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2014 Abstracts

Ideal Combustion Efficiency of a Survival Biomass Cookstove

Cameron Bell, Brigham Young University

Engineering

72-hour emergency kits are often inadequately equipped; they lack means to treat water or cook food, compromising chances of survival in an extended critical situation. Dr. Jones and I aim to develop a foldable, lightweight biomass cookstove to solve this problem.

In a critical situation, contracting an illness such as giardia from unsafe drinking water could be fatal. Resulting diarrhea and dehydration would complicate an already dangerous situation, and boiling is considered the safest way to treat water.

However, butane, propane, and alcohol stoves share several problems for emergency kits. First, they require fuel, which can be heavy and bulky. For evacuees, this presents a difficulty when easy transportation is critical. Second, the limited fuel supply constrains the use of the stove. Third, butane and propane stoves have parts that are liable to break.

Our stove will be light and pack flat for transportation convenience. With no easily breakable parts it will be %100 reliable, and its fuel (small pieces of wood) can be found virtually anywhere. Such an addition would be valuable in any survival kit, providing a reliable way to treat water and cook food at a low cost.

Dr. Jones and I will conduct research in combustion efficiency, waste heat retention, and airflow in order to produce the optimal design for such a stove. By mathematically modeling the mechanics of the stove we will produce several prototypes to test. Using an infrared camera to measure heat output we will qualitatively compare the stoves based on criteria that maximize utility in crisis situations. The emergency stove’s unique size will highlight new aspects of combustion efficiency and airflow. This is of great importance to the academic community in the development of biomass cookstoves that reduce pollution and fuel cost for families in poverty-stricken countries.