"Improved" Cookstoves Research at Union

Approximately 2.8 billion people in developing countries rely on biomass including wood, charcoal, tree leaves, crop residues and animal dung for cooking. The biomass burning devices used for cooking are known as “cookstoves” or “biomass cookstoves.” The traditional versions of cookstoves are highly inefficient and have high emissions leading to health issues such as cancer, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular ailments. Exposure to the pollution from cookstoves and open wood fires is estimated to lead to over 2 million premature deaths globally every year. Engineers can apply their skills to addressing this problem by designing “Improved Cookstoves.” A CookStove TestBed (CSTB) has been developed and installed in the Integrated Science and Engineering Complex at Union College to facilitate research aimed at improving biomass cookstove design. This work focuses on the design, implementation, and testing of an exhaust airflow velocity sensor which improves the safety and usability of the CSTB. The sensor system monitors the exhaust airflow and informs the researcher whether there is enough airflow in the ducts to properly carry smoke out of the laboratory. An orifice flowmeter installed in the ducts constricts the flow and creates a pressure difference. This pressure difference is then detected by a pressure transducer which communicates it to a programmable Arduino microcomputer. If the flow velocity in the duct exceeds a minimum safe threshold, the Arduino microcomputer lights a green LED. If the LED is on, the researcher is free to test, and when the LED is off, the researcher knows that they must not perform tests involving combustion until the lab exhaust system is properly operating.