Granular Biomass Fuel Stove

Reproduced from ESCAP's Asia-Pacific Technical Monitor

A Filipino inventor, Mr Alberto A Figueroa, has developed a unique stove burner which runs on an inexpensively processed loose particle fuel from agricultural and forest wastes such as rice husks, dried leaves, wild grass, saw dust and other low energy biomass. It is found to be ideally!suited for cooking and other day-to-day needs of the rural poor.

The stove burner is composed of a cylindrical sheet metal body welded to the base plate, with a removable lid and flame opening at its centre. There are different types of burners for different durations of cooking. The stove can be modified into a dryer, meat curer, incinerator, a source of heat for steam generation and a ruminant. While burning the farm wastes, the stove emits a relatively smoke-free bluish flame that can be adjusted by means of an air vent. In a portable version meant for households, one kilogramme of farm waste burns up to 45 minutes depending on the kind of fuel. This rural stove burner has the special ability to extract and automatically ignite combustible gases which affect the consistency of the flame while simultaneously carbonizing the solid particle fuel. This also produces medium grade charcoal from 40-50% of the fuel's weight. This charcoal by- product may be briquetted and used again in conventional charcoal stoves.

Ed Note:- Although prices of the stoves are not given, they would probably be appropriate for urban households.

For details, contact:

Mr Alberto A Figueroa 2275 Taft Avenue Malate MM PHlLlPPlNES

Mr Figueroa is now seeking funds for his project in order to 1 ) establish and construct a model plant to manufacture the stove burner, 2) produce a model pilot plant to process the fuel and the charcoal by-products, preferably in a rice growing province and 3) develop a market distribution system.