D. Champier, J.P. Bedecarrats, M. Rivaletto, F. Strub,
Thermoelectric power generation from biomass cook stoves, Energy, Volume 35, Issue 2, ECOS 2008, 21st International Conference, on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems, February 2010, Pages 935-942.
The use of biomass cook stoves is widespread in the rural communities of developing countries. It is important to improve the efficiency of these stoves in order to reduce the global warming contribution. An improved biomass fired stove has been developed in our laboratory and a prototype has been built. The combustion chamber is designed to achieve the almost complete combustion of wood thus increasing the efficiency and decreasing indoor air pollution. An additional development, introduced in this paper, involves the use of a thermoelectric (TE) module in order to generate electricity to power the fan and give light. The air blowing through the stove increases the air/fuel ratio to achieve a complete combustion. In the first part, the paper presents the results from an experimental benchtest using commercial TE modules (Bismuth Telluride). The evaluation of the conversion efficiency is allowed at various temperature ranges. Then, the feasibility of adding commercial TE modules to the biomass cook stove prototype is investigated searching the best position of the modules. Lastly, a TE power generator experimental set up is presented showing that a 6 watts ready to use electrical production is possible with the biomass cook stove.
