Pollutant emissions and energy efficiency under controlled conditions for household biomass cookstoves and implications for metrics useful in setting international test standards.

Realistic metrics and methods for testing household biomass cookstoves are required to develop standards needed by international policy makers, donors, and investors. Application of consistent test practices allows emissions and energy efficiency performance to be benchmarked and enables meaningful comparisons among traditional and advanced stove types. In this study, 22 cookstoves burning six fuel types (wood, charcoal, pellets, corn cobs, rice hulls, and plant oil) at two fuel moisture levels were examined under laboratory-controlled operating conditions as outlined in the Water Boiling Test (WBT) protocol, Version 4. Pollutant emissions (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, total hydrocarbons, and ultrafine particles) were continuously monitored. Fine particle mass was measured gravimetrically for each WBT phase. Additional measurements included cookstove power, energy efficiency, and fuel use. Emission factors are given on the basis of fuel energy, cooking energy, fuel mass, time, and cooking task or activity. The lowest PM(2.5) emissions were 74 mg MJ(delivered)(-1) from a technologically advanced cookstove compared with 700-1400 mg MJ(delivered)(-1) from the base-case open 3-stone cookfire. The highest thermal efficiency was 53% compared with 14-15% for the 3-stone cookfire. Based on these laboratory-controlled test results and observations, recommendations for developing potentially useful metrics for setting international standards are suggested.

[1]  Pratim Biswas,et al.  Evaluation of mass and surface area concentration of particle emissions and development of emissions indices for cookstoves in rural India. , 2011, Environmental science & technology.

[2]  Armistead G Russell,et al.  Emission of oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from indoor solid fuel combustion. , 2011, Environmental science & technology.

[3]  Bryan Willson,et al.  Influence of testing parameters on biomass stove performance and development of an improved testing protocol , 2012 .

[4]  Ken R. Smith,et al.  Emissions of Carbonyl Compounds from Various Cookstoves in China , 1999 .

[5]  Rufus Edwards,et al.  New approaches to performance testing of improved cookstoves. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[6]  Ken R. Smith.  Health, energy, and greenhouse-gas impacts of biomass combustion in household stoves , 1994 .

[7]  J. Jetter,et al.  Solid-fuel household cook stoves: characterization of performance and emissions. , 2009 .

[8]  John Zhang,et al.  Carbon monoxide from cookstoves in developing countries: 1. Emission factors , 1999 .

[9]  P. Abdul Salam,et al.  Emission factors of wood and charcoal-fired cookstoves , 2002 .

[10]  Nordica MacCarty,et al.  Fuel use and emissions performance of fifty cooking stoves in the laboratory and related benchmarks of performance , 2010 .

[11]  H. H. Jawurek,et al.  Comparison of five rural, wood-burning cooking devices: efficiencies and emissions. , 1996 .

[12]  Xiaoke Wang,et al.  Emission of particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from select cookstove¿fuel systems in Asia , 2005 .

[13]  J. Geddes,et al.  What is a randomised controlled trial? , 2009, Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale.

[14]  Alan Hubbard,et al.  Effect of reduction in household air pollution on childhood pneumonia in Guatemala (RESPIRE): a randomised controlled trial , 2011, The Lancet.

[15]  Nordica MacCarty,et al.  Laboratory study of the effects of moisture content on heat transfer and combustion efficiency of three biomass cook stoves , 2008 .

[16]  Tami C. Bond,et al.  Laboratory and field investigations of particulate and carbon monoxide emissions from traditional and improved cookstoves , 2009 .

[17]  Sumeet Saksena,et al.  Emission factors and thermal efficiencies of cooking biofuels from five countries , 1998 .

[18]  Ken R. Smith,et al.  Emissions and efficiency of improved woodburning cookstoves in Highland Gatemala , 1998 .

[19]  Tami C. Bond,et al.  A laboratory comparison of the global warming impact of five major types of biomass cooking stoves , 2008 .

[20]  Chandra Venkataraman,et al.  Size distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aerosol emissions from biofuel combustion , 2002 .

[21]  Yongliang Ma,et al.  Greenhouse Gases and other Airborne Pollutants from Household Stoves in China: a Database for Emission Factors , 2000 .

[22]  Imad A. Khalek,et al.  Nanoparticle growth during dilution and cooling of diesel exhaust: Experimental investigation and theoretical assessment , 2000 .

[23]  Ken R. Smith.  What's Cooking? A Brief Update , 2010 .

[24]  Nghiem Trung Dung,et al.  Emission of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Particulate Matter from Domestic Combustion of Selected Fuels , 1999 .

[25]  Guoying Sheng,et al.  Emission characterization of particulate/gaseous phases and size association for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from residential coal combustion , 2004 .

[26]  Karabi Dutta,et al.  Cooking with Gas , 2011 .

[27]  Rufus Edwards,et al.  In-field greenhouse gas emissions from cookstoves in rural Mexican households , 2008 .

[28]  Glen R. Cass,et al.  A Dilution Stack Sampler for Collection of Organic Aerosol Emissions: Design, Characterization and Field Tests , 1989 .

[29]  Armistead G Russell,et al.  Emission factors of particulate matter and elemental carbon for crop residues and coals burned in typical household stoves in China. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[30]  Wei Li,et al.  Emissions of PAHs from indoor crop residue burning in a typical rural stove: emission factors, size distributions, and gas-particle partitioning. , 2011, Environmental science & technology.

[31]  Michael D Hays,et al.  Speciation of gas-phase and fine particle emissions from burning of foliar fuels. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[32]  C. Venkataraman,et al.  Emission factors of carbon monoxide and size-resolved aerosols from biofuel combustion. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[33]  Tami C Bond,et al.  Emission factors and real-time optical properties of particles emitted from traditional wood burning cookstoves. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.

[34]  R A Rasmussen,et al.  Characterization of non-methane hydrocarbons emitted from various cookstoves used in China. , 2003, Environmental science & technology.

[35]  J. Volckens,et al.  Proinflammatory effects of cookstove emissions on human bronchial epithelial cells. , 2013, Indoor air.

[36]  Yanli Feng,et al.  Emission factors for carbonaceous particles and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from residential coal combustion in China. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[37]  R. A. Rasmussen,et al.  Greenhouse gases from biomass and fossil fuel stoves in developing countries: A Manila pilot study , 1993 .

[38]  Ventura River Reaches.  Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency , 2012 .

[39]  L. H. Nghiem,et al.  Emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, toxicity, and mutagenicity from domestic cooking using sawdust briquettes, wood, and kerosene. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[40]  Ken R. Smith,et al.  Performance testing for monitoring improved biomass stove interventions: experiences of the Household Energy and Health Project , 2007 .

[41]  A. Valavanidis,et al.  Airborne Particulate Matter and Human Health: Toxicological Assessment and Importance of Size and Composition of Particles for Oxidative Damage and Carcinogenic Mechanisms , 2008, Journal of environmental science and health. Part C, Environmental carcinogenesis & ecotoxicology reviews.