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ETHOS 2018 Conference Archive

January 26th-28th, 2018

Plenary Sessions 

Stoves 101: Biomass Fuels & Stoves for Beginners

Christa Roth

Cookstoves 101 (aka Welcome to the Sector!) session

ETHOS Board

Stoves 101: Biomass Fuels & Stoves for Beginners

Dale Andreatta

Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves R&D with MIT D-Lab

Penumetcha

Choosing the Right Stove: Successes and Failures in Humanitarian FES Interventions

Daniel Wolf, International Lifeline Fund

Presentations

Adoption Studies/ User Practices

Measuring Long-term Adoption of Improved Biomass Cookstoves in Households in Rural India

Samantha Hing, LBNL / UC Berkeley
Providing accurate and reliable data on cookstove usage is necessary for cookstove engineers, sponsors, and health scientists to better understand the effectiveness of their cookstove designs and improve their approach for increasing cookstove adoption. However, survey data alone inaccurately represent actual usage and long-term cookstove usage data is not readily available for understanding barriers to achieving widespread adoption. In this presentation, I will discuss Berkeley Lab�s upcoming three-year plan that will begin in 2018, on measuring with sensors the long-term adoption of an improved biomass cookstove (developed by LBNL and Potential Energy) in households near a protected forest in Maharashtra, India. The improved cookstove significantly reduces wood-fuel usage (~50%) and smoke exposure compared to traditional cookstoves. Thus, there is the potential to significantly reduce stress on local forests and burden on the women and children, who are the primary cooks and collectors of wood-fuel.

Cookstove use patterns in China, Honduras, India, and Uganda, and their potential for connecting with impacts

Ricardo Piedrahita, Berkeley Air Monitoring Group
Stove usage monitoring was conducted in rural communities in four countries (China, India, Honduras, Uganda) for varying durations. We will present the methods used to identify cooking events and durations, and the usage patterns and trends identified at each location. Additionally, uncontrolled cooking testing was performed in India, measuring PM2.5 and CO emissions as well as in the kitchen. These data were then used in a Monte Carlo simulation of a single zone box model to provide 24hr estimates of kitchen-level concentrations of the pollutants. This approach can provide insights into expected personal exposures and into the effects various interventions may have on household air pollution.
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The Effect of Horizontal Feed Tunnel Length on Stick-Fed Rocket Stove Operation

Lyne Turek-Hankins, Burn Design Lab
Although health and performance impacts are often the driving goals leading clean cookstove design, these factors are often not prioritized by buyers. Many studies have shown that buyers value the usability of the stove as highly if not more so than the �traditional� metrics. An unfortunate truth of the traditional open fire is that it tends to require less user input than the improved cookstove. In an attempt to address this reality Burn Design Lab began to explore how the implementation of fuel feed tunnels of various lengths on a modern SFR rocket stove could affect the performance of the stove and its required user input. The research was broken up by exploring the impact of the tunnel on the feeding habits of two types of users: the user who continuously feeds the stove and the user who would feed the fire and then leave it unattended for periods of time. To address the first user we observed how varying tunnel length impacted performance if feed rate was held constant. To address the second user we observed how varying tunnel length affected the time in which a user could leave the stove alone before the fire went out.


Adoption/Sensors

Using data to assess and improve adoption of stoves

Martin Lukac, Nexleaf Analytics
We would like to present the latest data from the field on stove adoption, suggested ways to monitor and assess adoption in clean cooking interventions, and discuss how data-driven iteration can drive clean cooking interventions toward success. If this topic is of interest, we look forward to working with the conference organizers to develop the abstract and better target the presentation.
View Presentation

Low power sensor for direct measurement of cookstove and solid fuel use: field trial testing

