Biomass cookstoves are a significant source of various pollutants, such as CO2, CO, and particulate matter (PM). To mitigate the issues surrounding cookstoves, significant research has been undertaken on improved cookstoves (ICS). This research can be performed in a laboratory setting, in the field, or a combination of both. This work concentrates on the purely laboratory testing. Laboratory testing has both advantages and disadvantages when compared to field testing (e.g. decreased cost and increased consistency). However, field applications are variable, environments can be significantly different (for example wind and ambient temperature can be very different in the field vs. a controlled lab environment) and the personal preferences of the users of the cookstove can also be difficult to predict when only using laboratory testing. It is typically preferable to narrow down the possible cookstove choices by using laboratory results before heading to the field. This work concentrated on assessing the limitations of laboratory testing of cookstoves as presently constituted, as well as finding new ways to improve and expand upon the testing methodologies. Sources of error during testing was considered, leading to recommendations on how to adjust testing to decrease that error. Of note, it was found that higher thermal efficiencies led to increased propagated errors, which complicates the comparison of this efficiency among cookstoves. Additionally, a method for estimating the transient thermal efficiency was developed. Further, the effects of changing some of the key testing parameters were explored and the results showed that the overall thermal efficiency was minimally affected by parameter variations within the WBT or ISO 19867-1 guidelines. Finally, two methods were explored and compared for finding kinetic parameters associated with transforming food from the uncooked state to the cooked state. It was found that physical testing was more effective for samples that started in a harder physical state, whereas DSC testing was more effective with samples that had lower water content. This analysis was done with the intention of using transformation kinetics in future applications of cookstove models so that researchers could gain additional insights into which stoves may be best for their target market.

This report is a study on the smoldering combustion of natural sawdust from untreated woods. The objective was to develop and test an experimental technique to study the fundamental behavior of sawdust smolder. The experimental setup was an annulus cookstove packed with sawdust between the inner and outer radii creating a central hollow core. The sawdust was ignited by a heating coil wrapped around the inner radius. Thermocouples were embedded in the sawdust bed fanning out in the radial direction, and temperature was recorded throughout the smolder process. Consistent with the literature, the experimental results indicate that wood smolder consists of three pathways, 1) sawdust to char, 2) sawdust to volatiles, and 3) char to ash. Pathways 1 and 3 can be clearly characterized by the temperature profile of the smolder; however, pathway 2 often involves flaming of the sawdust and is beyond the scope of this study. Pathway 1, sawdust to char, is an endothermic reaction that results in a clearly defined char front that propagates across the sawdust bed in the radial direction. As smolder proceeds, the char continues to oxidize and breaks down into non-volatile products such as water vapor and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in further exothermic reactions. Pathway 2, char to ash, is an exothermic reaction that can lead to glowing combustion when exposed to sufficient amounts of oxygen and results in spikes in temperature. In contrast to the clearly defined char front, the ashing zone traces cracks in the sawdust where air can penetrate through, and has no discernible front. Section 1 discusses the motivation behind the study of sawdust cookstoves in third world countries, in particular Ghana, to replace wood with sawdust as a cheap alternative for household fuel. Section 2 details the experimental setup of the cookstove rig and the methodology of the experiments conducted. Section 3 reports the results of the experiments and analyzes the temperature profiles in relation to the three types of chemical reactions as noted above. Section 4 concludes with a summary of the results and discusses efforts in measuring emissions from the smolder and future work to be done. / text

<p>Traditional cooking using biomass is associated with adverse health consequences, local environmental degradation, and regional climate change. Improved stoves (ICS; liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biogas, electric, efficient biomass) are heralded as a solution, but their adoption and use remains low. In the first chapter, I report on a series of pilot programs that utilized the marketing mix principles of promotion, product, price and place to increase stove sales in rural Inia. We found that when given a choice amongst products, households strongly preferred an electric stove over improved biomass-burning options. Households clearly identified price as a significant barrier to adoption, while provision of discounts (e.g., rebates given if households used the stove) or payments in installments were related to higher purchase. Collectively, these pilots point to the importance of continued and extensive testing of messages, pricing models, and responses to different stove types prior to scale-up. Thus, a one-size-fits-all approach will be unlikely to boost ICS adoption. </p><p>In the second and third chapters, I analyze the impact of mainly improved stove use on social, environmental, and health outcomes in rural India- first in a sample of biogas stove users in Odisha, India, and next with households in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. In both settings, ICS use was associated with reduced use of firewood, substantial time savings for primary cooks, and significant reduction in exposure to particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in household air. I find that ICS users in Odisha spend reduced time in the hospital with acute respiratory infection and reduced diastolic blood pressure, but no relationship with other health measurements. </p><p>In the third chapter, I also find significant reduction in exposure to personal air pollution. Using temperature sensors as objective stove use monitors for all stoves and heaters we find that households underreport use of improved and traditional stoves. </p><p>These papers provide encouraging evidence of potential for adoption of clean stove and a suite of benefits from clean stove use; however, in order to achieve recommended levels of air pollution additional policies may be needed.</p> / Dissertation

