.6
dry wood consumed / evaporated water
2.41
2.4
2.2 Tin Can Stove
2.0 Vesto Stove
1.83
1.8
1.6
1.30
[kg/kg]
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.64 0.62
0.6
0.4 0.31
0.2
0.0
test phases
Figure 30 Specific consumption comparison charts for a 3.6-liter SA pot

Spezific consumption comparision with 2.3 l

pot
5.5
dry wood consumed / evaporated water

5.0 5.42
Tin Can Stove
4.5
Vesto Stove
4.0
3.71
3.5
[kg/kg]
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.58
1.5
0.94 0.79
1.0
0.57
0.5
0.0
test phases
Figure 31 Specific consumption comparison charts for a 2.3-liter Zim pot
5.3 Average Stove- and Cooking power
The following parameter describes the average power output of the stove fire and
how much power the stove can utilize due to the design to the pot. In the section 4.3
under power and energy the relation and determination of these parameter are
described in more detail. The Tin Can stove has about 20 % higher stove power,
because of more consumed wood.
Table 8 Average stove power comparison
stove power 3.6 l pot SA 2.3 l pot Zim

[kW] Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove
total 3.30 2.85 3.42 2.88
boiling 3.71 4.12 3.87 3.45
simmering 2.73 1.91 2.89 2.45
Table 9 Average cooking power comparison
Cooking power 3.6 l pot SA 2.3 l pot Zim

[kW] Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove Tin Can Stove Vesto Stove
total 0.51 0.83 0.42 0.53
boiling 0.66 1.11 0.45 0.60
simmering 0.55 0.72 0.46 0.56

Average stove power comparision with 3.6 l pot

4.5
4.12
Tin Can Stove
4.0
3.71 Vesto Stove
3.5 3.30
2.85
stove power [kW]
3.0
2.73
2.5
1.91
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
test phases
Figure 32 Average stove power comparison charts for a 3.6-liter SA pot
Average stove power comparision with 2.3 l pot

4.0
3.42 3.87 3.45 Tin Can Stove

3.5 Vesto Stove
2.88 2.89
3.0
stove power [kW]
2.5 2.45
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
test phases
Figure 33 Average stove power comparison charts for a 2.3-liter Zim pot

Average cooking power comparision with

3.6 l pot
1.2
1.11
1.1 Tin Can Stove
1.0 Vesto Stove
0.9
cooking power [kW]
0.83
0.8
0.66 0.72
0.7
0.6 0.55
0.51
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
test phases
Figure 34 Average cooking power comparison charts for a 3.6-liter SA pot
Average cooking power comparision with

2.3 l pot
0.7
0.6
0.60 0.56
0.53
0.5
cooking power [kW]
0.45 0.46
0.42
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
test phases
Figure 35 Average cooking power comparison charts for a 2.3-liter SA pot

5.4 Emission measurement
5.4.1 Emission and health

The emission of toxic gaseous and particulate health affecting pollutants of biomass
cooking stoves is one of the main reasons for the development of ICS.
In theory, the complete combustion of bio fuel in a combustion device like a cook
stove should result in the release of just carbon dioxide and water, which do not fall
under the category of pollutants. However, it is very difficult to ensure complete
combustion in traditional cook stoves and/or ICS's due to the heterogeneous nature of
the combustion process, lack of proper control, and design constraints. Thus, the
emission of pollutants during small-scale biomass combustion is unavoidable, in or
outside the kitchen. The level of pollution will vary depending on the types of stoves
and fuels used.
Wood burning stoves always produce carbon monoxide20 and its release with other
combustion products in a kitchen or other enclosed space will increase the
concentration of carbon monoxide. Depending on stove, kitchen volume and air
exchange rate, and carbon monoxide concentrations can reach such level that it will
affect the health of the user. Table 10 shows the health implications of major
pollutants that are normally emitted from biomass burning.
Table 10 Mechanism of principle health effects from major pollutants21
20
Danger signals to Human Health, W.F. Sulilatu, 1985
21