Jen Ventrella, Oregon State University
Monitoring is essential to understand in-field performance and adoption of improved cookstove designs. Existing monitoring solutions measure cookstove temperature, which is used to indicate usage patterns and is then correlated to fuel use and introduces uncertainty into the measurement. This study investigates the in-field feasibility and technical performance of a novel sensor that directly measures fuel and cookstove usage patterns via a logging load cell and temperature sensor. These data can then be correlated to improved cookstove uptake, emissions, tons of carbon credits generated, and average Averted Disability Adjusted Life Years (ADALYs). A pilot study of 100 sensors was conducted in northern Uganda with non-government organization International Lifeline Fund to test the usability and technical performance of the sensor system. A mixed methods approach was used, and ethnographic focus group and survey data was integrated with quantitative sensor data to determine usability and consistency of use. It was determined that the majority of users found the system usable and consistently engaged with the fuel holder, and that fuel consumption in households was successfully logged over an average of 25 days. Further research is needed to assess the context-specific applicability and efficacy of this tool, and to compare it with current monitoring methods.
View Presentation

No more iButtons: using Geocene to easily monitor 1 or 1000 cookstoves

Danny Wilson, Geocene
Last year Geocene was just a concept, but now modern low-power electronics, mobile applications, machine learning, and web-based dashboards for monitoring cookstove adoption has become a reality. In this talk, we will discuss how Geocene's platform can be used to simply and affordably monitor large fleets of cookstoves. You will learn about how to deploy sensors, collect data, and analyze that data into actionable insights. We will review the design of new high-temperature Geocene Dots (measure >900C for years without running out of battery or memory), in-field data review using Geocene's Android mobile app, and the best-practices for tracking fleets of thousands of cookstoves generating billions of data points over multi-year studies. Demo to include real sensors, Android mobile app, dashboard, and fire!
View Presentation

Lab and Field Validation of stove usage (EXACT) and PM exposure (HAPEx) sensors

Olivier Lefebvre, Climate Solutions Consulting
Impact assessment studies are essential to better allocate our resource to the solutions that really work and bring the most impact to the users. However, their cost remains high and prevents many stakeholders from carrying such studies. Over the past few years, Climate Solutions Consulting has developed new tools to lower measurement and data analysis costs. We will present results from different studies showing the performance of the HAPEx and EXACT sensor in the lab and in the field against other established measurement methods and instruments. We also present the features of our new offline data analysis tool, which empower anyone to easily process the data from hundreds of households and to quickly get actionable information about the stove intervention monitored.
View Presentation


Adoption/ Usability

Understanding and Measuring Cookstove Usability

Nick Moses, OSU/InStove
The usability of improved cookstoves is often overlooked by engineers and implementers in favor of more familiar and easier to measure criteria, such as technical performance and emissions metrics. This results in limited uptake, since improved stove designs may not fully meet a cook�s own criteria for effective, efficient performance as well as traditional cooking methods. This presentation will discuss the value and history of usability in cookstove design and program planning, as well as the development and field trial of a proposed usability testing protocol. Drawing from both industry-standard usability practices and social science research methods, this protocol is designed to enable informed decision-making to balance usability with technical and other goals, therefore improving adoption and impact.

Use of behavior surveys to evaluate user decisions regarding cookstove adoption in Honduras and Uganda

Mohammad Pakravan, Oregon State University
Understanding user behavior plays an important role in technology diffusion projects. Depending on the context and type of technology, designers and implementers utilize different approaches to determine expected user behavior. However, such approaches are typically applied in data-rich developed world contexts that are not subject to the multitude of challenges in low resource communities. To better understand and predict user adoption behavior in developing countries, this study modifies the Theory of Planned Behavior, a robust behavior evaluation methodology typically applied in health and environmental behavior evaluations. In this NSF-sponsored research implemented with StoveTeam International and International Lifeline Fund, the developed framework has been implemented in two field studies in rural villages in Honduras and Uganda to evaluate the decision-making behavior of households related to adopting an improved cookstove. A series of specially designed survey questions was used to quantify individual attitudes, social pressures, and control beliefs before and after the cookstove intervention in the study villages. Results suggest that social ties in Honduras are not as significant as Uganda, while personal attitudes toward adoption in both Uganda and Honduras are the main determinant of the stove adoption. Use of the results will enable project managers to focus on the most important attributes in the subject community to improve technology adoption efforts.

