COMPONENTS OF A FORCED-AIR GASIFIER:

1. Abstract According to the World Health Organization more than 3 billion people depend on biomass for cooking, which has led to the decimation of many ecosystems, requires an enormous amount of human effort to gather, and creates considerable health problems that continue to plague the world’s poorest populations[1]. These problems are no more apparent than in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. To minimize the harmful effects associated with cooking, a Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) multidisciplinary team in partnership with an Haitian NGO is designing, building, and testing more efficient, cleaner, and socially acceptable cook stoves. The improved stoves will significantly reduce the need for biomass and reduce the alarming rate of deforestation and the time and financial resources spent on fuel in Haiti. Background and Problem Definition More than 75% of energy consumed in Haiti is for cooking with biomass[2]. Haiti which was once covered with a lush forest now stands with less than 4% of forested land . Haiti has a hurricane associated death rate more than 3 times that of any other country in the Caribbean triggered by mudslides and flooding which are directly related to the deforestation problem [3-5]. Over 1.5 million deaths per year worldwide are attributed to poor indoor air quality from the use of traditional fuels, the second largest killer after diarrhea by environmental factors of children in the developing regions of the world [1,7]. Current stove use in Haiti consists of three stove fire or semi-open stoves which results in poor combustion and low efficiencies. Background and Problem Definition Cooking Pot Improved Cook Stoves for Haiti Using Thermoelectrics to Reduce Deforestation and Improve Quality of Life Poster Number M6 Exhaust Secondary Air Inlets Fire Rochester Institute of Technology Salinla Chaijaroonrat, Chris Goulet, Matthew Labrie, Christopher Brol, Aaron Dibble, Ian Donahue, Kevin Molocznik, Neal McKimpson, Young Jo Fontaine, Shawn Hoskins, Dan Scannell, Dan Higgins, and Luke Poandl THERMAL BRIDGE STOVE TEG BATTERY Burning Charcoal BUCK-BOOST CONVERTER AUXILIARY POWER FAN • Purpose, Objective, Scope • The purpose of stove project is to build on recent stove advancements to develop an improved stove for Haiti and other developing nations with the goals of: • reducing fuel use by a factor of two or greater in order to turn the tide on deforestation and diminish the time and limited financial resources spent on fuel; • affordability for traditional Haitian consumers based on a $2/day income; • creating microenterprises for assembling the advanced stoves to generate wealth and develop local expertise for maintaining the stoves in order to improve chances of sustained stove adoption; • implementing a design that is intuitive, transportable and enhances conventional cooking techniques for traditional foods; • providing an electrical power source to operate auxiliary loads such as radio, lighting, charge cell phone batteries, and small UV water treatment technologies; • improving the air quality for women and children, and; • minimizing the negative impact on the local and global environment by incorporating a life cycle analysis in the design process. • Data, Findings, Outputs/Outcomes • WHY GASIFICATION? • The use of a forced-air biomass gasification stove provides for several advantages over other designs which can enhance the quality of life for the end-user: • PEOPLE: • Cleaner combustion can reduce Lower Respiratory Infections (LRI) • Design of stove with outer cylinder increases personal safety by reducing risk of burns • PLANET: • Cleaner combustion improves air quality • Reduces deforestation through improved efficiency and allowing for the use of non-wood and/or waste-wood fuel sources • PROSPERITY: • a) Possibility of job creation and stimulating local economic growth • Discussion • FIRST GENERATION STOVE DEVELOPMENTS: • The development of an improved biomass/charcoal stove is an iterative process to achieve optimal conditions for combustion and thermal efficiency. • An aluminum radiant barrier has been inserted into the combustion unit to reduce heat losses. • An aluminum cylinder serves as a secondary skirt that directs air around the cooking pot to improve heat transfer efficiency to the cooking pot. • MATERIAL RESEARCH/SELECTION: • Stove is manufactured using 18 GA steel. This is a material that is locally available in Haiti in the form of 55 gallon steel drums. It has been determined that this material is strong enough to handle anticipated loads. There is already a recycling process in place in Haiti for these drums for the production of Haitian metal art; this process is easily transferrable to a stove project. • P3 Phase II Project Description • Develop at least two additional generations of improved cook stoves based on feedback from field testing of earlier stove generations and continued needs assessment; • • Conduct extensive field testing and observations of the two generations of cook stove prototypes to both qualitatively and quantitatively measure the potential environmental, economic, and social impacts of adopting the improved stove and to assess the local manufacturing options for further design improvements; • • Develop business plans for the creation of local microenterprises in Haiti and an initiative for broadening the stove project on a national and potentially a regional level; and • • Develop pilot projects in three communities in Northern Haiti. • References: • 1 Rehfuess E. Fuel for Life: Household Energy and Health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2006. • Global Data Monitoring Information System, World Bank, ddp-ext.worldbank.org • Lee, N. C. “Hurricanes, Hanna and Haiti”, Afro – American Red Star. Washington, D.C.: Sep 13-Sep 19, 2008; 117:A11. • Chicago Tribune. “Floods that killed more than 1,000 blamed on deforestation, poverty”, Chicago, Ill.: Sep 23, 2004;12. • Peduzzi, P. “Tropical cyclones: paying a high price for environmental destruction”, Environment & Poverty Times #3. United Nations Environmental Programme, Nairobi, Kenya: Jan 2005; 3. • Betts, K. “How Charcoal Fires Heat the World”, Environmental Science & Technology: May 1, 2003;160-161. • Pruss-Ustun, A. “Preventing Disease through Healthy Environments”, Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2006. • COMPONENTS OF A FORCED-AIR GASIFIER: • Combustion Unit: fuel chamber containing fuel and combustion; outer cylinder allows for air control • Air Induction: stove project has side-mounted forced air induction to better utilize capabilities of the TEG unit • Fan: provides forced air (estimate 1 kg fuel requires 6 m3 air) • THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR: • A thermoelectric generator(TEG), a solid-state device that converts thermal energy to electrical power, will be used to provide power for the stove’ s fan. By creating a sufficient temperature difference across the TEG module, as much as 2.7W of power can be produced. • Temperature difference is created by use of “heat rod” (hot side) and a heat sink (cold side) • The heat sink will act as a duct for airflow from the fan • Batteries will provide initial power because temperature difference is will not be sufficient from a cold start • The electrical system includes buck-boost converters, a battery charge circuit, and a circuit for auxiliary power • Switching circuit is used to prioritize loads between fan, batteries, and auxiliary • TESTS AND PROCEDURES: • The objective for developing a set of test procedures is to evaluate • and characterize the newly developed stove, and to compare it to • existing stoves. The experimental data will benchmark the stove • performance and allow for iterative improvements to the design. • Water Boiling Test (WBT) consists of 3 parts: cold-start test, • hot-start test, simmer test. The WBT results will quantify fuel • burn rate, thermal efficiency and the stove fuel/energy usage. • Controlled Cooking Test (CCT) will verify that the newly • developed stove meets the cooking needs and resembles • common cooking practices in Haiti. • The test facility provides an environment that is conducive to safe • testing of the prototype and other stove models. It provides a • uniform ambient testing environment for all stove subjects and is • capable of capturing accurate CO emissions. Gasifying Charcoal Improve business model Fan Field test business plan Primary Air Inlets 2nd generation stove design, build, and test Community pilot projects in Northern Haiti 3rd generation stove design, build and test Field test 2nd generation stove Field test 1st generation of stove in Borgne Sustainable Innovation Course Develop a regional/global plan to expand use of stove beyond Borgne Develop local business model 2010 2011 2012