[Stoves] Use of Biochar Producing Cookstoves in Rural Kenya: Energy efficiency, air pollution concentrations, and biochar production potential

Tue Sep 10 14:39:20 CDT 2019

Dear Ron, (and Crispin and Tom)

Here is the full project report on the Kenya rural stoves, downloaded from
the site provided by Ron.

Please note that this is not a doctoral (PhD) thesis or even a Masters
thesis. It is a project report for 15 credits. An MSc would typically
require 120 credits, and a PhD 240 credits. So the work is that of a
student in training. *Caveat emptor.*

I have sent this message promptly in response to Ron's request. I have not
yet opened or read the document.

Best regards
Harold

Harold Annegarn
Associate Professor, School of Geo and Spatial Sciences,
North-West University, Potchefstroom
Associate Professor, China Agricultural University, Beijing
Mobile +27 (0)83 628 4210           Office +27
hannegarn at gmail.com <hannegarn at outlook.com>
hannegarn at outlook.com

On Tue, 10 Sep 2019 at 20:40, Ronal Larson <rongretlarson at comcast.net>
wrote:

> Tom and Crispin:
>
> I couldn’t open the link below, but eventually got to the abstract at:
> http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?aq2=%5B%5B%5D%5D&c=3&af=%5B%5D&searchType=SIMPLE&sortOrder2=title_sort_asc&query=Make+It+Green+Solutions+AB&language=en&pid=diva2%3A1349162&aq=%5B%5B%5D%5D&sf=all&aqe=%5B%5D&sortOrder=author_sort_asc&onlyFullText=false&noOfRows=50&dswid=6159
> <http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?aq2=[[]]&c=3&af=[]&searchType=SIMPLE&sortOrder2=title_sort_asc&query=Make+It+Green+Solutions+AB&language=en&pid=diva2:1349162&aq=[[]]&sf=all&aqe=[]&sortOrder=author_sort_asc&onlyFullText=false&noOfRows=50&dswid=6159>
>
> There is a link there to the full thesis, but that also didn’t work and I
> found no work-around.  Anyone been able to get the full thesis?  And send
> me?   I’ve written the KTH library.
>
> The part I like about this thesis is the emphasis on biochar - not only on
> making char.   No way to comment on these two stoves based on only the
> abstract.
>
>
> See inserts.
>
>
>
>
> On Sep 10, 2019, at 11:34 AM, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott <
> crispinpigott at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks Tom
>
> The report says is that the product is not market-ready, basically.  It is
> good that they tested it in the field to find out.
>
> I think it is unnecessary of them to repeat false claims about “people
> died from inhalation of…”. I do not believe for a moment there is any
> research into causes of these claimed 14,300 “deaths”. Habeus corpora, or
> more correctly “Corpora habes?”
>
> If one modeled exposure and concluded it shortens the lives of 100% of
> people in Kenya who inhale smoke, that still doesn’t amount of a single
> death caused by cooking fire smoke. I am sorry this “death by numbers” fad
> has caught on. No one who is serious about air quality believes these
> made-up statistics.
>
> Further, there is no need to promote scares in order to sell good stoves.
> People want good appliances so let’s park of this “deaths caused by” meme.
> Everyone is stressed by cries of alarm and calamity. How many “deaths” are
> modeled as caused by that stress?  Perhaps they should stop trying to
> headline gain advantage and expend the energy on making better products.
>
> *[RWL:  re above three paragraphs -  I disagree.   Health/death issues can
> and should be a major part of our sales pitch.  Plenty now evidence that
> these statistics are well done.*
>
>
> In that regard, complaints about cooking speed or ignition speed or
> cooking power are headline issues for users.  Remember when the Stirling
> engine was going to “save the automobile?  Ford built a Stirling V8 that
> was similar in feel to a regular gasoline engine.  The problem? A 2-minute
> warm-up period to get moving.  No one was willing to wait 2 minutes to be
> on the go. Convenience and economy were not as important as convenience.
>
> *[RWL:   I’ve read several times that TLUDs are preferred because of time
> savings.  This should not be a show-stopper.*
>
> *Ron*
>
>  \\
> They parked the project. We should learn.
>
> Regard
> Crispin
>
> *From:* Stoves <stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org> *On Behalf Of *Tom
> Miles
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 10, 2019 11:42 AM
> *To:* stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org
> *Subject:* [Stoves] Use of Biochar Producing Cookstoves in Rural Kenya:
> Energy efficiency, air pollution concentrations, and biochar production
> potential
>
> Sweden, Kenya: Use of Biochar Producing Cookstoves in Rural Kenya: Energy
> efficiency, air pollution concentrations, and biochar production potential
>
> Household air pollution annually kills around 14 300 people in Kenya, due
> to the hazardous smoke of incomplete combustion coming from inefficient
> stoves. Exposure to this smoke leads to lethal health issues for the women
> and children staying in these kitchens, but the smoke also leads to a
> contribution to global warming. Which makes it important finding a
> replacement for the inefficient traditional cooking methods.
>
> This report presents results from a field work situated in Kibugu, Embu in
> central Kenya. It includes testing of three stoves, the traditional Three
> stone open fire and two biochar producing stoves, the previously tested
> stove Gastov made by KIRDI and the MiG|BioCooker made by Make It Green
> Solutions AB. The data was collected using participatory cooking tests
> where five households got to cook the traditional meal Ugali with Sukuma
> wiki and Githeri (maize and beans). Firewood consumption, emissions of CO
> and PM, user experience and char production were measured during the test,
> to be able to compare the stoves.
>
> The results indicate that the MiG|BioCooker can decrease the emissions of
> PM2.5 and CO in the kitchens and produce biochar. But on the other hand,
> cooking with three stone open fire more effective in terms of cooking time.
> Even though the MiG|BioCooker could improve the conditions of the
> household’s indoor air, the users seems to prioritize the practical
> characteristics of the three stone open fire that gives them more time and
> making it easier to cook. But with some modifications and by further use of
> the MiG|BioCooker, it might be a possible substitute to the three stone
> open fire in the future.
>
> https://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1349162/FULLTEXT01.pdf
> --
> Tom Miles
> Chair, International Biochar initiative
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