Building Better Research Partnerships

Alison Filler, International Lifeline Fund
Translating research theories into studies on the ground that are properly planned, well executed, and yield valuable data is no simple feat. Following a successful research partnership in Northern Uganda, Oregon State University and International Lifeline Fund will discuss the best practices and lessons learned that enabled an in-depth look at the decision-making behavior of households regarding the adoption of cooking technologies. This presentation will discuss key tactics employed by OSU and ILF throughout three phases of the research program: 1) planning, 2) implementation, and 3) review and communication. Specific applications of these tactics will be reviewed through three research case studies: Nick Moses� usability assessment for cookstove technologies to inform design protocol; Jen Ventrella�s sensor-based monitoring to analyze patters of stove adoption, usage, and fuel consumption; and Mohammad Pakravan�s survey study on user intentions, influences, and decision processes in technology adoption.

Tending Practices and Thermal Efficiency for Biomass Cookstoves

Erin Peiffer, University of Dayton
This session presents data suggesting an inverse relationship between firepower and thermal efficiency as observed using the Water Boiling Test. This trend was consistent across three different cookstoves including a rocket stove, J-stove, and three stone fire pit. The lack of distinction among cookstoves suggests that these stoves are limited by their combustion regimes making differences in stove geometry less important for overall thermal efficiency. Transcending current flame regimes to more turbulent states through innovative stove design may allow for increased combustion and thermal efficiencies overall. Additionally, an increased understanding of the relationship between firepower and thermal efficiency could lead to improved cookstove design that limits fuel consumption rates and better tending practices to maximize heat transfer while minimizing the amount of fuel needed.


Design/Modeling

Looking beyond ideas and values: turning GEC initial model into ready-to-use stove

Mandukhai Altankhuyag, Anton Bernatskyi, Channika Keo, Shivam Bhardwaj, Anshu Shrestha, City University of Seattle
Green Energy Center (GEC) is one of the brands launched by Enactus City University of Seattle, whose goal is to provide innovative solutions through sustainable and social entrepreneurial actions which provide value by improving the lives and well-being of those in local and international communities. Enactus City University of Seattle consists of students from 20 different countries and 5 continents. When we compete to improve lives, we all win. Enactus projects aren�t hypothetical or classroom projects, but rather opportunities for students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real people to achieve real results. Green Energy Center is to solve health and environmental problems caused by open fire cooking method while supporting and empowering women and children in undeveloped communities. Green Energy Center was launched as a sustainable product, combining two features: smokeless stove and electricity generation. In March 2016 two members from the Enactus team concept tested GEC in a little village called Mouilla in Gabon, Africa. The results were amazing for our pilot member, Florence. She gave testimony that her eye problems are gone and she can now read and she makes at least $30 a month from charging her neighbors� phones.
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Cook-STePS: a tool to expand lab tests information by means of thermodynamic simulations

Francesco Lombardi, Politecnico di Milano
The Cooking Stoves Thermal Performance Simulator (Cook-STePS) is a freeware tool developed by Politecnico di Milano in an Excel/VBA environment and based on a heat and mass transfer model. The tool allows to expand the information obtained from lab tests by simulating how those performances would change under different boundary conditions (e.g. different environment, pot, test sequence, etc.). What is more, the use of random functions on selected parameters allows to take into account the uncertainty associated with some conditions (e.g. ambient conditions, firepower trend) and to provide a range of performances rather than a single value in fixed conditions. In addition, Cook-STePS allows the user to simulate the performance of a selected stove under different standard protocols (WBT, EPTP, etc.) thus helping the comparison and harmonisation of results based on different protocols.