In general, combustion products of wood are carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapour
(H2O) carbon monoxide (CO), particulates and polycyclic organic matter (POM).
The last three are considered hazardous pollutants with respect to human health.
Depending on the size (< 5µm) they are able to enter the lung and cause immense
health damage22.
The most dangerous pollutant Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless and
highly poisonous gas, which gets created by incomplete combustion (lack of oxygen)
of fossil fuels.
CO has a strong affinity to hemoglobin (Hb) in the blood which carries oxygen (O2)
to body tissues. CO deprives the tissues of the necessary supply oxygen. However,
binding force of CO to Hb is about 300 times that of O2 to Hb. The poisoning signs
are head age, dizziness, weakness and finally the death. In the air concentration up to
10 ppm CO are unserious. As a measure of the toxication of the CO concentration in
the blood are assumed. For 20 % CO-Hb toxicities signs are occur, and 65% CO-Hb
are deadly for human being.
The effect of the carbon monoxide concentration in the atmosphere as a function of
the exposure time for various conditions of labor is shown in Figure 36.
Figure 36 Effect of carbon monoxide concentration in the atmosphere as a

function of exposure time for various condition of labour23
22
Wood combustion studies E. Schutte and K.Prasad WSG Eindhoven 1989
23

Another colourless, odourless and poisonous gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), gets created
in all breathing- and combustion processes of fossil fuels.
For human being it is deadly in a concentration of 20 vol. % and in the range from 8-
10 vol. % it causes head age, dizziness, weakness and finally unconsciousness. In
working rooms the concentration shouldn’t be higher than the maximal allowable
concentration (MAC) of 5000 ppm24.
5.4.1 Emission measurement and results

The flue gas composition analyses were done with a multi flue gas analysing
measurement, called MSI 150-4 Joker 4 (fig. 37), which were borrowed from the
local chimneysweeper guild. This measurement device is used to control the flue
gases in central heating system based on different fuels like oil, gas or coal.
Figure 37 Multi flue gas analyser MSI 150-4 Joker 4
24
Test for the wood stove “Swazi Stove”, IBEU, K. Schwarzer, 2003

It can measure different values like, CO, CO2, CO-O2, O2, Tgas and Tamb, at the same
time. In the measurement device the maximum CO2 value for the stoechiometric
(ideal) Combustion, related to 21 % O2 in the air and depending on the burned fuel
was adjusted.
The maximum CO2 value for wood about 20.5 % was not adjustable with the used
measurement device. Therefore the nearest value from fuel oil 15.4 %, which was
possible to adjust, was chosen. The measured results are for fuel oil as the burned
fuel. With the simple rule of three the values for wood were evaluated.
Table 11 Emission test results for different stove- and pot types
Tin Can stove + SA pot
for fuel oil measured values for wood calculated values
time Tgas Tamb O2 CO CO-O% CO2 O2 CO CO-O% CO2
min °C °C % ppm ppm % % ppm ppm %
10 74 21 3.5 204 242 12.9 5.5 324 384 20.5
65 167 21 4.2 299 374 12.4 6.9 494 617 20.5
75 146 21 2.9 640 742 13.3 4.5 986 1144 20.5
Tin Can stove + Zim pot

9 86 23 2.8 355 424 13.7 4.3 532 636 20.5
42 186 23 3.0 212 228 14.0 4.4 310 334 20.5
55 116 24 2.8 219 260 14.0 4.1 321 382 20.5
Vesto stove + SA pot

12 294 22 4.0 453 545 12.5 6.5 743 893 20.5
29 183 23 3.9 168 202 12.6 6.3 273 329 20.5
51 166 24 3.2 1032 1219 13.1 5.0 1621 1914 20.5
Vesto stove + Zim pot

9 186 24 0.0 253 253 15.4 0.0 337 337 20.5
30 169 24 0.0 75 75 15.4 0.0 100 100 20.5
43 203 25 0.0 223 223 15.4 0.0 297 297 20.5