Le marché volontaire du carbone est un mécanisme de marché de compensation d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre pour les entreprises et les particuliers non assujettis à un quota de réduction d’émissions. Jusqu'à présent, il n’a fait l’objet que de peu de recherches académiques. Ce travail s’intéresse à la gouvernance de la chaîne d’acteurs impliqués dans ce marché. Il utilise une approche pluridisciplinaire centrée sur les relations internationales, la science politique appliquée à la compensation et aux standards volontaires environnementaux et s’appuie sur une analyse anthropologique des projets de développement. Il s’agit de répondre à la question: comment les projets de compensation volontaire du carbone sont-ils gouvernés ? L’étude de cas d’un programme de diffusion de foyers améliorés au Pérou se focalise d’abord sur le contexte social et culturel de la cuisson dans les Andes avant d’étudier quatre projets avant financement carbone. Ensuite, le standard utilisé pour certifier ce projet, ainsi que le détaillant des crédits carbone générés par le projet et trois de ses entreprises clientes sont présentés. On peut alors aborder la création, la gestion et les premiers résultats du programme au travers d’une ethnographie de l’entreprise sociale qui en est à l’origine pour comprendre finalement l’influence du projet dans le secteur péruvien. Cette recherche montre un système de gouvernance multi-niveaux et pluri-acteurs majoritairement privée qui agit en grande partie en parallèle de l'État. Ce mode de gouvernance caractérisé par une succession de standards qui tentent de faire coller la réalité à un modèle est appelé standardisme. / The voluntary carbon offset market is a market mechanism for offsetting greenhouse gases emissions for organizations and individuals that are not legally committed to reductions. Until now it has not been studied much in academic circles. This dissertation looks at the governance of the chain of actors involved in the mechanism. A pluri-disciplinary approach is used based on international relations, political science of offsets and standards combined with an anthropological analysis of development projects. The central question is thus: how are carbon-offset programs governed? The empirical work is a case study of a new stove (improved cookstoves) diffusion program in Peru under the Gold Standard. The first focus is on the social and cultural context of cooking in the Andes. Then four projects before carbon funding are studied. The standard is the subject of the following section and the retailer of the credits generated by the programme and three different types of clients are then presented. We can then discuss the creation, design and management of the standard through an ethnography of the social business that implements. Finally, the influence of the projects on the sector can be discussed. The chain studied presents a governance system that is multi-level and multi-actors, with mainly private actors that act parallel to the state. This type of governance is characterized by a series of standards that define the model the reality should resemble to and is called standardism.

The aim of the project was to investigate the possibility of producing and utilizing bioenergy from available local resources in the village Linga Linga, Mozambique. Suitable conversion techniques for producing and utilizing bioenergy were identified through a literature study. The investigated techniques were the concept of gasifier cookstoves, the method of producing charcoal from biomass and anaerobic digesters. Through observations and interviews in the village, available local resources suited for the conversion techniques were identified. In the field study, it was found that there is a surplus of solid biomass which led to the conclusion that a gasifier cookstove is suitable to implement. In order to analyze if a gasifier cookstove is suitable for the households, interviews were carried out in ten households in the village. Aprototype of a gasifier cookstove was built with local resources to determine if the technique can be applied. The prototype was tested and evaluated in order to analyze if it will contributeto a more efficient use of resources. One of the conclusions of the study was that a gasifier cookstove can be valuable for the households in several ways, but that cultural differences can make it hard to implement.

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