Djousse Kanouo Merlain Boris; Djoukouo Dassi Nadia Hillary;
- UD
- UD
- UD
Introduction: This study focuses on the efficient valorization of biomass thermal energy in order to reduce the environmental impacts related to the alarming consumption of wood for cooking purposes.
Methods: To achieve this goal, a stove design inspired by co-current fixed bed gasification models was made using mathematical theories. At the end of the design, a multifunctional biomass stove was made by welding and riveting the different parts. The evaluation of the device once built was done by comparing it to a traditional wood-burning stove by means of standardized tests.
Results: The performance tests show for the “cooking zone” of the multifunctional biomass stove a maximum thermal efficiency of 28.98%, a power output of 2.1 kW, and a specific biomass consumption of 0.3 g/kg. This indicates a better performance compared to the average thermal efficiency value of the stoves of 17%. These performances are also better compared to the traditional stove tested in parallel, which has average thermal efficiency values of 20.70%, a power of 1kw and 0.64 g/kg specific consumption. Moreover, this stove achieves a wood saving in the ratios of 44.12% compared to the traditional fireplace. This study showed that, the carbon monoxide rate emitted is low and the losses are revalued for the heating of water and the drying of products. Thermal activity of 8 minutes on average brought the water to a temperature of 83°C and to about 38.2°C in a 0.653 m3 dryer, with an initial temperature of 21.5°C.
Conclusion: There is a comparative advantage between the multifunction biomass stove compared to an LPG stove of the same configuration, both in terms of efficiency and operating cost.
Impact of the study: The use of this improved stove can be an important lever to reduce the amount of wood energy used in cooking meals.
Key words: Stove, biomass, heating and drying.