In the above table 11 are the results from the emission tests for different times
shown. The first values were taken when the fire in the stove was well burning at the
upper rim of the stoves between the pot and the stove skirt. Other values were taken
after boiling of the water and at the end of the test.
The results can be converted in volume percent or parts per million with the
conversion factor 0.01 vol.%=100 ppm.
These results, which were taken from a stove operated in optimal conditions, show
the serious problematic described in the section 5.4.1.
Compared with the fig. 36 for the allowable concentration of carbon monoxide, the
most dangerous gas, the determined results for the CO are relatively high. Taken into
account that these values are measured directly in the flue gas stream (less mix with
fresh air) and only for a short moment (each measurement took about 15-30 second).
Most of the combustions in technical appliances nowadays operated with air surplus
or controlled air supply, to approach a complete combustion. The values for CO-O2
are the measured CO values without additional air, which gets mixed with the CO
directly after the combustion. This means these values are the realistic CO value
from the combustion without any air content. The O2 values in the last test for the
Vesto stove with Zim pot are zero, because due to technical problems the O2 sensor
was not working. Therefore the CO and CO-O2 results are similar.
I would recommend the user only outdoors use or good air circulated buildings.
Designed as portable and flexible stoves, the user will not accepted the combination
with a chimney, which could guide the harmful flue gases out of the building. The
results show that even under optimal condition the designed stoves need further
development to avoid health-damaging emissions.

6. Conclusions
With the beginning of the new millennium, influenced by high technology,
computer, luxury, etc., the problematic of inefficient biomass combustion for
cooking and heating purpose and their results are an ongoing ecological, economical
and humanitarian tragedy for nearly half of the world population.
This circumstances is one driving force for international cooperation and voluntary
services to design, develop, test, introduce and disseminate new efficient improve
cooking stoves.
In this thesis two different designed improved cooking stoves, Tin Can stove
(Lesotho) and Vesto stove (South Africa), developed, produced, disseminated and
used in the Southern Africa Development Countries (SADC) region were tested and
compared in terms of efficiency. The main focus was on the new Tin Can stove
design, which is so far a prototype. This stove, which can be locally produced with
local materials, consists of an insulative combustion chamber made of a special
clay/vermiculite brick (VIC) and a tin can stove body.
An optimal combination of ecology and economy is reached by using tin cans and
clay as recyclable stove material. The common financial problems for ICS are
significant decreased or partly avoided.
An estimated price of 10-12 US$ (2003) in Africa for the Tin Can stove prototype is
about 1/3 of the price ~39 US$ (2003) of the commercial produced Vesto stove.
The tests show, that both stoves are improved cook stoves with an efficiency range
above 15 % under optimal conditions, compare to 8-9% of a normal operated open
fire. As essential parameters for the stove test the ambient temperature and amount of
water in the pot were detected.
As expected, the efficiency and other parameters of the sophisticated Vesto stove
were in the range of 30-40 % better than from the Tin Can stove prototype.
Compared the price and efficiency parameter, which are still one of the main factor
for successful stove dissemination in development countries, the Tin Can stove has a
potential chance in the development regions. First successful acceptance test with
imaginable users in the mountains of Lesotho during a fieldwork showed the need for
a cheap, reliable, durable and efficient ICS. However these results can be not
satisfying and will be the reason for further developments on the Tin Can stove
prototype.

Experience and knowledge from Gasifier stove designers should be more investigate
and taken into consideration for fruitful improvements for further stove design.
There is still a long way to a more comfortable and healthier life for the people in the
development countries in the near future.

References
Andreatta Dale (2003) Thermal properties of insulative bricks Overall heat losses,
FTI Consulting,
http://solstice.crest.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Andreatta/Heatloss.htm
Aprovecho (1984) Fuel Saving Cook stoves, published by Deutsches Zentrum für
Entwicklungstechnologien GATE and GTZ GmbH from Research Center
Oregon / USA, http://www.efn.org/~apro/
Baldwin S. (1984) New directions in woodstove development. VITA News, pp.3-23.

