The majority of burn injuries in developing countries occur in the home and represent a major problem. Open flames used for cooking are a key cause of these injuries. An important part of our preventive work has therefore been to find ways to produce and distribute clean-burning and smokeless stoves based on Paal Wendelbo’s stove concept. Wendelbo is one of the inventors of this stove design, which was developed in the 1980s. The stove was tested at the Copenhagen Technical University in 1988, where it was found to burn off most of the harmful exhaust gases. Since then, the stove has been tested in several African countries. Wood and charcoal remain the primary energy sources for many people around the world, especially for cooking. The use of wood and charcoal has major environmental consequences and also poses a significant health risk to people exposed to open flames and smoke.
Gas burner design
The stove is called Pekope (it was well received in a refugee camp in Uganda in 1994. “Pekope” means “our problems are solved” in the Acholi language). In collaboration with the University of Agder, CBWCF has tested the stove’s properties under the leadership of Professor Henrik Kofoed Nielsen. The stove is made of stainless steel and equipped with a safety mesh that keeps the surface temperature low. Three legs provide stability on the floor. In the combustion chamber, temperatures exceed 700 degrees Celsius, making the stove especially suitable for use below 1700 meters above sea level. The smoke produced is clean compared to that from firewood. The small amount of carbon monoxide generated poses no problem in a well-ventilated room.
The stove can, in principle, burn many types of fuel. We are experimenting with pellets made from various types of biomass waste. The pellet concept has several advantages: it is cheap to produce, easy to dose, and has low transport costs. In addition, pellets are far more efficient than wood and charcoal. A household typically needs about 2.7 kg of charcoal per day for cooking. From 10 kg of dry wood, you get 2.7 kg of charcoal. By comparison, 10 kg of dry wood can produce 10 kg of pellets, which will last for 2.5 days in a gas burner stove. The health benefits would be enormous if traditional cooking methods were replaced by gas burner stoves. The risk of burn injuries, as well as the development of smoke-related eye and respiratory diseases, would be significantly reduced.
Challenges
The time has come to move beyond the charcoal industry in Ethiopia. Charcoal production is illegal in Ethiopia, but deforestation continues as long as there are no viable alternatives. CBWCF’s goal is to establish stove production in multiple locations across the country. The stove itself is simple to produce, and steel is readily available. Pellet production, on the other hand, requires significant effort and meticulous work by dedicated personnel. Additionally, the availability of biomass waste is seasonal. So far, we have focused on waste from coffee production, sawmills, and sugar processing. If you wish to support this project or would like more information, please contact Jan Myklebust or Seppo Lahdeaho.
