The energy performance
and emissions (carbon monoxide and total
suspended particulate matter) of a biomass gasification-based cookstove
under a modified water boiling test (WBT 4.2.3 protocol) were characterized
here. The controllable process parameters analyzed were the biomass
bulk density (pelletsWP and chipsWCH) and the combustion-air/gasification-air
ratio (2.8, 3.0, and 3.2). Moreover, a design parameter of the cookstove
was analyzed through two combustion chamber designs (combustion chambers
1 and 2). The cookstove was characterized in detail considering the
complete cookstove (control volume 1), the combustion chamber (control
volume 2), and the gasification process (control volume 3). The cookstove
reached an average efficiency of 25.2% for pellets and 24.1% for chips.
The best behavior for the cookstove was achieved when pellets were
used, which is attributed to their higher bulk density and to the
fact that during their gasification process, the biochar yield was
12% higher, while the biomass consumption decreased by 16% compared
to the chips. The carbon monoxide specific emissions were 2.78 g/MJd for pellets and 2.75 g/MJd for chips. On average,
the cookstove released total suspended particulate matter between
74.11 and 122.70 mg/MJd. The cookstove low emissions are
ascribed to the proper combustion air flow and the combustion chamber
design, which favored the mixing between producer gas and combustion
air.
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