Design/ Specific Models

Practical Stoves-Two Possible Designs

Dale Andreatta, SEA, Ltd.
This presentation begins with a discussion of the need for practical stoves, stoves which users will like better than open fires. Two designs are then presented, the down-feed rocket stove and the Versatile Stove. The down-feed rocket stove is similar to other rocket stoves but has a downward sloping fuel tunnel that provides several advantages. The Versatile Stove has a very large combustion chamber and fuel opening, that can burn a wide variety of wood including very large pieces. Both stoves have conical pot supports which can firmly support round or flat-bottom pots of any size within a large range. Both stoves are easy to light and the user can see the fire easily from several angles. Both stoves, but especially the down-feed rocket, can burn wet wood. Both stoves can boil 5 liters in under 20 minutes. Depending on the size of the wood, both stoves can operate for many minutes without tending the fire. The down-feed rocket has simmered a pot with a lid for 62 minutes without attention. The Versatile Stove has completed a water boiling test on a pot without a lid with the fire tended only twice.

The Path to a Better Plancha Stove

Joe Gilmour, Burn Design Lab
Burn Design Lab (BDL) has spent the last year and a half working with an organization in Guatemala to improve plancha stove technology for rural households. The Hands for Peacemaking Foundation in Barillas, Guatemala builds and distributes �traditional� plancha stoves to rural villages in the area. In 2016 a formal partnership was formed with the intent to research and develop an improved plancha stove that would take the place of the stove that is currently being built. From characterizing the issues with the initial design to designing and performance testing prototypes, the path to a better stove has been long and full of learning. Typical stove development techniques are challenged by the size and scope of the plancha stove. Understanding the needs of the users has been a key factor in determining how to improve the stove. Field surveys have provided valuable insights into cooking techniques and stove use statistics in Guatemalan villages. BDL will present an overview of the project to date, focusing on initial weaknesses of the stove, iterative design and testing, and the application of field survey results.

Taming the Beast: Characterization of Plancha Stove Performance in Rural Guatemala

Devin Udesen, University of Washington
Plancha-type cookstoves are the giants of the cookstove realm; the majority being upwards of 100lbs or more and often constructed of ceramic bricks or cement with large steel cooktops. Plancha stoves can reach firepower ranges of greater than 16 kW and satisfy a wide range of household cooking and heating tasks. These characteristics make Plancha-type stoves quite unique in the cookstove world, which begs the question is the current standardized testing procedure adequate for determining Plancha stove performance? The University of Washington Clean Cookstoves Lab, in partnership with Burn Design Lab and the Hands for Peacemaking Foundation, are currently working on a project in rural Guatemala with the goal of developing a set of guiding principles for Plancha stove design that can lead to the development of improved Plancha stoves that achieve the highest IWA performance standards. In order to successfully accomplish this goal, we needed to determine how to best paint a clear and accurate picture of Plancha stove performance. We present how we were able to accomplish this through a new testing procedure developed using a combination of field study user data and new lab experimental analysis techniques.


Design/TLUDs

Scale-up of TLUD Stoves with PWG in 2017-18

Paul Anderson, Juntos Energy Solutions NFP
Following the highly successful pilot project with 11,000 Champion TLUD stoves in Deganga, major roll-out activities are underway in Uluberia and other communities close to Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Sales of over 3000 stoves per month in late 2017 are increasing with additional projects described in the presentation to show some variations of the financial arrangements. Significant TLUD stove activities are also discussed regarding South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, and Honduras. Projections for 2018 and beyond are presented for cooking with PWG w/ CCC (Pyrolytic WoodGas with Close-Coupled Combustion).

