An Annotated Bibliography of July 2014 Peer-Review Cookstove/HAP Studies
Below are citations, abstracts and links to seven peer-review July 2014 studies on cookstoves and household air pollution.
The impact of the household decision environment on fuel choice behavior, Energy Economics, Volume 44, July 2014. Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2014.04.008.
Authors: Bianca van der Kroon, Roy Brouwer, Pieter J.H. van Beukering,
Consumer preferences for fuels and alternative cookstove technologies in Kenya are examined, focusing on household internal and external determinants driving choice behavior in a choice experiment. The potential for a transition towards cleaner and more efficient fuels and technologies is assessed by zooming in on three fuel-stove combinations. We find substantial demand and positive willingness to pay for the fuel-stove combinations in three locations representing different decision environments. Demand is significantly higher in the peri-urban and the resource abundant rural location than in the resource scarce rural location. The presence of better developed consumer markets for fuels in these locations functions as an important driver for cookstove adoption. Although charcoal and ethanol stoves are preferred over improved firewood stoves, continued firewood usage is expected. Energy switching behavior cannot be substantiated. Instead, energy stacking is more likely, where charcoal and ethanol add to and extend a household’s energy portfolio.
Carbon monoxide concentrations in outdoor wood-fired kitchens in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso-implications for women’s and children’s health. Environ Monit Assess, July 2014. Link: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10661-014-3712-y
Authors: Thorsson S, Holmer B, et al.
We examined cooking habits and self-reported health in 31 households with outdoor open wood fires in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, using structured interviews. On average, CO concentrations were 43 % higher in kitchens located in closed yards than in those located in open yards, showing that fireplace location affected the levels. Eye irritation and coughing among women and children were reported by 30 % of the households. Based on previously reported relations between CO concentrations and fine particles (<2.5 μm), the exposure to biomass smoke appears to be high enough to pose a considerable health risk among women and children in households with outdoor open wood fires. The results suggest that burning should be limited between sunset and dawn and in areas with limited ventilation to reduce pollutions levels.
A Cross-Sectional Study of Household Biomass Fuel Use among a Periurban Population in Malawi. Ann Am Thorac Soc July 2014. Abstract.
Authors: Piddock KC, et al.
This large cross-sectional study has identified extensive use of biomass fuels in a typical sub-Saharan Africa periurban population in which women and people of lower socioeconomic status are disproportionately affected. Biomass fuel use is likely to be a major driver of existing communicable respiratory disease and the emerging noncommunicable disease (especially respiratory and cardiovascular) epidemic in this region. Our data will help inform the rationale for specific intervention studies and the development of appropriately targeted public health strategies to tackle this important and poverty-related global health problem.
Improved test method for evaluation of bio-mass cook-stoves, Energy, Volume 71, 15 July 2014. Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.04.101.
Authors: P. Raman, N.K. Ram, J. Murali,
More than two-thirds of the world’s population is relying on biomass fuel to meet their cooking and heating energy-requirements. Traditional biomass stoves operate at low efficiency and cause severe health problems and pollute the environment. Due to higher quantity of fuel use, these cookstoves increase the burden on fuel management. Several test protocols are being used across the world for evaluating the performance of cookstoves. One of the major challenges of existing protocols is to narrow down the gap between the test results obtained under lab conditions and actual cooking conditions. Hence, there is a need to evolve an improved test method that can reflect the stove performance under field conditions. This paper is aimed to reduce the gaps in test methodology in such a manner that the test results obtained in the lab are comparable with the results of actual cooking carried out in the kitchen.
Personal and Indoor PM2.5 Exposure from Burning Solid Fuels in Vented and Unvented Stoves in a Rural Region of China with a High Incidence of Lung Cancer. Env Sci Technol, Jul 17, 2014.
Link: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es502201s
Authors: Hu W, Reiss B, et al.
The combustion of biomass and coal is the dominant source of household air pollution (HAP) in China, and contributes significantly to the total burden of disease in the Chinese population. Mixed effect models indicated that fuel type, ventilation, number of windows, season, and burning time per stove were the main factors related to personal PM2.5 exposure. Lower PM2.5 among vented stoves compared with unvented stoves and firepits is of interest as it parallels the observation of reduced risks of malignant and nonmalignant lung diseases in the region.
Emission of metals from pelletized and uncompressed biomass fuels combustion in rural household stoves in china. Sci Rep, July 8, 2014.
Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4085603/
Authors: Zhang W, Tong Y, et al.
Effort of reducing CO2 emissions in developing countries may require an increasing utilization of biomass fuels. Biomass pellets seem well-suited for residential biomass markets. However, there is limited quantitative information on pollutant emissions from biomass pellets burning, especially those measured in real applications. In this study, biomass pellets and raw biomass fuels were burned in a pellet burner and a conventional stove respectively, in rural households, and metal emissions were determined. This study found that moisture, volatile matter and modified combustion efficiency were the important factors affecting metal emissions. Comparisons of the mass-based and task-based EFs found that biomass pellets produced higher metal emissions than the same amount of raw biomass. However, metal emissions from pellets were not higher in terms of unit energy delivered.
Effect of Indoor Air Pollution from Biomass and Solid fuel Combustion on Symptoms of Preeclampsia/Eclampsia in Indian Women. Indoor Air, July 2014.
Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ina.12144/abstract
Authors: Agrawal S, Yamamoto S.
Available evidence concerning the association between indoor air pollution (IAP) from biomass and solid fuel combustion and preeclampsia/eclampsia is not available in developing countries. We investigated the association between exposure to IAP from biomass and solid fuel combustion and symptoms of preeclampsia/eclampsia in Indian women by analyzing cross-sectional data from India’s third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3, 2005-06). Results indicate that women living in households using biomass fuels have two times higher likelihood of preeclampsia/eclampsia symptoms than do those living in households using cleaner fuels, even after controlling for the effects of a number of potentially confounding factors. We observed increased risk of preeclampsia/eclampsia with exposure to IAP from biomass and solid fuel combustion in a large nationally representative sample of Indian women. These findings have important program and policy implications for countries such as India, where large proportions of the population rely on polluting biomass fuels for cooking and space heating.
