DEVELOPMENT OF A BIOMASS GASIFIER STOVE

Abstract

The use of biomass in our local and primitive stove (three stone stove) has a negative impact on the health
of household members especially women and children that are mostly exposed to the pollutants produced
by this stove. Biomass combustion provides basic energy requirements for cooking and heating of rural
households and for processes in a variety of traditional industries in the developing countries. A study was
conducted to develop a biomass gasifier stove using locally available materials like mild steel, clay and
wood to save the cost of production. It converts biomass fuel into a combustible wood gas or producer gas
that is directly burn to produce luminous blue flame. The power supply unit is a rechargeable battery which
provides 25.9KJ of energy to drive the fan assembly unit and forces air through the fuel column in the
reactor. The performance of the stove was determined using water boiling test. The results show that the
specific gasification rate (SGR), fuel consumption rate (FCR), combustion zone rate( CZR), percentage
char produced, input power and output power to be 186.19kh/m2hr, 5.85kg/hr, 0.67cm/m, 13%, 130kW and
29069.24kW respectively.