Evolution of the Ring of Fire TLUD

Norman Baker, Sierra Club
Several refinements have been made to version 16 of the Ring of Fire to produce a more refined and efficient prototype we are calling version 17. This TLUD offers the operator the ability to efficiently dry wood chips or other feedstock and conduct pyrolysis in the same feedstock barrel. Research on this TLUD showed a stratified secondary air system that results in better combustion with less emissions and no smoke. Once a stratified secondary air system was researched and developed, version 18 of the Ring of Fire was created. Version 18 is simpler to build, lighter and more efficient to use. And, it is still possible to dry the woody feedstock in the same feedstock battel. The goal here is to produce an inexpensive democratized biochar kiln that produces a quality biochar for soil incorporation or other uses.

A Gasifier Cookstove, "The Akha," was Well-Received in Rural Bangladesh

Julien Winter, Bangladesh Biochar Initiative
A top-lit updraft gasifier cook stove, "The Akha," has been designed for rural Bangladeshi (www.biochar-bangladesh.org). The Akha used a concentrator gas burner, and had components that could be readily made by local businesses. A trial of the stove was conducted by 110 households at three locations in central and north western Bangladesh. Previously, they used traditional stoves. The rural people are under energy stress, with only ca. 50% of their energy coming from wood; the rest is low-density biomass. The response from Akha-users was universally positive. Compared to their traditional stoves, they listed increased fuel efficiency, very low smoke production and faster cooking as the main benefits. They also said that making biochar was a necessary feature of the Akha. They liked being able to turn down the stove to half-power, and standing (vs. squatting) to cook. Some uses found preparing wood fuel a chore, but this was not a major issue for most households. The biggest complaint was needing to re-load batches of fuel to complete cooking. This study is collecting socio-economic information to monitor which families are best able to take advantage of TLUD-biochar technology in the coming years.


Finance, Training, Distribution

Innovative consumer finance for cookstoves (and more)!

Elisa Derby, Winrock International
Partnerships between product manufacturers, distributors, financial institutions and technology providers are creating new opportunities and greater access to consumer financing for household energy products. This talk will highlight three innovative cookstove consumer financing partnerships that use technology to reach new and expanded networks of (in some cases previously unbanked) consumers.

Empowered Entrepreneur Training

Katie Gross, Winrock International
Winrock's Empowered Entrepreneur Training Program builds key business, empowerment, and leadership skills for cookstove and solar entrepreneurs. Developed for use in the cookstove sector, the curriculum is also applicable to entrepreneurs selling other technologies. Winrock's programs use the Empowered Entrepreneur Training Handbook curriculum (developed by JHU and the Visionaria network with support from the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves) as part of a larger trainer certification program. This unique curriculum focuses on agency-based empowerment, which enhances an individual's capacity to create and focus on goals, and take advantage of opportunities when they arise, in addition to more traditional business and leadership skills.

Stove Distribution System Updates

Grinnell


Health/ Clean Fuels

What does clean mean? Tools and approaches for connecting technology performance with impact

Michael Johnson, Berkeley Air Monitoring Group
This session will provide background on how stove performance has been linked with air quality and standards such as the ISO International Workshop Agreement Tiers of Performance. The modeling tools used for ISO and WHO performance guidance will be described, as well as further development of the tools to make them more flexible and user-friendly for context-specific applications. Provisions of more flexible tools, it is hoped, will equip policy-makers and program developers with the means to make more informed decisions about what technologies are likely have the most impact in the short and long-term.

Modeling health outcomes of hypothetical exclusive LPG use in Accra, Ghana

Charity Garland, Honorary Berkeley Air Monitoring Group Member
Berkeley Air Monitoring Group, in collaboration with the Ghana EPA, and under a Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and grant, assessed personal exposure to PM2.5 and the associated potential health outcomes in Accra, Ghana. The HAPIT model was employed to determine health benefits attributable to various fuel use scenarios using user-derived and publicly available inputs, including the Global Burden of Disease data presented by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. This study assessed personal exposure for four fuel use scenarios: LPG only, LPG and charcoal, charcoal only, and wood use alone or in combination with any other fuel. Ambient PM2.5 concentrations were also assessed during the study period. I will be discussing the results of this study and the links between ambient PM2.5 and modeled health outcomes.