-------, (1986) Biomass stoves: Engineering design, development and dissemination.
VITA, USA.
Houck J.E. and Tiegs P. (2001) A Global Opportunity

http://www.omni-test.com/Publications/Third_World_Global.pdf
Lillywhite M. (1984) Improved cook stoves: A training manual, Peace Corps

Information Collection and Exchange Training Manual T-40, Domestic
Technology International, Inc. Evergreen, Colorado, USA
http://mng-unix1.marasconewton.com/peacecorps/Documents/T0040/t0040e/t0040e00.htm
RWEDP (1993) Improved solid biomass burning cook stoves: A development

Manual, Regional Wood Energy Development Programme in Asia, Asia
Regional Cook stove Programme and Energy Research Centre of Panjab
University, Chandigarh, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Bangkok, Thailand
Schutte E. and Prasad K. (1989) Wood combustion studies, A report of The Wood
burning Stove Group, WSG, Eindhoven University of Technology, The
Netherlands
Schwarzer K. (2003) Test des Holzherdes “Swazi Stove”, Ingenieurbüro für Energie-
und Umwelttechnik, IBEU, Jülich, Germany

Smith K. R. (1985) Biomass fuels, Air pollution and Health; A global review.
Plenum Publishing Co., New York, USA
-------, 1986. Biomass Combustion and Indoor Air Pollution. in: Environmental
Management. No. 10.
Sulilatu, W.F (1985) Danger signals to Human Health. In Form Design to Cooking:
Some Studies on Cook stoves. C.E. Krist-Spit and D.J. van der Heeden (eds.).
Wood burning Stove Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, The
Netherlands
VITA (1985) Testing the efficiency of wood-burning cook stoves, International

Standards, Volunteers in Technical Assistance, Arlington, USA
Internet web pages:
http://www.natmus.dk/cons/tp/rhbuff/buffer1.htm
http://www.admin.uni-oldenburg.de/aaa/de/en/internat/booklet/unioldsc.htm
http://www.newdawn-engineering.com/website/stove/singlestove/vesto/vesto1.htm
http://solstice.crest.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Still/VC%20Stove/vcstove.html

Appendices
Traditional inefficient open fire in southern Africa / Lesotho and woman carrying
firewood and cooking with an local produced clay stove
Collection of local clay material and mixture process with vermiculite for the
VIC bricks in Maseru / Lesotho
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 i

Pouring of the test batch bricks for different clay vermiculite mixtures
VIC bricks and small test bricks air drying before kiln burning
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 ii

Burning of the VIC bricks in a commercial kiln of a local brick producer

in Maseru / Lesotho
Tin Can collection and stove case production at a workshop in Maseru / Lesotho
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 iii

First Tin can fireplace design by Michael Hönes / Lesotho
Basic stove principle with VIC bricks designed by Aprovecho for the Tin Can stove
design
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 iv

Tin Can stove test set up at ‘Energielabor’ University Oldenburg
Simple test to show the draft created in the Tin Can stove prototype
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 v

Standard water boiling test protocol for data calculation recommended by VITA
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 vi

Standard water boiling test protocol for test series reporting recommended by VITA
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 vii

Standard water boiling test protocol for temperature profile recommended by VITA
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 viii

COHb level of a typical adult as a function of time for a range of exposures
Test number 1.2

Tin Can Stove 2003/07/10 16.30 Uhr
Zimbabwe pot
before after H2O
kg kg kg kg liter
stove 14.200 14.170 14.155 2.288
pot(Zim) 15.090 0.867 15.038 0.868
stove+pot+H2O 17.355 16.865 16.865 1.835
pot+H2O 3.155 2.695 2.710 0.454
Tamb rel. Hum. Ignition wood(25cm)
°C % dry(°C) wet(°C) Paraffinöl % H2O measured
22 55 22 16.2 g 13
60 21.4 16.4 3
average 58 LHV
~40 MJ/kg
Test protocol initial conditions for the Tin Can stove prototype with Zim pot
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 ix

