[Stoves] fate of emissions over time

[Bodie Cabiyo]

Hi Huck,

A quick answer below, but first, for the sake of not filling up everyone’s
email boxes, I wanted to say I’m really grateful to this listserv – I have
learned so much about cookstove design from everyone here. To top that off,
I recently got some amazing feedback on my current TLUD project that
jumpstarted my progress. I’m working on making the suggested modifications
now. Thank you all!



There’s actually a pretty sizable body of research looking at that question
– it’s an important one. I haven’t done much research on CO or methane, but
I know that PM 2.5 has significant impacts on atmospheric and climatic
processes. PM is mostly organic carbon and black carbon (soot), and the
latter is considered the second strongest climate change driver after CO2.
Black carbon comprises roughly 30% of PM 2.5, though estimates vary.

It’s estimated that about 80% of the PM 2.5 that produced from cooking
makes it into the atmosphere and, though it has a lifespan on the order of
days or weeks, it has big impacts on the climate. In places in India and
China large “brown clouds” (creative name, right?) reside in the
troposphere:  they’re vertically distributed but geographically-confined to
near the source.

The climate science here gets a little complex, and I’m not sure I can
adequately describe it in an email. Interestingly, there’s a cooling effect
and a warming effect both. The cooling effect is a result of incoming solar
radiation reflected by the brown clouds, while the warming effect is due to
solar radiation absorbed by the black carbon, typically on snow. The latter
effect is actually estimated to account for about a quarter of observed
global warming. Additional to that, there’s speculated global effects that
have to do with complex atmospheric cycles and cells, for example brown
cloud cooling in China could actually result in warming in Canada. Go
figure.

Naturally, traditional cookstoves are a big player in PM contributions and,
by extension, in climate change, especially in areas that are adjacent to
melting ice (i.e. the Himalayan glaciers). Dr. V. Ramanathan recently
started a project in North India (Project Surya) which is working to
translate black carbon and other non-CO2 emissions reductions into carbon
credits for improved stove users. It seems like it makes the whole venture
a lot more economically feasible. Supposedly addressing black carbon
emissions is one of the most immediate and effective actions for combating
climate change because it is such a strong driver and has such a short
lifespan in the atmosphere.

Anyways, that’s a super short, cursory answer to your question. If you want
to learn more check out the Wiki articles for Black Carbon and Asian Brown
Clouds. If you want some literature, I can forward a few citations, too.


Best,

Bodie

-- 

*Bodie Cabiyo*

Professional: carbonalternatives.org
Personal: concentricchange.wordpress.com

*Food for Thought:*
*"A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of
tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little
details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the consequences whether good
or bad of even the least of them are far-reaching."*
- Sri Swami Sivananda

On Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 11:32 PM, Huck Rorick <huckrorick at groundwork.org>
wrote:

> Can anyone tell me briefly or direct me to more information on what happens
> with emissions other than CO2 over time?  E.g. CO, methane, PM2.5?  People
> can breathe these in directly from the fire or indoor space.  Once they
> enter the atmosphere what happens?  Do they go into the upper atmosphere,
> evenly distributed, stay low?  Does PM2.5 precipitate?  I understand that
> methane doesn't last so long as CO2.  What happens with CO?  I would be
> grateful for a brief overview.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Huck
>
>
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