Watching the Smoke Rise Up: Thermal Efficiency, Pollutant Emissions and Global Warming Impact of Three Biomass Cookstoves in Ghana

Obeng, George Y.; Mensah, Ebenezer; Ashiagbor, George; Boahen, Owusu; Sweeney, Daniel J.

doi:10.3390/en10050641

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Watching the Smoke Rise Up: Thermal Efficiency, Pollutant Emissions and Global Warming Impact of Three Biomass Cookstoves in Ghana

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Technology Consultancy Centre, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB UPO, Kumasi, Ghana

Barrett, The Honors College, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA

Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB UPO, Kumasi, Ghana

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Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB UPO, Kumasi, Ghana

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Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences, KNUST School of Business, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB UPO, Kumasi, Ghana

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D-Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: S. Kent Hoekman

Energies 2017, 10(5), 641; https://doi.org/10.3390/en10050641

Received: 3 December 2016 / Revised: 28 April 2017 / Accepted: 2 May 2017 / Published: 6 May 2017

(This article belongs to the Collection Bioenergy and Biofuel)

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Abstract

In Ghana, about 73% of households rely on solid fuels for cooking. Over 13,000 annual deaths are attributed to exposure to indoor air pollution from inefficient combustion. In this study, assessment of thermal efficiency, emissions, and total global warming impact of three cookstoves commonly used in Ghana was completed using the International Workshop Agreement (IWA) Water Boiling Test (WBT) protocol. Statistical averages of three replicate tests for each cookstove were computed. Thermal efficiency results were: wood-burning cookstove: 12.2 ± 5.00% (Tier 0); coalpot charcoal stove: 23.3 ± 0.73% (Tier 1–2); and Gyapa charcoal cookstove: 30.00 ± 4.63% (Tier 2–3). The wood-burning cookstove emitted more CO, CO₂, and PM_2.5 than the coalpot charcoal stove and Gyapa charcoal cookstove. The emission factor (EF) for PM_2.5 and the emission rate for the wood-burning cookstove were over four times higher than the coalpot charcoal stove and Gyapa charcoal cookstove. To complete the WBT, the study results showed that, by using the Gyapa charcoal cookstove instead of the wood-burning cookstove, the global warming impact could be potentially reduced by approximately 75% and using the Gyapa charcoal cookstove instead of the coalpot charcoal cookstove by 50%. We conclude that there is the need for awareness, policy, and incentives to enable end-users to switch to, and adopt, Gyapa charcoal cookstoves for increased efficiency and reduced emissions/global warming impact. View Full-Text

Keywords: cookstove; emissions; emission factor; efficiency; global warming impact; Ghana

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MDPI and ACS Style

Obeng, G.Y.; Mensah, E.; Ashiagbor, G.; Boahen, O.; Sweeney, D.J. Watching the Smoke Rise Up: Thermal Efficiency, Pollutant Emissions and Global Warming Impact of Three Biomass Cookstoves in Ghana. Energies 2017, 10, 641. https://doi.org/10.3390/en10050641

AMA Style

Obeng GY, Mensah E, Ashiagbor G, Boahen O, Sweeney DJ. Watching the Smoke Rise Up: Thermal Efficiency, Pollutant Emissions and Global Warming Impact of Three Biomass Cookstoves in Ghana. Energies. 2017; 10(5):641. https://doi.org/10.3390/en10050641

Chicago/Turabian Style

Obeng, George Y., Ebenezer Mensah, George Ashiagbor, Owusu Boahen, and Daniel J. Sweeney. 2017. "Watching the Smoke Rise Up: Thermal Efficiency, Pollutant Emissions and Global Warming Impact of Three Biomass Cookstoves in Ghana" Energies 10, no. 5: 641. https://doi.org/10.3390/en10050641

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Watching the Smoke Rise Up: Thermal Efficiency, Pollutant Emissions and Global Warming Impact of Three Biomass Cookstoves in Ghana

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