Biogas in Nepal

Ryan Thompson, Mountain Air Engineering
Join Ryan on a journey to monitor home biogas systems in Nepal. Along the journey, Ryan discovers why biogas systems are so appropriate and effective in Nepal, and what challenges exist for further biogas expansion. Ryan will use state-of-the-art multi-dimensional presentation software to show quantitative scientific measurements of home biogas system performance and spiritual revelations in the mountains of Nepal.

Expanding energy options: Uptake and use of ethanol blend cookstoves in urban Nigeria

Samantha Delapena, Berkeley Air Monitoring Group
Nigerian private sector partners are exploring a new clean energy frontier in West Africa with a large pilot project designed to roll out as a commercial start-up. In 2018, 2,500 ethanol blend-fueled stoves and 15,000 reusable fuel canisters will be marketed in selected neighborhoods of Lagos, with the objective of effectively penetrating local cooking markets. Berkeley Air is employing a combination of quantitative, qualitative, and technical approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed cooking system and to make recommendations for scale-up. We will present our study design and interim results on: consumer preferences, particularly comparing satisfaction with the CleanCook stove and canisterized ethanol blend fuel compared to charcoal, kerosene, and LPG; adoption rates and usage patterns; and consumer willingness to pay across three socio-economic strata.


Other Applications

Using data to assess and improve adoption of stoves

Martin Lukac, Nexleaf Analytics
We would like to present the latest data from the field on stove adoption, suggested ways to monitor and assess adoption in clean cooking interventions, and discuss how data-driven iteration can drive clean cooking interventions toward success. If this topic is of interest, we look forward to working with the conference organizers to develop the abstract and better target the presentation.
View Presentation

Low power sensor for direct measurement of cookstove and solid fuel use: field trial testing

Jen Ventrella, Oregon State University
Monitoring is essential to understand in-field performance and adoption of improved cookstove designs. Existing monitoring solutions measure cookstove temperature, which is used to indicate usage patterns and is then correlated to fuel use and introduces uncertainty into the measurement. This study investigates the in-field feasibility and technical performance of a novel sensor that directly measures fuel and cookstove usage patterns via a logging load cell and temperature sensor. These data can then be correlated to improved cookstove uptake, emissions, tons of carbon credits generated, and average Averted Disability Adjusted Life Years (ADALYs). A pilot study of 100 sensors was conducted in northern Uganda with non-government organization International Lifeline Fund to test the usability and technical performance of the sensor system. A mixed methods approach was used, and ethnographic focus group and survey data was integrated with quantitative sensor data to determine usability and consistency of use. It was determined that the majority of users found the system usable and consistently engaged with the fuel holder, and that fuel consumption in households was successfully logged over an average of 25 days. Further research is needed to assess the context-specific applicability and efficacy of this tool, and to compare it with current monitoring methods.
View Presentation

No more iButtons: using Geocene to easily monitor 1 or 1000 cookstoves

Danny Wilson, Geocene
Last year Geocene was just a concept, but now modern low-power electronics, mobile applications, machine learning, and web-based dashboards for monitoring cookstove adoption has become a reality. In this talk, we will discuss how Geocene's platform can be used to simply and affordably monitor large fleets of cookstoves. You will learn about how to deploy sensors, collect data, and analyze that data into actionable insights. We will review the design of new high-temperature Geocene Dots (measure >900C for years without running out of battery or memory), in-field data review using Geocene's Android mobile app, and the best-practices for tracking fleets of thousands of cookstoves generating billions of data points over multi-year studies. Demo to include real sensors, Android mobile app, dashboard, and fire!
View Presentation