time wood stove system temperature Pt100 remark

min kg kg °C mV
0 127 17.355 18 107.96 support 2cm open
4 17.495 20 108.57 4 sticks 25 cm
7 17.490 21 109.18 closed
8 76 17.490 22 109.44 2 sticks 25 cm
10 17.550 25 110.32 good fire
12 17.530 28 111.72
15 17.485 37 115.00
17 17.465 42 116.70
18 71 17.460 44 117.40 2 sticks 25 cm
20 17.500 50 119.52 no smoke
21 111 17.475 59 122.17 3 sticks 25 cm
24 17.515 75 128.52
25 17.485 79 130.62
27 17.450 86 133.07 no smoke
29 17.415 91 134.79
31 103 17.390 93 135.25 3 sticks 25 cm
33 17.425 97 136.54
34 487 17.395 100 137.42 boil 103g half burned
36 91 17.315 101 138.18 2 sticks 25 cm evapor. H2O
40 17.275 100 138.03 0.040
42 17.215 100 138.06
44 94 17.160 100 138.04 2 sticks 25 cm
46 17.195 100 138.07
50 58 17.080 100 138.00 2 sticks 25 cm
52 17.075 101 138.14
55 16.985 100 138.05
57 71 16.950 100 138.09 2 sticks 25 cm
59 16.975 100 138.05
62 16.905 100 137.85 0.450
64 800 16.865 100 137.69 sum
0.490
Test protocol measured values for the Tin Can stove prototype with Zim pot
time Tgas Tamb O2 CO CO-O% CO2 Twater Remark

min °C °C % ppm ppm % °C
11 125 23.2 3 599 698 13.2 26
14 165.3 23.5 3 220 256 13.2 35 good fire
23 264.8 24 3.2 220 259 13.1 72
40 243.7 24.2 1.5 186 200 14.3 100 boil
53 93.5 24.1 1.6 55 59 14.2 101
60 143.6 24.2 3.3 61 72 13 100
Flue gas analysis results in the test protocol for Tin Can stove prototype with Zim pot
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 x

stove test high power phase low power phase remarks

boil. simm.
spezific heat capacity water kJ/(kg*K) 4.18 4.18 4.18
evaporation enthalpy of water kJ/kg 2260 2260 2260
initial water temperature °C 18 18 100
initial water amount kg 2.288 2.288 2.248
water amount after boiling kg 1.798 2.248 1.798
water vaporized kg 0.490 0.040 0.450
boiling temperature water °C 100 100 100
moisture content of wood % 13 13 13

lower heating value of wood LHV MJ/kg 19 19 19
wood equivalent to ignite the fire kg 0.006 0.006 0 paraffin LHV ~40 MJ/kg
total used wood consumed kg 0.7996 0.4866 0.313
remaining wood after boiling kg 0 0 0
remaining charcoal after boiling kg 0 0 0
equivalent dry wood consumed kg 0.701 0.429 0.272
heat utelized to the water kJ 1723.7 860.9 1017.0

utelized wood energy kJ 13316.6 8142.7 5173.9
thermal stove efficiency 0.129 0.106 0.197
% 12.9 10.6 19.7
stove testing time min 64 34 30
s 3840 2040 1800
stove power(fire) kW 3.47 3.99 2.87
average cooking power kW 0.45 0.42 0.57
spezific standard demand kg/kg 1.43 10.71 0.61
Test protocol calculated parameter for the Tin Can stove prototype with Zim pot
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 xi

Tin can stove+Zim pot 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Average

