Biomass cookstove emissions vary with use

May 30, 2012 – Researchers at the University of Illinois have shown that
while biomass-burning cookstoves are emission tested in labs, most
families in developing countries do not use them in an optimal fashion,
which has big changes on the resulting emissions.

According to an article on PhysOrg, researchers developed a long-term analysis method of looking at emissions that did not take place in a lab, but out in the field. The technique, called Patterns of Real-Time Emissions Data (PaRTED) allowed emission data collected under different operating conditions to be compared.

"In the laboratory, where tests are conducted by trained people, there's
a lot more attention to operating the stove carefully," said study leader Tami Bond. "At home, people
are not as concerned with its operation; they're more concerned with
making a meal. So they operate in ways that are non-optimal."

The results showed that two types of "improved" stoves – those that were insulated and out-fitted with chimneys – did increase efficiency and decrease emissions, but not to a large amount or reduce particularly harmful emissions.

For more information, see the complete article on PhysOrg.