Lab and Field Validation of stove usage (EXACT) and PM exposure (HAPEx) sensors

Olivier Lefebvre, Climate Solutions Consulting
Impact assessment studies are essential to better allocate our resource to the solutions that really work and bring the most impact to the users. However, their cost remains high and prevents many stakeholders from carrying such studies. Over the past few years, Climate Solutions Consulting has developed new tools to lower measurement and data analysis costs. We will present results from different studies showing the performance of the HAPEx and EXACT sensor in the lab and in the field against other established measurement methods and instruments. We also present the features of our new offline data analysis tool, which empower anyone to easily process the data from hundreds of households and to quickly get actionable information about the stove intervention monitored.
View Presentation


Sector Support Tools

Insulated Solar Electric Cooking: Year III, progress in California and Uganda

Peter Keller, Aid Africa
A $75 solar panel powering a $2 electric heater can cook a family�s dinner in a well-insulated pot in a few hours. Assuming continued decrease in solar panel prices, Insulated Solar Electric Cooking (ISEC) will become increasingly more powerful and affordable. We believe that solar electric cooking will eventually displace the majority of biomass cooking for the poor and can also lead the way to distributive generated rural electrification. Partnering with Aid Africa and Beacon of Hope boarding school in Uganda, we are facilitating the development and dissemination of ISEC technologies. This year, Cal Poly students are developing a means to manufacture tailorable heaters on site. Additionally, we have established a cooking technology club at Beacon of Hope. Lastly, we are cooking with this technology at home and exploring ways to incorporate a small home electrical system with the ISEC units. Our plan is to distribute about 100 ISECs in a village to collaboratively innovate adoption strategies.

Improved Shea Roaster for Ghana

Brian Gylland, Burn Design Lab
Burn Design Lab has partnered with Burro in Ghana and together are working to develop an improved shea roaster. Ghana is a major exporter of shea butter, which is a key ingredient in many cosmetic applications, including soaps and creams, and is also sometimes used for cooking in Ghana. Shea nuts are grown and harvested across much of West Africa and in particular Ghana. Shea is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and the majority of the processing is done by women who get paid very little. Additionally, the current process for roasting shea kernels is not advanced and needs improvement to address significant health and environmental shortcomings. These shortcomings include low thermal efficiency with correspondingly high fuel consumption, and high particulate emissions (smoke). Problems with inconsistent roasting quality were also observed. The presentation will provide additional background into the shea industry and the shea process in addition to a project update as of late January.

Evaluation of the InStove Water Purifier Using a Mixed Methods Approach

Grace Burleson, Oregon State University
Around the globe, institutions such as schools and refugee camps struggle to provide safe and long-lasting solutions to clean water. InStove has designed a continuous-flow biomass-powered water pasteurizer to mitigate these issues. With 95% less fuel consumption than traditional open-fire boiling and a capacity to serve up to 1,000 people per day, the InStove Water Purifier (IWP) is a self-regulating system designed to reliably heat water to the pasteurization temperature, then cool it down to a safe handling temperature. The IWP flow rates range from 6-8 liters per minute while only consuming 5.5 grams of equivalent dry wood per liter of water produced at steady-state operation. In 2017, the Humanitarian Engineering Program at Oregon State University partnered with InStove and MAPLE Microdevelopment to perform field testing of the IWP in Mbale, Uganda. An innovative cross-sectional mixed method combining experimental engineering and anthropological approaches was applied to evaluate the IWP. There, we (1) assessed technical performance, such as microbiological removal, fuel usage, stove efficiency, and output flow; and (2) evaluated human-technology-interface, such as product appeal, usability, and potential time-savings. Focal-follow and Time Allocation methods were used to assess change in human behavior and time savings associated with the IWP.

A Review of Techniques to Reduce PM 2.5

Dan Lieberman, Intellectual Ventures and Dean Still, Aprovecho Research Center
There are six well investigated approaches to reducing the emissions from biomass cook stoves. The presentation reviews the techniques and provides test results from the lab using WBT. 4.2.3. Surprisingly, natural draft techniques can outperform forced draft methods while resulting in fewer fine particles.
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