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Portable Wood / Biomass Stoves From Indian Institute of Science
(IPOBIS = Indian Institute of Science Portable Biomass Stoves)

Abstract

A number of portable wood and biomass stoves have been designed, built and tested at Indian Institute of Science over the last decade. The fuels considered are firewood/tiny sticks/sawdust/other fine and pulverisable agro-residues like coir pith, bagasse, leafy residues and even dried urban waste in a well-defined manner. The aim of the design is to provide a combustion behavior close to what is obtainable in gas stoves, with the use of a blower of 1-50 W capacity for stoves delivering 3-50 kWth capacity. i.e., about 1 to 12 kg/hr of fuel consumption.

The aim of the design is to burn the solid residue with a facility to have some control on power, reduce emissions, maximize the efficiency of heat transfer into the vessel, minimum tending and low first cost. While it would be impossible to achieve all these features in a single design, particularly at low power levels, also including the ability of the stove to perform with loss of electricity. it is possible to generate designs that meet one or more of the objectives more significantly than others.

The document presents the designs of various stoves and methods of operation of each of them to get the best out of the design. It also provides drawings for fabrication and typical operational presentation of the system.

Introduction

Many households in cities have LPG ( Liquid Petroleum Gas) stoves. Normally these are provided with two burners of 1 and 3 kWth maximum capacity respectively, with operating efficiencies of about 65%. The wick-type kerosene stoves and the pressure-fed stoves are also of 1 - 3 kWth capacity with operating efficiencies of 60-65 %.
A variety of wood stoves of single, two and three pans have been conceived, designed, built and tested both in India and abroad. The best efficiency of commercially available single pan stoves that are available in India has been about 30 % (Mukunda et al 1988). Most of the single pan stoves designed so far use to a large extent the diffusive flame between air and fuel for combustion and to transfer heat directly to the vessel.