unit stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm.
dry wood consumed kg 0.745 0.458 0.287 0.745 0.429 0.272 0.809 0.515 0.294 0.720 0.446 0.274 0.755 0.462 0.282
initial water amount kg 2.400 2.400 2.245 2.288 2.288 2.248 2.490 2.490 2.395 2.250 2.250 2.110 2.357 2.357 2.250
water vaporized kg 0.530 0.195 0.335 0.490 0.040 0.450 0.440 0.095 0.345 0.458 0.140 0.317 0.479 0.118 0.362
stove testing time min 66.5 36.5 30 64 34 30 77 45.5 31.5 68 36 32 69 38 31
stove power(fire) kW 3.55 3.97 3.03 3.47 3.99 2.87 3.33 3.58 2.96 3.35 3.93 2.71 3.42 3.87 2.89
average cooking power kW 0.46 0.55 0.48 0.45 0.42 0.57 0.36 0.36 0.41 0.40 0.46 0.37 0.42 0.45 0.46
spez. stand. consumption kg/kg 1.41 2.35 0.86 1.52 10.71 0.61 1.84 5.42 0.85 1.57 3.19 0.86 1.58 5.42 0.79
thermal stove efficiency % 13.0 13.8 15.9 12.9 10.6 19.7 10.8 10.1 14.0 11.8 11.8 13.8 12.1 11.6 15.8
Tin can stove+SA pot 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Average
unit stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm. stove boil. simm.
dry wood consumed kg 0.864 0.662 0.202 0.851 0.547 0.304 0.831 0.538 0.292 0.841 0.606 0.235 0.842 0.546 0.296 0.846 0.580 0.266
initial water amount kg 3.605 3.605 3.190 3.660 3.660 3.445 3.635 3.635 3.525 3.645 3.645 3.375 3.665 3.665 3.470 3.642 3.642 3.401
water vaporized kg 0.645 0.415 0.230 0.615 0.215 0.400 0.668 0.110 0.557 0.645 0.270 0.375 0.690 0.195 0.495 0.653 0.241 0.411
stove testing time min 96 66 30 86 54 32 82.5 52.5 30 68 36 32 78 48 30 82 51 31
stove power(fire) kW 2.85 3.18 2.13 3.13 3.21 3.00 3.19 3.25 3.09 3.92 5.33 2.32 3.42 3.60 3.12 3.30 3.71 2.73
average cooking power kW 0.42 0.50 0.29 0.47 1.00 0.68 0.51 0.46 0.70 0.60 0.80 0.44 0.53 0.53 0.62 0.51 0.66 0.55
spez. stand. consumption kg/kg 1.34 1.60 0.88 1.38 0.51 0.47 1.24 4.89 0.52 1.30 2.25 0.63 1.22 2.80 0.60 1.30 2.41 0.62
thermal stove efficiency % 14.8 15.8 13.5 14.9 15.8 15.7 15.9 14.1 22.7 15.3 15.0 19.0 15.6 14.7 19.9 15.3 15.1 18.2
Comparison of the results from the Tin Can stove prototype with different pot types tested
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 xii

Vesto stove+Zim pot 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Average

stove testing time min 62 31 31 59 29 30 56 26 30 49 18 31 57 26 31
Vesto stove+SA pot 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Average

stove testing time min 55.5 25.5 30 58.5 28.5 30 52 22 30 49 18.5 30.5 54 24 30
Comparison of the results from the Vesto stove with different pot types tested
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 xiii

Properties A B C D E F G H I J Aprovecho
Clay typ and color black black+ swamp swamp black+ash+ black+ swamp swamp black black + ash Peter
orange/ grey grey+ash orange/grey ash grey+ash grey Scott
liter 1.25 2.5 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1
Vermiculite liter 8.75 17.5 8.75 8.75 8.75 8.75 8.75 8.75 8.75 8.75 6
Water liter 1.5 2.5 1.25 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.75 1.75 2 2
fly ash (sifted) liter 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.25 0.25
Weight gramm 1398 1038 1227 1343 1222 1410 1304 1201 1497 1471 860
Handling good(1) - bad(6) 2.5 4.5 1.5 2.5 2 3 4 5 3 1
Vermiculite/Clay ratio 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 6
Properties BE ABEF ABCEF
Clay typ and color black+ black+ black black+ black+ash+ black black black+ swamp black+ash+ black+ash
orange/ ash+ orange/ orange/grey + ash orange/ grey orange/grey
grey orange/ grey grey
grey
liter 2.5 1.25 1.25 2.5 1.25 1.25 1.25 2.5 1.25 1.25 1.25
Vermiculite liter 17.5 8.75 8.75 17.5 8.75 8.75 8.75 17.5 8.75 8.75 8.75
Water liter 2.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 1.25 1.5 1.5
fly ash (sifted) liter 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.5 0.25
Weight gramm 1201 1393 1304
Handling good(1) - bad(6)
Vermiculite/Clay ratio 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Information
orange/grey clay near Maseru airport next to water vermiculite granule
black clay near airport Maseru next to creek medium exfoliated
swamp clay Maseru East brick makers (washed/sifted from a pond) 8 hours burned at 1000° C
fly ash (sifted) Maseru East brick makers (from coal ash) 1 liter~150 g dried at 250° for 24 hours
Clay mixture table from the field test for the VIC bricks in Maseru / Lesotho
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 xiv

