Mitigation of greenhouse gases by adoption of improved biomass cookstoves

Greenhouse gases especially CO2 can be reduced with the help of improved biomass cookstoves. This paper deals with the design and development of biomass stoves (single pot and double pot) with better efficiency for meeting household cooking energy requirement. Thermal performance, flue gas emission of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) have been investigated. It was seen from the result that the flue gas emission is within permissible limit as recommended by World Health Organization. The design of improved biomass stove sent to Palampur (32 degrees 10'N, 76 degrees 30'E) center situated in Himalaya in hilly terrain of India, where the acceptability of double pot stoves (85%) is quite high compared to single pot stoves (30%). Thermal efficiencies of both single and double pot stove were recorded about 21% and 25% respectively. An improved biomass cookstove can save about 161 kg of CO2 annually. Improved cookstoves was found eco-friendly in nature and suitable for the cooking requirement of hilly areas.