Curriculum Vitae
Personal facts:
Name: Marco Peter
Date of birth: 28.06.1971

Birthplace: Suhl / Germany
Nationality: German
Address: Grüner Weg 2c
98527 Suhl
Germany
School:
1978 - 1988 primary school and secondary school
1996 A-Level
Qualifications:
1988 - 1991 vocational training as electrician
1992 - 1993 alternative national welfare service
1991 - 1995 work as an electrician
1996 work as a fitter in a company for
environmental and sewage systems
2002 work as an engineer in a mechanical
engineering company in Suhl
Study:
2002 diploma mechanical engineering (energy
technology) University of Wismar
Since Oct. 2002 Student Postgraduate Program Renewable
Energy at the University of Oldenburg
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03

Practical training:
09.1999 - 01.2000 Bayernwerk AG, Munich, renewable energy
department
02.2003 – 04.2003 GTZ - South Africa, Pretoria, program for
biomass conservation in southern Africa
Activities during the study:
1998 scientific assistant at the university

1998 international workshop for renewable energy
University of Stralsund (English)
2000 work as a telephone operator for the
Telegate AG
2001 6 month project work at the Auckland
University of Technology New Zealand
Language:
English, German
Computer skills:
Windows, Office, Auto Cad
Interests:
sport, travelling, outdoor, technique
Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03

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University of Oldenburg / Germany Efficiency test for a biomass cooking stove

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 I

I would like to acknowledge GTZ-ProBEC office Pretoria /

I am very much thankful to Michael Hönes GTZ consultant

Also I would like to thank the regional chimneysweeper

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr.

I am thankful to my PPRE classmates for their continuous

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 II

Magdalena for their love, support and inspirations during

2.1 Stove types and classification 3

2.2 Design principles and features 5

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE STOVES 23

3.1 Tin Can Stove 23

3.2 Vesto Stove 27

4. STANDARD STOVE TEST 30

4.2 Water boiling test 30

4.3 Concepts of efficiency and power 40

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 III

5. TEST RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 45

5.2 Wood consumption and Specific consumption 50

5.3 Average Stove- and Cooking power 53

5.4 Emission measurement 56

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 IV

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 V

Figure 30 Specific consumption comparison charts for a 3.6 liter SA pot 52

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 VI

In many development countries of the world biomass is the predominant energy

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 1

Figure 2 Traditional three stone fire

There have been a number of large-scale programs addressed by several international

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH as a

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 2

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 3

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 4

2.2 Design principles and features

Figure 3 Processes in stove design3

CO + H2O CH2O + O2 (2.0)

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 5

The physico-chemical processes involved in the storage of chemical energy in the

Figure 4 Fire triangle

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 6

Figure 5 Processes and temperatures in a burning piece of wood

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 7

Combustion in Small Enclosures

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 8

One of the strategies adopted in a large number of designs is to improve thermal

Figure 6 Wood combustion5

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 9

Fuel factors: Physical and chemical properties of fuel such as volatile

It is difficult to predict the quantitatively effect of the variables on the overall

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 10

database is inadequate for a quantitative evaluation of the effect of these parameters

Figure 7 Qualitative effects of different factors on thermal and combustion efficiency6

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 11

2.2.2 Heat transfer

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 12

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 13

where cp is the specific heat of the material of the stove.

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 14

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 15

where F is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, which is equal to 5.6697*10-8

where is the emissivity of the material.

Marco Peter, PPRE 2002/03 16